Tag: Ronda

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An Andalusian Adventure – day 7

The rain in Spain …

… falls mainly on the Hap-pea travellers.

It began last night, when we were in bed in Ronda, and then thunder started to rumble. The thunder claps were immense, loud and long, and after the roar you could hear the heavy rain falling outside. We had a bus to catch at 10 am, to take us to Malaga, and we arrived at the bus station cold, wet and bedraggled. But the bus was warm and on time,and we set off in pouring rain, happy to be leaving Ronda, although we both had loved the city.

The rain continued to pour, and we saw gullys flowing with muddy water alongside the road. We were in the middle of a major weather system.

The further we went, the bigger those streams became, until they were torrents of muddy water, sweeping through the fields, and occasionally spilling onto the road.

And then we came to a halt, at the back of a long line of traffic. We weren’t moving forward, nothing was coming the other way. It all seemed a bit ominous. And the rain continued to fall. A police car passed us, travelling on the (empty) wrong side of the road, and 5 minutes later, a stream of vehicles passed us travelling in the other direction. Then we edged forward, and stopped. Then started, and stopped. Eventually we reached the front of the queue and the reason for our delay became apparent …

An hour later than expected, we rolled into Malaga bus station, relieved to be at our destination. At no time did we feel in danger, and it was a bit of an adventure, but it was an “edge of your seat” journey, rather than the planned relaxing passage through the mountainous countryside, marvelling at the scenery.

And still it rained – no longer heavy rain, but rain non-the-less, as we made our way to the train station, and then onto Benalmadena.

We dropped our bags in our hotel for the night and, as the rain had finally stopped – or so we thought – we headed out to have a quick look round in case the rain returned, as forecast.

We’d not gone one hundred metres when the rain drops began to fall. With umbrellas up, we pressed on but if truth be told, a little dis-spirited, we’d have both happily headed back to the UK at this point.

We reached the sea front and sky began to brighten

And before long we were sat having a coffee in the sunshine, and shedding the multitude of layers we’d been wearing since arriving in chilly Ronda two days ago.

We wandered up the sea front – it was clear Benalmadena had also taken a hammering in the recent rains – enjoying the change in temperature, light and sense of well-being. Reaching the habour, we turned and re-traced our steps, all the time growing in appreciation of this seaside town, glad we hadn’t already gone home, and glad that our final memories of our Andalusian adventure would be made warmed by the sun and against the background of blue sky.

We sat outside for our last supper, as day became night, becoming bewitched by beautiful Benalmadena.

Adios , Andalusia. Gracias, y hasta luego.

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An Andalusian Adventure – day 6

It wasn’t meant to be like this

Sitting down to write my blog each evening is a good thing: it provides a record for me to read and re-live our adventures when we’re back at home, it might provide you, dear reader, an insight into- and possibly some inspiration? – to our travels, and it forces me to gather my thoughts, and reflect back on what we have done. A today, that is, perhaps, particularly important.

Its been cold, unseasonably cold, and this evening it has rained, and it would be easy for this – like the leaden grey colds in the sky – overshadow the day. But despite it being only 9 degrees when we left the apartment at 9 am, and edged its way up to a “high” of 12 degrees by 2 pm, we’ve seen and done a lot.

It began (after breakfast of tostada con tomate, of course!) we headed up to see a bit of street art we had spotted yesterday from our bus as we drove into the city:

And then, across the wall, was a collection painted on a wall alongside a busy road:

A selection of them individually:

After the modern, it was back to the old. We went to the Casa del Ray Moro (House of the Moorish King) (10 euros each) in the main so we could see the “water mine” and descend to a platform on the river. We descended 169 feet, on stone stairs in an old tower/shaft

and emerged onto a small platform on the river. It was picturesque and I would have said peaceful but we were visiting at the same time as a French couple (no problem) and three Americans. Problem. They did not stop talking, and they have no volume control. I couldn’t help but hear, in detail, about one of their’s difficulties in getting a visa. Self-awareness? Nada.

We ascended all 200 ish stairs back to the top, and then continued our ambles, taking in the ambience of this beautiful city. After lunch, the cold was beginning to seep into our bones, and curtailed our rambles. Back at the apartment, I snuck in a siesta, before we headed out back into the gathering gloom, and cold. We found somewhere to eat – inside! – and whilst we ate, rain began to fall. We lingered a little longer, ordering coffee, and timed our exit well – the rain had stopped, so we headed to see the bridge lit up, and grab a couple of photos.

We didn’t loiter, as more rain was forecast, and it duly arrived when we were a few minutes from home. Even the Ale Hop cow needed an umbrella!

A damp, cold end to the day, but looking back, we’ve done a lot. Good job I’ve blogged about it to jog my memory.

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An Andalusian Adventure – day 5

All change!

Today we moved from Nerja to Ronda – two bus journeys: Nerja to Malaga, then Malaga to Ronda, and a huge change in scenery and temperature. We woke to blue skies in Nerja and, although a little chilly as we headed out of our apartment at 9 am, it was warm in the sunshine, and by the time we arrived in Malaga and had a coffee between busses, we were once again basking in the sunshine. We then headed about 100 km north-east to Ronda, enjoying the scenery of the mountains on our two hour bus journey, and we’ve enjoyed everything about the town, except for the temperature – es un poco frio (a bit cold!) The long trousers have been on, along with fleeces, gillets and snoods! It was about 12 degrees when we arrived mid afternoon, and had fallen to about 9 degrees once the sun had set and we sat outside to dine! (It must be said, however, the food was fantastic – the best of the trip – and we were sat by an outdoor heater)

But it has been worth the low temperatures – Ronda is fantastic. You come for the bridge – the iconic new bridge , completed in 1793 – but for me it has been the breathtaking scenery of the Sierra de las Nieves national park that can be seen from this cliff top town that has been the highlight.

We crossed the new bridge, and then walked the path down from the town so you could look back up at the bridge, and then climbed our way back up the path – quite the ascent, we were shedding layers and reached the top in just our T-shirts! – before crossing back into the town via the old bridge and meandering our way along the most picturesque paths over looking the river gorge below.

We found a public park with a walk way that skirted the edge of the enormous rock formation on which Ronda sits and had our breath taken by the views across the plain to the distant mountains.

But that’s not all the city has to offer. It is the “birthplace” of modern bullfighting (to be fair, not something I’d personally be proud of) with a bullring we may explore tomorrow

and some street art we spotted as we drove in on the bus. We went back to find two of the pieces (at the bus station, where we got off the bus) and there are a few more we may seek out tomorrow.

Given that we’ve spent about 3 and a half hours on busses, we seem to have had a busy day, walked far and seen a lot. Ronda has impressed on many levels.