Ronda, Spain
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Next stop,
Ronda... Even the journey there was worth the trip. We took a bus through the Sierra Nevada which stopped in the surrounding Pueblo Blancos or white villages. These beautiful little towns seem like they belong in a fantasy book, set in their tranquility amongst the mountain country side. We finally arrived in
Ronda and found a place to stay. While we expected it to be a small little town like the other white villages, it turned out to be more of a city with tourists everywhere. Probably the most touristy place we´ve been so far on our trip. You could see all the ENglish, German and Polish day trippers from the coast, polishing off their way too expensive meals and wandering through the cobble streets. Definitely a change of pace from the more youthful vibes of Cadiz. We ended up seeing the magnificent Moorish arches and hiked down a deep gorge to the ruins of a village, enveloped in trees and shrubbery. Still, the whole town was intact with that old flavor, including Arabian baths and monuments dedicated to the rulers of this once prosperous kingdom
. We would´ve hiked the aqueduct, but I finally got stricken with my first case of food poisoning. Note to self: Don´t eat salami that´s been sitting in your bag, no matter how short a time you can justify it will last. Heather grabbed me some water and let me sleep it off, while she ventured a bit more into the city. By nightfall, I felt better enough to go out to eat. We went to this amazing vegetarian restaurant and had lentil soup and this crazy vegetarian lasagna chockful with carots, sprouts, broccoli and cheese. Probably the most unique meal we´ve had since we´ve been here.
Definitely an experience, but after the rip off prices typical of tourist locations (other than our find), we were happy to head off, back into the city.
