Really Ronda

Despite a few hiccups with the rental, we made it to Ronda in one piece.

The countryside was once again just lovely. I sprang up in excited surprise every time we would pass a castle or a ruin. J lost count of how many times I squealed, “There’s another one!”

Then we pulled into the little town of Ronda, a white-washed village high on the cliffs with a deep gorge slicing down the middle. I was stoked to jump out and explore every inch of this paradise….but we had to park the car. And that turned out to be quite a challenge due to the insane amount of people EVERYWHERE. We finally found a lot and parked without running over any pedestrians or going the wrong way down all the one-way streets and checked into our place. Wow! Our patio looked straight the gorge!

We couldn’t wait to get out and about. We headed across the Puente Nuevo, the “new bridge,” to poke around the “old” city. I lol’ed all over the place when I realized the “new” bridge was built in the 1700’s! But the “old” bridge went back to the days of Moorish rule, possibly even Roman times, so I guess it’s all relative. 

New or not, the bridge is beautiful. It spans the Tajo gorge and is just under 100 meters from the river below. Being American, I had to convert that – over 300 feet yall! Great views, of course, of the valley below and much of the city. Once in the old city, we found walls still erect that we could clamber about on. The remains of the castle still stood quite tall and a church steeple rose high to complete the skyline.

I tried to keep my jaw off the ground as I gaped at everything around me. The town might have modernized as the years passed but it was basically still a little medieval village! We found our way down the hill to a cool little restaurant where we enjoyed a cerveza and people-watched while waiting for a table. We headed to bed pretty early (especially by Spanish standards!) to rest up for our next adventure…

VIA FERRATTA!! It’s not even our anniversary and J tried to kill me. We met our guide that next morning and geared up with helmets and harnesses. Routes have been placed up the cliffs: metal rungs that make it look like a ladder running up the cliff wall. The sport of via ferrata is like rock climbing; clip into the cable and climb the ladder. Easy enough….

Sort of. It wasn’t bad but still a bit nerve-wracking when you’re clinging to the side of a cliff, way high, with just your trust in the rung and your cable. But it was super fun – we hiked to the bottom of el Tajo, under the puente nuevo, and climbed up. After surviving that, we hiked along the bottom of the gorge, next to the river, and got a very different perspective.

I thought our day was done but when we piled back in the car with our guide, Ivan, we headed out of the city….? Oh no! We’re being kidna– wait, nope, just to a neighboring village to climb a second route. This one was a bit harder and included a monkey brjdge!!

Such a thrill!! Afterward, we gathered around a table at the little local bar of this tiny village. There were 5 of us: our guide Ivan, his lady Sophia, and another woman that joined us for the 2nd climb. Beers, snacks, a shared plate of a potato salad-type dish and we had ourselves a true local experience. I almost waved to the group of old men on the patio as we left.

I didn’t think the day could get any better, but after freshening up, we explored the nooks and crannies of the old town a bit more. Many of the old streets can’t accommodate cars and we found some surprises tucked into some back alleys: churches, towers, walls, etc. We crossed the old bridge by lamplight and looked down on the ancient Arab baths. This place was magical!

Back up on the new bridge, hungry and near-bursting with the overdose of excitement crammed into the day, we paused to look down into the gorge again. Then J did the only possible thing that could out-do all the rest.

He proposed.

All I could say was really?!