Sunday, January 27, 2013

Ronda

Good afternoon/morning/evening, depending on your location! Yesterday, Saturday, we went on a day-long excursion to a most spectacular city, Ronda. Located just two hours west of Granada, Ronda is an ancient city built atop a steep mountain, which is divided up by vegetation-covered gorges; light bluish-green water flows through these massive crevices. Connecting the various sectors of Ronda are towering stone bridges, which Ronda is the known for more than anything else. The bridges are in every sense breathtaking. The light-colored stone is perfect in contrast with the vibrant plants that cascade down the gorges. The variety of plants, too, was equally impressive. Fir trees lined the top of the gorge, intermixed with palm trees and small shrubbery. Moss, vines, and cacti consumed the gorge itself. My descriptions certainly cannot come close to explaining this magnificent place, so take a look at a few pictures (which also fail to do Ronda the justice it deserves... but this will have to suffice).
Bridge! Big bridge!

The city of Ronda was a mix of modern, classic Europe, and ancient times. In many of the city plazas, frozen yogurt shops could be spotted, while just outside cobblestone roads surrounded large metal fountains. The roads were even narrower than in Granada, and they cut up and down the sides of the mountain. Homes, palaces, and churches were built on the mountain's edges -- cliff-dwelling at it's finest. From these dwellings the view was beautiful (obviously). Surrounding Ronda is countryside, rivers, and mountains in the distance. The land was plowed and covered in short grass or olive trees. Small cottages were scattered about, usually beside the rivers flowing from Ronda. The surrounding mountains were quite similar to Ronda's, as the rocks were lightly colored and small notches of caves could be spotted, after staring for a good bit, of course.

Ronda, like the entire Andalucía region of Spain, was once ruled by Arabs, greatly influencing the architecture and culture. In Granada, many of today's churches are actually ancient mosques with a bell tower installed on top. In Ronda, remnants of the Arab conquest were evident in the small palaces (now museums), as the walls are covered in mosaic tiles, the courtyards have tall arches and columns, and doorways are curved with a point at the top. Also, on the edge of the mountain Ronda houses several Arab baths, which are made of dark stone and have small decorative stars cut out of the ceiling. Each bath had several rooms, one for steaming, one for relaxing at a medium temperature, and one for cooling off.
 
In addition to the bridges, Ronda is extremely well-known for its bull ring. Huge, round, and painted all white, the exterior definitely does not give any indication as to the majesty of its contents. Inside, the ring is massive and covered in orange sand. Several tiers of seats encompass the ring. Each bleacher has seat number painted on in a decorative fashion (each number is within a blue and red square). The bleachers are supported by Moorish columns, too, and painted white. Picture time!
 
After our tour, we had free time to just wander about. It's hard to get lost in Ronda -- if all else fails, just walk up, and eventually you will hit the main square and bull ring. For lunch, my group decided to forego real food and instead splurge on churros con chocolate, which are as delicious as the sound. The churros here are simply thin rings of fried dough which diners then dip in cups of warm, melted chocolate. Yummy indeed.
 
The bus trip across the countryside back to Granada is beautiful, and looks almost like pictures U have seen of Ireland. This trip really took it out of me, so I slept most of the way back. I did manage to wake up in time to see the moon (which looked just about full) rising above a stone-covered mountain. The moon was yellow, and the craters were exceptionally visible. Beautiful.

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