Trip to Ronda, Spain...

Our first outing in the south of Spain was a drive to Ronda. We turned north from the beaches of Marbella and started our ascent to one of the most breathtaking towns I have ever seen. The road to Ronda was a very winding two lane road plagued by slow moving dump trucks and fast moving cars passing the trucks on the inside of every turn up the mountain. The road had random stretches of guardrails and short stonewalls, but nearly every one had a missing section or was seriously damaged. Neither this nor the steady rain seemed to put any concern into the minds of the passing drivers. The fact that we were traveling up a steeply graded road did not seem to slow anyone but us. Perhaps it was chorus of whimpers from his three passengers that made Dale slow to a crawling speed. I would have taken pity on the fact that Dale had to crawl along the mountain roads, obviously wanting to go faster, if I had not been so nervous myself!

We arrived to a village perched on the side of a cliff. The view was amazing. From the edge of the village you look down on crumbling walls, dirt roads, olive groves and abandoned stone ruins that made you imagine times past. We wandered the streets in the steady rain taking stock of the beautiful doors that decorated every building and home. There were no doors put on buildings simply for use. They all were strong, heavy beautifully made doors beautifully carved and nearly all carefully tended. The doors are one of my favorite things to look at in Spain.

Ronda is well known for the impressive bull ring built at the edge of town. Within the complex is a small museum and horse training center. We saw people working with horses, the bull ring and all the gates and ropes used on the day of a bullfight. To see a bullfight must be a statement to society as well because the cheapest tickets to be had were 50 euros per person. We had to settle for sitting in an empty bullring, but even that was fun.