Ronda we all look the same

When we lived in Manila we would get out of the city at least once every 6 weeks, sometimes more often.  Since we’ve moved to Andalucia we haven’t really ventured very far from home at all.  Living in Manila could be quite stifling at times – the heat, the traffic, the pollution, the noise – meaning that a periodic escape was all but necessary to recharge.  Living where we do in Andalucia doesn’t create that same necessity to escape for a recharge.  We are very lucky.  But sometimes it’s nice to explore your surrounding area regardless.

This past weekend, that’s what we decided to do.

The weather on Sunday was beautiful – not a cloud in the sky, with temperatures nudging 20 degrees celcius near the coast.  Inland and at a higher altitude the temperatures were closer to 10 degrees, but the skies were still clear.

The journey to Ronda, via the A357 past Cartama, took just over an hour and a half.  We approached Ronda from the ‘new’ side, but by following signs to ‘Centro urbano’ we crossed the famous bridge (Puente Nuevo) and entered the old town.  After a few tight squeezes down narrow streets we found some parking bang in the middle of the old town (near Plaza Duquesa de Parcent).

Our first stop, as is often the case with a little person (she only has a little tummy so needs to eat often to keep fueled up), was a cafe on Plaza Duquesa de Parcent.  The setting was lovely, the cafe standard.

Photo of Puente Nuevo in Ronda taken from below

We then wandered around the old town, aiming towards the famous bridge.  Our walk took us down pretty little paved streets (a bumpy ride for the little person in her pram) with great views over the Andalucian landscape whenever we popped out of the built up area.  A fun walk.  With lots of photo opportunities, especially of doors.  More of our photos are on my Flickr page.

We discovered that the bridge is best seen from below; there are very few good vantage points in the town.  We saw a few people walking down the rather steep track to the better vantage point, but we decided to drive.  The road, if you can call it that, was very narrow and steep and looked like it had been built a long time ago.  Still, we managed to get down and more impressively we managed to get back up as well.

All in all a lovely day out.

We drove back a different way – on the A397 towards Estepona and then onto the A7 back to Arroyo de la Miel.  It took roughly the same amount of time as our journey to Ronda but was a bit more of a windy road.

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