Water Under the Bridge: Ronda
After my family left town, I found myself with a free weekend, so my friend Chantelle and I planned a day trip to the nearby pueblo of Ronda. We took the bus in the morning and spent most of the day exploring the beautiful city before taking the bus back to Seville in the early evening.
Ronda and the surrounding areas have been populated since the Neolithic Age, and the area has been called home by peoples from the Celts, to the Phoenicians, to the Visigoths, to the Arabs. When I was doing some research before our trip, I actually discovered that the Moroccan city of Chefchaouen (which I had visited just a few days prior) is actually one of Ronda’s “sister cities”!
The town’s layout is interesting because it is situated on both sides of the Tajo Canyon, created by the Río Guadalevín. Ronda’s most notable landmark is the Puente Nuevo (“The New Bridge”). The Puente Nuevo, built between 1751 and 1793, replaced the Puente Viejo (“The Old Bridge”), which was completed in 1616. The Puente Nuevo is the tallest of the bridges that span the gorge, and is very impressive.
In addition to the Puente Nuevo and the Puente Viejo, possibly the town’s most interesting features are its beautiful lookout points. We picked up a free map from the tourist information office, and the map had icons denoting where the best views are, and they certainly were impressive!
We also visited the 13th- and 14th- century Arab baths, which are some of the best preserved baths in this region of Spain.
We stopped by Ronda’s Plaza de España, which is famous for being the location of historical events that inspired a passage in Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. I’ll be honest and admit that I have not read this book, but when I was researching Ronda, I learned that during the Spanish Civil War, political dissidents were beaten in the Plaza and sometimes thrown off the bridge into the gorge below. This actually occurred in Ronda, and Hemingway included a fictionalized version of these events in his novel. Interesting!(?)
One of my favorite places we visited was the Casa del Rey Moro. Despite the name (“The House of the Moorish King”), no Moorish King ever lived there. The house was built in the 18th century (long after the Reconquista), and its gardens are even more recent–built in the early 20th century. However, they are modeled after the Mudéjar style. Unfortunately, the house itself is currently undergoing renovations, so we weren’t able to go inside, but we did enjoy the gardens. The other interesting part of the Casa del Rey Moro is the “Secret Mine”. 300 steps go down from the gardens to the river below at the bottom of the gorge! These steps actually were built by the Moors, and were used as a way to fetch water when the city was under attack by the Christians. The steps were also the point where the Christians forced entry into Ronda in 1485. The staircase was restored and reopened in 1911, but is still pretty steep, dark, and slippery at places. However, the views at the bottom of the gorge are worth the trip.
Some other things we saw in Ronda included the Arch of Philip IV, the Alameda del Tajo, the old city walls and gates, as well as the Plaza de Toros. We also had plenty of time to enjoy coffee and desserts. It was a very fun trip, and a beautiful town that I would highly recommend.
And with that, I think I am finally caught up with posting about my latest trips outside of Sevilla! ¡Hasta pronto!
kelseygoestospain 