Ronda, Spain (September, 2021).

On Monday afternoon Stephanie suggested that we take an overnight trip to Ronda.  An hour later we had two bus tickets and a hotel room booked for Wednesday night.

Located in southern Spain, about 75 miles southeast of Seville, Ronda is a popular city with tourists because of its new bridge, a dramatic gorge, and sweeping views of the surrounding valleys and mountains.  The city sits atop a hill that is bisected by a gorge, El Tajo, through which the small Guadalevin River runs.  Three bridges cross the gorge.  The most well-known and photographed site in Ronda is the Puente Nuevo (“new bridge”), built in the mid- to late-1700s.  The Puente Nuevo is located at the top of the hill near the cliffs on the western side of the town, about 390 feet above the canyon floor and over 500 feet above the valley floor.  This is the main bridge that links the old and new towns.  Here old and new are relative terms.  Ronda’s new town dates to the 15^th century.

The Puente Viejo (“old bridge”), also known as the Puente San Miguel, was built in the early-1600s.  It is located southeast of the new bridge at the other end of the gorge.  Various walkways and observations points are found in the gorge between the new and old bridges.  The Puente Viejo is a much smaller bridge, and probably no more than 150 feet above the canyon floor. 

The oldest bridge is the Puente Romano (“Roman bridge”), also known as the Puente Arabe (“Arabic bridge”).  Ronda was largely under Arab rule until the late 1400s.  Apparently this bridge was originally constructed by the Romans and later rebuilt by the Arabs.  It is near the base of the hill and maybe 30 feet over the river at the point where the gorge begins.

On Wednesday we took the 10:00 AM bus to Ronda from Seville’s Estacion de Autobuses Prado de San Sebastian.  This is the oldest bus station in Andalusia.  It can accommodate about 20 buses, though we only saw four or five.  Thankfully for us the station was clean and easy to navigate.  No Spanish language skills required.  No security, either.  All you have to do is look at your bus ticket, walk to the correct bay (the bays are clearly marked), and get on the bus.  The drivers check the tickets.  We were on Damas bus lines.  Our bus was a newer model, clean, air conditioned, and no more than 20% full.

The route took us out of Seville on Highway A-375.  The scenery on A-375 is borderline painful to view.  It is farmland.  For the first hour we drove past brown fields that had been cut and plowed under.  Occasionally we got lucky and passed a small orchard of olive trees.  Eventually we turned onto Highway A-384 and climbed into the mountains.  This mountain scenery was much better.  The bus pulled into the station at Ronda a little before noon.  We were scheduled to leave the next day, Thursday, at 3:30 PM.  With a little over 24 hours to explore, off we went.

Wednesday:

12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.  After exiting the bus, we immediately headed to Alameda del Tajo and Mirador de Ronda, a park and scenic overlook facing west over the Guadalevin River and valley to the mountains in the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema.  From there we ventured to the Plaza del Socorro and visited a local church, Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Socorro.

1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.  Lunch at La Taberna de Antonio.  We went with several tapas plates, including masita de salchichón (a small sausage patty sandwich) and brocheta de pollo (seasoned chicken pieces on a skewer).  Afterwards ice cream cones at Heladería la Jijonenca.

2:00 PM to 2:30 PM.  Dropped off our backpacks at Hotel Don Miguel (still too early to check in) and took a walk from Mirador de Aldehuela, a scenic overlook on the south side of Puente Nuevo, to the Jardines de Cuenca, a small park and gardens in the gorge.  The walk was all downhill.  From there we crossed the Puenta Viejo and walked up the hill, through the Arco de Felipe V (a stone arch), to the old town. 

2:30 PM to 3:15 PM.  A visit to the Casa Palacio Museo Lara, which is best described as collections of old stuff.  For example there were displays of old watches and clocks, toy trains, meerschaum pipes, folding fans, and microscopes.  For me the highlights were a 1930s motorcycle and a display of photographs and movie memorabilia from the early 1900s.  Stephanie liked the room of witchcraft, which looked like a cross between a high school science lab (jars of small animals and things in formaldehyde) and medieval devices.  For 4€ each and no air conditioning, I could have skipped it.

3:15 PM to 3:45 PM.  We took a mid-afternoon break for drinks at a nearby restaurant, Cafetería Armiñán.  Two bottles of water for 3€.  Probably the best 3€ spent to date on our trip.

