Málaga, Spain: Quick Look @ Ronda

We love Málaga.

Though we still had places to explore in this charming city, and a sidewalk café near the Central Market where we like to have tapas al fresco, we decided a change of pace would be appropriate for what was our third time in Málaga.

Thus, we booked a small group public tour through Spain Day Tours that took us further afield … first to Ronda; then to Mijas.

With the prime berth — right in front of the terminal — given to Celebrity Beyond, we had to take a shuttle from Oosterdam to the terminal. The meeting time for the group was set between 8:15a and 8:29a. We had strict instructions from Spain Day Tours stating that they leave exactly at 8:30a. So, we were on the 8:00a shuttle to give ourselves plenty of leeway. As it turns out, it was our guide Enrique who delayed our departure by 10 minutes, not the tour participants.

The 65-mile drive to Ronda takes 1.5 hours. Our drive through the Andalusian countryside took more like 2 hours … primarily due to a 20-minute bathroom and refreshment break at Mesón de Diego, which I thought was a bit of an overkill considering the distance.

Ronda is a town in the mountains. It is perhaps best known for its cliffside location, split into two by the 390-foot deep Tajo Gorge … through which Rio Guadalevin runs. The town is also part of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park, which makes it all the more special. Though there is indication of prehistoric settlements in the area, Ronda was first settled by the Celts in the 6th century BC. A number of other cultures replaced them over the centuries, including the Moors. Finally, the Spaniards permanently conquered the town.

I first became aware of Ronda when Mui and I took a Spanish class in the late 1990s. One of our assignments was to pick a town and describe “our apartment” there. It was a picture of the town, sitting high behind Puente Nuevo [new bridge], that drew us to using the town for that exercise. I wanted to replicate that picture for myself today. Alas, we did not have time to cross over to the other side of the gorge to get the right perspective.

We arrived at the Ronda bus station at 10:49a. This was to be our drop off point, Enrique explained … just a short walk into the Old Town. We had just short of two hours to explore the town … not nearly enough for “slow travelers” that we are. C’est la vie.

Our fleet-footed stroll around Ronda started at Puerto Nuevo … “new” being a matter of perspective since the bridge dates back to 1751-1793. Then we got ourselves lost — on purpose — in the narrow, cobblestone back streets where we got away from the crowds to explore the nooks and crannies of Ronda. We walked along the Murallas de la Cuara, the fortified walls that follow the edge of the cliff, and where the Moors had established their medina. At the end of the path, we were rewarded with fantastic views of Ronda.

Our meandering path then took us back to the hubbub around Puente Nuevo, following streets that made for charming photo ops. There were several sites of interest along the way, but with our time short, we opted to skip going inside this time. We passed the bullring, wandered into a garden that I believe was part of the grounds of the nearby church, enjoyed Andalusian valley views from an overlook, and made it back to the bus station by 12:45p as requested … with a café-stop that was just long enough for Mui to grab an espresso at the bar.

A nice exploratory couple of hours that left Ronda on our “return-to-explore-further list.”Read more