Day 21: Exploring Ronda

Second day in the area and a good chance to check things out more closely. Had breakfast in our farmhouse around 9:30, then headed off to the nearby town of Arriate. It's a bit closer than Ronda though in a different direction. Very pretty but not quite as nice. Definitely not as touristy though! We found a parking space and just wandered around for a while, enjoying the quiet and the snapshots of small Spanish village life.

Lots of white houses with arched windows and orange terracotta roofing, the typical European three-storey buildings with apartments above shops, and of course the centuries-old church as the tallest building in town. After a good wander we returned to the car and pressed on.

Next stop was an ancient Roman theatre we'd read about, about 30 minutes drive out of Ronda. Off we went, up the long and winding road and with absolutely nobody around. We arrived to find the site closed and the gate locked, though we were at the end of a long road. With no cameras or people to be seen, and only a low fence stopping us, we clambered over and set off up the hill to the Roman theatre.

It was extremely impressive, probably 10 metres high and about 30 across, still with the amphitheatre seating intact as well. You could clearly make out the stage, the proscenium arch and the access points on either side for the crowd. Strikingly well-preserved! It was also epically situated on top of a high hill, very near the edge of a cliff. There were large piles of rubble around that were clearly remains of houses and the old Roman settlement. Not sure what the plan is, as the piles looked man-made and the site generally had only been "discovered" in the 19th century.

There was also the foundations and bases of Roman baths in a different part of the site which we had a good look at too. After an hour or so of looking we took our leave, and just in time as I spotted another car approached as we scaled the fence. Thankfully it wasn't police, just more tourists who only saw us on the correct side of the fence! Back into town we went.

This time rather than risk another scratch to the car we parked on the outskirts of Ronda and walked in, looking for somewhere to eat. Decided against quite a few places and ended up at the same tapas restaurant as the previous evening where the food was just as good second time round! The waiter recognised us as well and greeted us warmly. It's interesting to see here that waiters and hospitality workers are professionals, in a way that they aren't in Australia. Waiting tables and tending bars in Oz tends to be seen as a uni student or backpacker job, a stepping stone on the way to getting a "real job". Not here though!

Did some more looking around Ronda, though aside from touristy souvenir shops there isn't much else to see. Wandered along the clifftop walk for a while which ended abruptly in a locked gate - disappointing. Back to the car where we drove down a very rough and narrow track to the bottom of the bridge for a better look.

I should mention that the bridge is called the Puente Nuevo (literally New Bridge), and it's 98 metres high, 66 metres long and constructed entirely of stone between 1759 and 1793. You can probably guess it's called New Bridge because it replaced the old bridge which collapsed, killing 50 people. Apparently both sides of the Spanish civil war in the 30s used the room under the main walkway as a prison and torture chamber, where the final step usually involved plunging off the span into the rocks 100m below.

Great views from the bottom though! Seeing it from this perspective drove home how much earlier settlements depended on geography for their livelihoods and security - Ronda is built on a small sandstone plateau for natural defences, and the river flowing through the gorge drove mills and water wheels for agriculture.

Another long and bone-crunching drive back to the farmhouse (our car definitely isn't set up for bumpy roads!), and a quick pit stop at the supermarket for dinner. We just had some bread with jamon and olive oil for dinner as we'd had a large lunch. I sat in front of the fire and watched Champions League football (Barcelona vs PSG), while Shandos wrote and dozed.Read more