March 31: Ronda

We made the 30-minute walk from our campsite (El Sur) to the sublime city of Ronda. Our first stop was to Puente Nuevo, the famous stone bridge that spans El Tajo gorge. This deep crevasse separates the city’s new town from the old town and helps to provide jaw-dropping views from the bridge. As you might imagine, the bridge attracts many tourists and today was no exception as amateur photographers jockeyed for the perfect spot to take the show stopping picture.  To add to the ambiance, a few local performers, strategically spread around the city, entertained the masses with exceptional instrumental performances on the guitar and, in one case, the violin.  We also had an incredible lunch at Las Maravillas as we dined on tasty tapas and some outstanding oxtail!  As one can plainly see, Ronda is definitely worth the visit.  And, if you don’t believe me, you should know that Ronda was Ernest Hemingway’s favorite place in southern Spain and a portion of its dark history is recounted in his epic, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”