3:45 PM to 5:00 PM.  We hiked down the cliffs to viewpoints of the Puente Nuevo.  A paved trail from the old town leads to two overlooks, the Mirador Puente Nuevo de Ronda and the Mirador del Viento.  Most tourists stop at the Mirador Puente Nuevo de Ronda.  It is about two hundred feet below the old town and offers a nice view of Puente Nuevo.  From there a dirt trail leads to the base of the bridge itself.  The better viewpoint is the Mirador del Viento, another two hundred feet or so below.  This was our objective for the afternoon.  Thankfully the weather was in the mid-80s.  There is little shade on the trail.  It was a hot, but tolerable, hike.  Bonus – no complaining by Stephanie!  From the Mirador del Viento a dirt trail goes down to the valley floor and a small parking lot.  We saw several cars and tourists in the lot, but no one venturing a hike up the hill.

5:00 PM to 8:15 PM.  Check-in at the Hotel Don Miguel and a well needed rest in our room.  The Hotel Don Miguel is in the new town, next to the Puente Nuevo and overlooking the gorge.  The expensive hotel rooms face the gorge; ours did not.

8:15 PM to 9:00 PM.  Back to Alameda del Tajo and Mirador de Ronda to watch the sunset over the valley and mountains.

9:00 PM to 11:00 PM.  After aimlessly walking around for awhile trying to decide where to eat, we settled on having dinner at Bar La Viña.  We sat at an outside table and enjoyed cerveza, tinto con limón, patatas alioli (potatoes in olive oil with garlic), pincho de gambas (prawn kabab), and a serranito (warm sandwich with pork, ham, fried green pepper, and tomato).  As it was getting cool that night, we left Bar La Viña and went to a second restaurant to sit inside.  At New Street Grill Ronda we ordered more cervezas (Estrella Galicia), a tomate salad (sliced tomatoes in olive oil with garlic), and salchichón (grilled sausage with peppers).

Thursday:

8:30 AM to 9:30 AM.  Breakfast at Churreria La Rueda.  We shared an order of churros and each got a coffee.  The churros come with a chocolate sauce for dipping (basically a thick mixture of Hershey’s Cocoa).  Nothing like starting your day with a funnel cake dessert.

9:30 AM to 11:00 AM.  We checked out of the hotel (left our backpacks) and walked to the Baños Arabes Yacimiento Arqueológico, which is a complex of Arab baths from the 13^th century.  There is a ten minute video of how the water irrigation system and baths were designed and built.  While the video was in Spanish, it was fairly easy to understand the principles simply by watching.  The complex consisted of several rooms and an outdoor garden.  All in all it was an enjoyable visit for 4,5€ each.

11:00 AM to 11:15 AM.  The Arab baths are near the Puente Romano, that is to say, at the bottom of the hill next to the Guadalevin River.  So for a second time we hiked back up to the old town.  We took a trail and long flight of stairs to the Puerta de la Cijara, a gate through the old town walls.  Upon reaching the gate we found it closed and locked.  Defeated in our attempt to enter the old town, back down the hill we went.  (We later discovered that renovation work was being done in the area of this gate on the other side of the wall.  Still, a sign at the bottom of the trail and stairs would have been nice.)

11:15 AM to 12:30 PM.  After walking a different route up to the old town, we went to Plaza Duquesa de Parcent to sit on a shady bench next to a fountain.  After a short break we visited the Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor.  The main attraction of this Catholic church is a large viewing deck built on the roof.  It affords sweeping views over the city and surrounding area.  The views are simply stunning.  While the church is ornate but not overdone, it is the viewing deck that more than justifies the entry fee of 4,5€ each.   This is an absolute must visit while in Ronda.

12:30 PM to 2:30 PM.  Sometimes you need something familiar.  After grabbing our backpacks from the hotel, we went for a long lunch at Restaurante Pizzeria Michelangelo.  Margherita pizza and Coke.  We resisted the call of a nearby Burger King.

2:30 PM to 3:00 PM.  A final visit to Alameda del Tajo to sit in the park, relax, and enjoy the views.

3:00 PM to 3:30 PM.  Off to the Estacion de Autobuses de Ronda to catch our bus back to Seville. Next in Seville we plan on exploring the Plaza de España and Setas de Sevilla.

For this trip we stayed in the tourist zone and really enjoyed it.  Ronda was busy but not overcrowded.  If you wanted to visit all of the local sites, a second day would be plenty.  We skipped the bullring, several small museums, and did not go into any stores (and there are a lot of tourist stores).  Unfortunately the 16^th century Gothic church, Iglesia del Espíritu Santo, is closed during the week.  We saw portions of the walls around the old town and several gates to the city, but did not make it a point to visit all of them.

To sum it up – great trip!

Garrett and Stephanie