Ronda

Mel and I went up to the town of Ronda last night. When I say "up", I mean it. The town is about an hour from where we are staying. Most of that trip is up into the mountains. According to the Lonely Planet, it has an elevation of 725 metres. It´s a cliff-top town so you get some awesome views out over the plains. Ronda also has the oldest remaining bull ring...frequented by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles. One presumes that they were just spectators! There are some lovey buildings but, apart from the view, the most spectacular thing to see is the Puente Nuevo (new bridge?) completed in 1793. This spans a gorge and connects the old town and the new.

It´s a very different place from Arcos de la Frontera was despite being another hilltop town. Arcos only has an elevation of 185 metres so the views from Ronda are that much better. Arcos had lovely little winding streets that don´t happen to nearly the same extent in Ronda. Ronda also feels much bigger but the population is quite similar. I guess that might just be the layout of the place.

We had a pleasant meal. Mel had some Partridge that just fell off the bone. I had some rather nice Cod. Our vegetables were over-cooked. We understand that this is quiet common in Andalucia (all over Spain?). A bit of a shame as the fresh fruit and vegetables are great. Apparently you can get Tamarillos here. We went looking the other day but they´d sold out. I wanted to introduce Mel to them as she´s never heard of them. Tamarillos are also know as Tree Tomatoes. They are a fruit that has some simularities with a passionfruit except they can be a bit tart. Lovely with a little bit of sugar. Just halve them and dig out the contents...yummy. Maybe we´ll find some before we leave Spain.