Ronda

This past Friday, CEA took us on a day trip to Ronda, which is situated about 100 klicks away from Málaga and close to a two and a half hour drive from Seville. I learned on Wikipedia that Ronda is a sister city of Chefchaouen in Morocco, which I wrote about a couple weeks ago. Our journey took us through a lot of mountains, and unlike in Morocco, we didn't feel sick or like we were going to fall off the side of the road. It was a fun ride: we learned that Aranoa (our student services coordinator) has a nice Jewish boy who lives in New Jersey whom she met when he was studying in Spain, and that Steven (our campus director) likes to take pictures of sleeping CEA staff members.

When we first arrived in Ronda, we were unimpressed. It looked just like a smaller version of Sevilla, except that the roads were hilly instead of flat. Realizing that we weren't eating lunch for at least two and a half hours did not help our moods. We did met up with CEA Granada at the bus stop, which was cool. After about 15 minutes, we met our guides and split into two groups: 1 Spanish-speaking guide, 1 English-speaking guide. I went with the Spanish guide, who took us through the city streets while explaining stuff about Ronda that I can't remember.

After our first stop, the mood of the day completely changed. Our guide took us to El Tajo, which is the gigantic gorge carved by the Rio Guadalevín over thousands of years. It's Ronda's version of the Grand Canyon. It splits the city in two and is the location of Ronda's three famous bridges: Puente Nuevo (only just finished...in 1793), the Puente Viejo (aka Puente Arabe), and the Puente Romano. The Puente Nuevo rises about 120 meters from the canyon floor. It was a stunning sight. Our guide also pointed out the steps that the Arabs built so they could gather water from the river.

Portraits in Front of El Tajo

We paused so we could take a million photos, and then made our way across the Puente Arabe and toward the Arab baths. Our guide likened them to a country club in the US, where people would go to talk before and after doing their religious cleansing of hands, feet, and face. We watched a short animated video, but I don't remember any of it...it was in Spanish and the room was dark, and so I kept nodding off.

Crossing the Arab Bridge

Continuing on through the city, we paused at various locations to learn a little of the history. We stopped at this one church that used to be a mosque, like the cathedral in Seville. He told us that before the main Plaza de Toros was constructed, bullfights used to be held in the plaza we were sitting in, and that people would use the floors of the church as "club box seats."

Our next stop was at the house of Juan Bosco. The walls were beautifully decorated and it was filled with art. Then we went upstairs where there was a bay window. Hemingway and Orson Welles both lived in Ronda, as did a number of Spanish poets. Looking out, it was easy to see why. We went out into the garden to take in a better view. Straight down the cliff face you could see a beautiful countryside with groves, forests, plains and little houses. In the distance were the mountains. To the right was a giant cliff face and the Puente Romano. There was a light wind on our faces and there was just the right amount of sun. We spent some time just staring out in silence. It was great. If I had the desire to be a writer, I would go back and spend a summer in Ronda. I'd probably get a lot better.

View from Juan Bosco's

After that we made our way to the Plaza de Toros, which is the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain. It's still used, though not as frequently as those in Sevilla. He took us through the stages before a bullfight. Apparently, there are always nine bulls brought to every fight. First they are placed in the corral where they are judged...the six bravest looking go on to fight and die. The others are there just in case the bull gets timid all of a sudden before going into the ring. I thought it was interesting to find that the timid ones are spared and the brave ones go to the ring. He showed us the bullpen where the bulls are kept before their turn. It's a fairly dark area, which is why when the bull goes out into the ring into the lights, he always comes out with his head down.

Then we went out into the actual ring, where he told us how it's one of the only bull ring that has completely covered seating. It was interesting to be out there and looking around. He showed us the emergency hiding spots for people in case the bull jumps out of the ring into the area between the ring and the seats (which apparently happens more frequently than one would hope/think).

Minaret/Bell Tower on the Left, Box Seats on the Right

We had our free lunch in a nearby restaurant (chicken, yay...and ice cream for dessert), before heading out into the town. It was a nice, quiet place--less busy than Seville. A few of us had coffee while others shopped. At one point, a ton of schoolchildren started running through the city with things to hold change. Apparently they were having a small contest to see who could collect the most. It was cute when they would try to speak English (and their English wasn't bad). After that we went back to the cliff to hang out by the view before heading home. All in all a great trip.