Ronda & Gibraltar

Day 1

Our arrival in Ronda was a bit long and had some challenges but everything worked out fine by the end of the day. Travel on the train and getting our car at the Jerez airport went fine. Our Opel Mokka has GPS so we were also able to get to Ronda okay. However, today is a Sunday which is apparently an extraordinarily busy day here so we trolled around town - Jeff was fantastic with the narrow lanes and numerous one-way streets. We possibly were driving for 30 minutes before finding a parking lot that had one space left. OURS! Our apartment includes parking though initially that was also an issue because the agent of our host directed us to the wrong place. 

We hadn't had much breakfast and it's well past lunch so our first stop was getting something to eat. We will be meeting our host for access to the apartment here at 4:30 p.m. After eating we had a bit of time so wandered around and looked at the famous bridge (Puerta Nueva) as best we could with the sidewalks completely full of people. It's a bit overcast today and there is a brisk breeze as well.

Once we were in our apartment we did homely tasks such starting a load of wash and attempting to grocery shop (closed). Our apartment is right at the bridge between Old Town and New Town. We have a lovely view of the bridge, the restaurant terraces below us, valleys and Old Town. Serena was super tired and napped. Overall, not a very exciting day.

Old Town Ronda which we look at from our balcony on the edge of New Town was a walled Muslim city in the 1300s. On this end of Old Town there is a narrow and deep river gorge (nearly 400 feet) as well as a stunning bridge that connects the two areas. Construction of the new bridge took 34 years and started in 1759. The Muslims had long since been driven out of Spain into North Africa. About 2/3 of Old Town is protected by steep precipices. New Town sprawls so only a bit of it has the precipices. 

Day 2

Highlight of today is visiting La Cueva de Pileta. They have limited hours for public tours and limit each tour to about 20-25 people. This is a very special cave since it is still alive (growing stalactites and stalagmites) and it contains many prehistoric cave drawings. They aren't as dramatic or extensive as the Altamira cave but the public can't go into the Altamira cave. It was clear throughout that the people running the tours really care about the cave and its contents. They were very clear about not touching the walls or cave structures and though we couldn't understand the words we understood the tone when someone got chastised. Also no pictures because of possibly disturbing the residential bats. The bats are how a local farmer "discovered" the cave in 1905? He saw the bats and came looking for guano/fertilizer. His family is still involved in managing the cave.

The drawings are all quite small but they are also pretty clear as to the subject - horses, bulls, a human figure with wings, goats and a lynx. The largest we saw was a fish which was nearly a meter long. Aside from the drawings the cave structures are also beautiful. We also saw some of the resident bats. The guide spoke in Spanish and English which was very helpful. We were in the cave for about 1 hour. Overall it was a great tour and only 8 euros each.

As we were leaving there was a group of actual spelunkers about to go in. Who knows how far they will go or what levels or what their purpose was. The known cave is a bit over 3km on a couple of levels. We went 500 meters on one level. At that point we were in the Cave of the Fish and close to an entrance to a lower level. 

I think it's been mentioned before but it's lovely to be here at this time of year. The fields are all green and flowers are in bloom everywhere. In addition to swaths of red poppies there are pink wild snapdragons all along the roads. We've also seen others we recognize but they are more subtle and not something you can easily spot when zooming past at 60-100 kmh.

Back in Ronda we had lunch then went for an exploratory walk. We started across the bridge into Old Town but immediately turned and followed the parapet along the gorge. That led downhill and we went to two smaller bridges at the bottom of the gorge. One of those is in the same location as the original bridge when Ronda's Old Town was a walled Moorish citadel. Next to that bridge were the ruins of the bathhouse where visitors at that time ritually and physically prepared themselves to enter the town. Along the way we were walking along the tops of some of the old city walls.

