Romantic Ronda!

My Uncle Scott, Aunt Sandra, & cousin McKenna (15) have come to Spain to visit me and see the wonders of everything Spanish!  I have been over the moon with excitement to see them and to be able to travel around with them for a little while!  They arrived on Saturday, and I took a bus down to the coast of Malaga to meet them there.  They rented a car and picked me up as soon as they got off the plane!  We went together to their resort in Mijas Costa on the southern coast of Spain.  All in all, the journey from Ecija (where I live) to Mijas Costa took me about 6 hours!  And this is all in the same province of Spain called Andalusia!  Spain is really a very big country and much bigger that I realized at first!

We all had dinner together at a restaurant right on the water.  The sunset was very pretty over the Mediterranean waters and I was so joyful to be reunited with my family!  My uncle ordered fish that was cooked in salt that was at least 2 inches thick covering the entire fish.  When it was done cooking, the waitress brought it out while it was still completely encased in salt.  She broke off the salt with a spoon and the entire fish, head and all, was inside!  She said that this was a very natural and healthy to prepare the fish.  It was very fascinating!!  After dinner we went back to the resort where my aunt & uncle when straight to bed; they had been up for over 36 hours!  McKenna and I went to a little grocery store nearby and stayed up a little later catching up on what had been going on in our lives.  I am the oldest cousin on my Mom's side of the family & she is the youngest.  I am so lucky to have her  : )


The next morning we drove to Ronda, Spain!  It was at least an hour drive up through the arid mountains that are dotted with pine trees.  Some of the mountain tops are capped with limestone where no vegetation grow.  It was so different than anything I have ever seen!!  I was entranced by the changing landscape as we wound around the mountain.  We climbed higher and higher until we reached Ronda, a true city on the hill.  The city and culture is a mix of Roman, Arabic, and Spanish influences, making the city so intricate and historically rich.  The city is absolutely spectacular with incredible views

 The weather was absolutely perfect!  The warmth of the sunshine mixed with a cool mountain breeze that made exploring the city even more fun.  We ate at an outdoor cafe on the plaza and absorbed just as much sun as we did food.  I had the most delicious pizza I have ever had!  The pizza here is made in true Italian fashion with very thin crust, which I love!  I ate the whole pizza by myself!

 Ronda is the country's biggest bullfighting city, complete with the oldest bull ring.  It is the dream of all matadores to fight in the ring here.  As exciting as a bullfight sounds, I could never handle one.  The matador throws arrow like daggers into the bull's back and continues to taunt him as he bleeds out and  weakens before finally killing him.  It's basically just drawn out torture and the bull really doesn't stand a chance because he's too distracted by the big wavering flag and believes the waving fabric is what he  should charge at.  Before knowing all the details I had briefly contemplated viewing one to take in the full Spanish culture.  But after seeing bloody postcards of tortured bulls I am most certain that I would absolutely hate it.  Nonetheless, this longstanding tradition adds a deep cultural richness to the town and the bulls are absolutely magnificent creatures.

The architecture and style of the city was really beautiful.  Here are some of pictures of buildings in the city...

We spent the day wandering around and exploring the city in the sun.  I loved going into all the little shops and picking out postcards.  You can learn so much about a culture based on what they sell in the little tourist shops.  It's so interesting to see what the country promotes as wanting to be remembered for.  Flamenco dresses are sold in every shop, which is a special kind of dance that embodies everything that is Spanish into an art form.  I really want to see a grand performance soon!  Little Silvia, the girl I look after, takes flamenco lessons already and she is only 3!

I bought an original painting in Ronda that I am absolutely in love with!  I only paid about $30 for it!!  I have it set up on my desk, and I look at it all the time!  It's a 14 x 16 canvas that depicts Spanish style white houses that sit on the coast with flowers overflowing from the window sills.  There's a little row boat on the sand and two sailboats in the distance with the mountains cascading into the sea.  I'll try to take a picture of it and post it to the blog soon!

Yet, the most historical landmark of Ronda is the bridge that connects the old part of town to the new section that spans 390 feet above a canyon.  Construction on the bridge began in 1751 and took 42 years to complete!  I've never seen anything like it!  It is truly spectacular!

This picture is a better angle than the ones I have (taken from the internet)

But I took this one!! (Probably one of my favorite pictures of all time!)

We left Ronda around 6 and headed back down the mountain.  We stopped at Marbella, a famous Mediterranean coastal town and had dinner there.  We walked around a both the closed downtown and marina before heading back to the resort.  It was truly a wonderful day, and I am SO blessed to be able to share this amazing experience with my family in Spain!!!