Spain - Ronda

I spent two nights in Ronda, a quaint “white hill town” as they advertise them here. I was expecting something a bit more like Greece in terms of the white buildings where they beautifully contrast with the blue Mediterranean, but nevertheless, the white facades in Ronda did give a nice effect. Ronda is inland from the coast, but there were really nice views of the valleys and surrounding mountains at sunset.

The main draw is the Puente Nuevo, a stone bridge over a steep gorge that was built in 1793. It joins the old Moorish quarter with the newer Mercadillo quarter and it does seem quite a feat of engineering for the time. Ronda also has the oldest Spanish bullring, but I chose not to take a tour. The appeal of Ronda is really just the combination of architecture, views of the surrounding hills, locals hanging out in the squares, and outdoor restaurants that make it a comfortable place to spend a day or two.

I also took the opportunity to browse through the summer sale racks and got some great deals at United Colours of Benetton and a few lingerie stores. Add this to my purchases at Mango in Marbella, and for the overall price of 67 Euros (under $100), I now have 8 new tops, two pairs of underwear and a bra. Maybe TMI, but I am proud of the deals! :)

Unfortunately, I also got food poisoning in Ronda. The culprit is the gazpacho, which I had two nights in a row from different restaurants. I think most of the budget restaurants use a premade gazpacho from the same brand, because they tasted exactly the same. The first night, I had stomach cramps, and then the next day (thinking it had been the bolognese sauce, not the gazpacho) I ordered it again and had full blown food poisoning most of the evening, with stomach cramps lasting another 24 hours. Not fun! I am grateful though that I am traveling by myself (so as not to impact anyone else) and had a flexible schedule, so I simply holed myself up in my hotel room, watched the Spanish voiceover version of shows like the Gilmore Girls, the OC, Dexter, and Desperate Housewives until 4am when I could fall asleep, and I took a later bus to Jerez on Wednesday.