We left for Ronda late in the morning, intending to stop at Zahara de la Sierra for a while first. At about 11:30am, we saw Zahara, across a large lake, clinging to a hillside. Spanish towns are quite often built on hillsides, but this one on a hill and with a large lake at the bottom. We pulled over on the other side of the bridge to take some photos, then again just after we reached the foot of the town, where they had a nice overlook. We drove up into the town, but Consuelo didnt want to go very far, since the road was fairly narrow and the turns were pretty sharp. We parked in a spot designed for tourist and started walking uphill. The streets were usually pretty small, but the overlooks were awesome. After wed wandered around a bit, we went back to the car and continued to Ronda.
We got to Ronda a little after 2pm, but since we werent sure of the directions to the apartment, we stopped at the first free spot. Wed booked a two bedroom apartment for the night on Calle Granada in Ronda. We finally found it, but the
PIN theyd provided didnt work. When we tried to call the number, there was no answer. Finally, Consuelo got through and they apologized and told us the The apartment was on the 2nd floor, American 2nd floor, and it was quite large and nicely appointed. There was a living room with a TV, two nice large bedrooms with double or beds, a nicely equipped bathroom with an awesome shower, and a kitchen. The kitchen had all the normal stuff, plus a good many supplies along with sodas, wine, and beer. There was a sign on the refrigerator stating the prices for drinks and food.
After settling in, we went out to see Ronda. Besides a number of old churches and other buildings, there two old bridges, the new one, which was built in 1793, and the old one built in 1616. Both bridges were awesome, with some beautiful view from them. The new bridge allowed cars to cross and the old one didnt. There was also another bridge, but it was nothing special. At almost 4pm, we ate lunch at a cafeteria. I had a tortilla, Antonio had meatballs with fries, and the girls each
had a salad. Afterwards we wandered down to the old bridge, walked down to the Arabic baths, the back up to the castle. Once back to the town, we decided to check out the balconies that were famous for hanging out over the gorge. They were called Balcones O Cono, because people who went out on them and looked down would say oh shit, or something a little cruder in Spanish. They were pretty scary!
About then, my camera gave out, saying that there was not enough space, so I didnt get any more photos until the next day when we were returning. I finally cleared out enough space to make it work. We ate dinner in Ronda that night, but I dont remember where. We returned to our apartment late that night, then packed up and checked out. We did a bit more sightseeing in Ronda before heading home, stopping at Setenil de las Bodegas, a pretty famous town dug out of the mountain. It had a good number of houses, and bars and restaurants, dug into the rocks, with a big overhang. It was quite impressive. We drove up into the down, found a parking space, and
started walking around. The first place we went was the Cueva Alta, supposedly the deepest cave in Setenil. It was a small cafe and a gift shop. It also had a small fountain where you could toss a coin for your love. I bought a thimble here, and of course the other two towns wed been in, and move continued on.
After walking a bit, checking out the overlooks, we went back down below to the cave lined street on the river/canyon for lunch. We each ordered a dish that was either a skewer or a croquetta. Mine was a bit crunchy, so Antonio traded his skewer with me. The lunch was quite good. After lunch, we walked back to the car and headed back to Chipiona.
