Another place close by to Marbella is the city of Ronda. Located a 45 kilometer drive along a twisted, torturous drive into the mountains you find a city of some 30,000. Ronda has been around for thousands of years. It gained status as a city during the time of Julius Caesar. Its star has risen and fallen any number of times. It was one of the last Muslim strongholds as the Christians sought to retake the Iberian Peninsula and as such suffered greatly during the Spanish Inquisition. The Napoleonic Invasion devastated it again and it was heavily impacted by the Spanish Civil War.
Ronda isn’t quite a one hit wonder, but it almost felt that way. Our visit was dominated by the El Tajo Canyon through which flows the Guadalevin River.
Three bridges provide access from the more modern settlement to the old city. As in Italy, everything is relative. The “New Bridge” was completed in 1793, making it more than 200 years old.
In the old city we wandered past Santa Maria la Mayor, decked out in preparation for Holy Week. It has its origins as a Muslim mosque which was converted by the Christians. It still has some of its original features, but we refused to pay the 4 euro entrance fee having seen all the churches we need to recently.
We lunched by the Minaret of San Sebastian, a small tower which also has Muslim origins as its name suggests.
Ronda is home to the Plaza de toros de Ronda, the oldest bull fighting ring in Spain and home of the annual Corrida Goyesca held in August. This bullfighting festival is among the most prestigious in Spain and everybody who is anybody makes sure to attend. We walked the perimeter of the building, but felt no more urge to enter than we feel to go into the Colosseum when we pass by it in Rome. A number of well-known Americans have adopted Ronda as their home away from home. Ernest Hemingway was heavily influenced by the bull fighting and the Cliffs of El Tajo are said to be the inspiration for the site where the nationalist sympathizers met their fate in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Director Orson Wells made many trips to Ronda and the final resting places of his ashes are in the well of a friend in town.
We were treated to the sight of a horse walking through the old part of town during our visit.
It turns out that horses are allowed almost everywhere in Spain. This is also true of bicycles. I lost count of the number of times we came across cyclists individually or in groups on major state roads with speed limits in excess of 65 mph! That takes more nerves than I possess. We both enjoyed our time as the smile on Amy’s face would suggest.
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