We learned over and over today that downhill leads to uphill which is where we went to re-enter the Old Town. We got ourselves oriented then walked downhill again to a plaza below the Alcazaba (where the Moorish troops would have been situated). Then uphill again and across Old Town to the other side of the mountaintop. We were looking for the trailhead that leads to the base of the gorge and the bridge that spans Old and New Town. We found it but we are a bit tired at this point and it's late afternoon so it's warm. But, this is when the light is best for pictures of this side of the bridge so again we go downhill. We didn't have to go all the way to the bottom to get good pictures. Guess what we did after that? 

At the top again we made our way back to our apartment and refreshing drinks on our deck. We also showered before heading out to dinner. We went to a little restaurant in the square nearby. We skipped the tapas row on Calle Nueva nearer as our lunch the previous day at the gourmet tapas was a bit of a let down. This restaurant was fine and we returned two mornings later for COFFEE and breakfast. The rest of the evening was spent with a bottle of vino tinto (red wine), typing this blog and photo management (Jeff is heroically attempting that task).

Day 3 - Day trip to Gibraltar

Gibraltar is only a 90 minute drive away and we've got unlimited miles on the car so we went for a drive. We parked in Spain and it's a direct 5-minute walk to the border. The crossing was easy but no passport stamp (in case you didn't know, Gibraltar is a British territory). Of course the main attraction for us was The Rock so we just started walking up the high street toward the cable car. Apparently the attraction for the Spanish is duty free shopping, especially electronics, cameras, cigarettes and liquor. You can spend euros most places but it will cost you more than paying in pounds.

Breakfast was light and it's getting on toward lunchtime. Since we're in Britain Serena is on the lookout for a Cornish Pasty. But before we knew it we were out of the shopping/dining district and at the cable car. There are two cruise ships in town today (one big and one immense). If we were to listen to the taxi tour drivers this would lead to a one-hour wait for the cable car. The taxi tours include admission to several places on The Rock that we don't intend to visit so we ignored them and the wait wasn't that long. The cable car isn't terribly exciting but Serena is certain she caught a glimpse of a hazy landform across the Strait (it's a bit foggy and overcast here though we can see that Spain is sunny).

The Barbary Apes (actually macaque monkeys) are everywhere at the top but especially in proximity to people. They are quite habituated to people. They get fed by the management but have also learned that bags contain food so if one is within reach it might get grabbed. We also saw monkeys grooming each other and not engaging with people. We had lunch at the restaurant at the top, did some looking around and pictures and set off for our hike to the bottom. 

We had to go uphill to reach the Mediterranean Steps which go downhill - steeply downhill and a lot of it. We lost 800 feet of elevation in 1.1 miles. On the plus side, it was beautiful and this time  we both caught a hazy glimpse of Africa. We were hoping to walk across a suspension bridge we could see from the bottom but we got on the wrong road and ended up back at the bottom by the cable cars. We had caught a bus from the border into town but realized it wasn't that far so we just walked all the way back. 

Drove home and grabbed some pizzas from a restaurant around the corner so we could have dinner on our deck.

Day 4 - Jeff's Birthday

We went out to breakfast today and the highlight of that was good coffee - pod coffee is what we had in Seville and here. Spent part of the morning and all the afternoon seeing the rest of the historical sights here in town that we didn't see on day 2. This included the Mondragon Palace which houses the Ronda Museum. A bit of information overload since it starts with pre-history, but very good displays. Pretty much everything included an English translation and it was good English - no weird syntax or typos. Great information about archaeology in general (how it's done, how differences of interpretation arise) and specific info about archaeology in this area. It also had an aerial diorama of Ronda.

From there we walked downhill to the Arab baths which are considered some of the best preserved baths in all of Spain. There was a video in English (alternating showings in Spanish) that showed how they operated and helped put each room into context. After watching that we would agree that the preservation is excellent. The baths are located near where the entrance bridge to the city was when this was a Muslim city. 

Back at the apartment we finished last night's pizza. Jeff went out to tour the bull fighting ring (the oldest in Spain) and Serena started packing - tomorrow we drive back to Jerez and join the frenzy of the first European MotoGP race of the 2017 schedule. It is also the first of three races that will be held in Spain.

