Day Six – Ronda

     Wednesday March 7

     After breakfast, we drove up winding, windy back roads, climbing mountains through towns of Ojen, Monda, and Coin.  We stopped along the way for pictures and to absorb the beautiful vistas.

     Enroute we paused at a scenic overlook to enjoy the beautiful view.  Before us lay the town of Las Cuevas, situated in the midst of a diverse ecology.  The white buildings standout against the verdant hillside in the Sierra de las Nieves.  This cave pocked valley boasted an abundant water supply that hosted goat grazing and fed pine forests, cork, fig, and carob groves.  If you've never had a faux chocolate cake made from carob...you're lucky.

     We drove on and twisted and turned our way through beautiful small towns and villages, such as Monda, seen above, and stopped for a short walking tour of Coin, (pronounced Ko - een).  During my entire vacation I was impressed by the extra attention and care paid to doorways and entrances.

     The attention paid to detail in even the most modest of homes is impressive.  From marble foyer floors to tile work on the walls inside to the doors themselves, were all attention grabbers wherever we went.

     Churches are a showcase for the delicate touch of craftsmen.

The view above would certainly be a nice 'welcome home'.

     After climbing through wind, rain, and fog, and rolling back down the other side of the mountains, we pulled into the typically twisty Spanish streets of Ronda.  The rain had ended and the sun was retuning as we parked in city Centro. 

     We headed for the ‘new’ bridge’- dating back to the 18^th century - spanning the spectacular El Tajo gorge and river Guadalevin, over 300 feet below.

     Our stroll through town brought us to this Ham Store.  Not honey baked or spiral cut.  Rather, aged one to four years, thin sliced, and quite pricey.  Import an 18 pounder for about $200.

      Serrano ham, or jamon serrano ("mountain ham"), is considered by many to be the finest ham in the world.  Said to be less salty than prosciutto, more flavorful than Virginia ham, serrano is served for tapas or diced for use in soups and stews.

     Above, you see the entrance to the bull ring.  Bull fighting is as popular in Spain as the NFL is in the USA, and Ronda is an ‘NFL’ town.  Instead of Sunday football games, here they watch Sunday bullfights. 

     It was in Ronda some one hundred fifty years ago that Pero (Pedro?) Romero abandoned tradition, and his horse, and faced his beefy opponents on foot.  The season runs March through September.  I don’t know if they have a SuperBull, (sorry). 

     Not ironically, we ended up at Dona Pepe, a bullfighting themed restaurant with beautiful tile work and dozens of photographs on the walls of torero’s, ticket stubs from classic bullfights, posters of major events, and one fierce looking stuffed bull mounted on the wall. 

 Great food, too!

 And that's no bull!

Returning to Marbella, Alayna took this shot looking down toward the Mediterranean Sea.