Ronda-Nerja

Ronda is my favorite city in Spain (I made it to Granada this afternoon, and just love it so far, so this impression may change). It is a tiny hill town in southern Spain, famed for its bullring, gorge-spanning bridge, and 13th century walls. Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway both frequented it (A Death in the Afternoon is based on experiences he had there). This quote from Hemingway sums up the experience well:

¨There is a place in Spain that is the ideal spot to watch a bullfight for the first time...I am referring to the town of Ronda...the perfect place to visit with a girlfriend or to spend a honeymoon.¨

It is quite romantic; it´s a perfect place to wander and feel like you´re really Spanish. We had lunch in the garden of a moorish palace, walked along the top of the wall on the north end of down, and hiked down into a ravine to view an incredibly dramatic bridge. We both sweated buckets on the trail (which is paved and not really all that long, but it´s in full sun and the weather was about 90 degrees). The path was created around 1200 for Spanish slaves to bring water up to the town--I can´t imagine how grueling that experience was in August.

Next stop: Nerja. Elese and I are both fans of Rick Steves, and are visiting the towns that he recommends. They often tend to be off the beaten tourist track, which was quite apparent in Nerja. We´ve found that the average Rick Steves reader is 50, part of a couple, and middle class--definitely not many young people. Rick finds most of the Costa del Sol unpleasant, and Nerja is the only place that he considers still relatively authentic. It is a lovely place to visit. We planned to spend several days sunning on the beach (or rather the multiple beaches--you can walk to several in either direction). Unfortunately, the weather immediately turned and started raining. We did get into our swimsuits, but it was way too cold to last long.

I would recommend Nerja as a destination, however. Despite the weather we enjoyed wandering and watching the scene (primarily couples or families from Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands, with a healthy sampling of aging British expats). The food is plentiful and decent, the drinks flowing. We´re planning to try to make it to another beach town (one on the Costa Blanca) in a few days, once the weather improves.

Elese would like to let her friends and family know that she´s nearly over her cold and having a very nice time. We´re both excited to be in Granada, and will be touring the Alhambra tomorrow.