Today is Jeff's birthday and he has chosen a restaurant on the other end of Old Town; it might take us all of 10 minutes to walk there. Dinner was delicious. Butter beans and pickled capers for the free appetizer plus we ordered a fried egg with jamon and black truffles. Serena had duck and Jeff got to deconstruct his prawns (they came with heads, tails, and legs). Tiny restaurant with seating for 24 and luckily we showed up right when they opened at 8pm because they quickly filled all the tables. His birthday was mentioned and we got a candle on the dessert (not free though and no singing). The free sherry pre-dessert was delivered before his birthday came up so it must have been their usual thing. We wandered home indirectly through old town and finished the evening on our deck in shirt sleeve weather at 10:30 p.m. Life is good!

Non sequiturs

There have been many street musicians. They are all talented but unexpectedly we hear music we are familiar with. The Shrek love song was common in Madrid. Today was a George Michael song.

In shops we have been buying Rioja red wines since we will be doing a wine tour in that area a few weeks from now. They are not expensive. Our friends Larry and Robin will be with us on the tour and the Rioja wines are wonderful. In restaurants we have sometimes specified Rioja but sometimes not. Rioja is better but we're enjoying all the vino tinto.

Serena has been having Sangria during lunches. They have all been tasty and now she is a bit obsessed to find a Sangria recipe to match what she has been experiencing here. The Sangrias in the states tend to be too bitter compared to here. Anyone who has access to a good recipe or someone who likely has a good recipe, please pass it on. Here in Ronda she has also come to know vino verano which is basically a red wine Shandy. It is just as tasty and refreshing as a Shandy. Withhold your judgement whilst you read what a Shandy is. A Shandy is a common beverage in the UK when you want a beer or two with your mates but also want to be able to get yourself home safely and sober. It is half beer and half "lemonade" (in US parlance that's sprite or 7-up). It really is quite tasty and we found by happenstance a canned Shandy when we were at the Alhambra and have since bought some to have on hand. Vino Verano is basically the same thing but more a lemon gassy water rather than sprite.

Sunset here at the beginning of May was at 9:11 p.m. Of course it was light quite a bit later. Possibly this helps explain why we are tending to go to bed between 11pm and midnight. And it's warm well after dark. 

Washcloths don't seem to be a thing in Spain; we haven't had those in any of our accommodations yet.

In the museums in Madrid there were lots of staff wandering and sitting in the rooms to make sure patrons weren't doing anything inappropriate with the art. It looked like a very boring job and none of them were smiling. Even when we smiled at them they didn't smile back.

Wild snapdragons growing on a wall

Picture from a postcard of one of the cave drawings - Goat

Picture from postcard - Human figure with wings. Most of the drawings are smaller than a piece of paper.

picture of postcard - Fish. This one is nearly a meter long.

View of the Ronda Gorge & part of the bridge. Old Town is on the left. Our apartment is in the white building on the right.

Nighttime view of the bridge (they light it up at night) and Old Town from our patio.

Looking up the gorge from our patio.

Exploring the old city walls and towers.

Serena was entertained to get a picture of the iconic Rock of Gibraltar with another familiar icon.

Heading for the border you have to cross a live airport runway. No idea how frequently planes come and go nor how the car/bike/pedestrian traffic is managed when they do.

Jeff and a friend at the top. You can also see both cruise ships in the background.

Foreground is Gibraltar. Background is Spain.

The Rock has two peaks. This a photo of the taller one from the top of the shorter one.

 

The view downhill

The uphill side of the trail

Hazy view of a landmass to the south which is where Africa is.

This would have been the warm room of the Arab baths. There would be soaking pools here. The hot room was a steam sauna and the cold room had cold pools.

Wine and cheese before heading off for Jeff's birthday dinner.

This is actually a very small display of Jamon (Spanish Ham). These are hanging in stores EVERYWHERE. There are many different grades and preparations and only the best are actually Jamon. Jeff saw some at the El Corte Ingles supermarket going for 195 euros for 2.2 pounds! But you can buy just a couple of ounces and that could be enough to get the flavor you need.