Day 6: Ronda, Spain - Bulls, Bridges, Mines and the best view of the country side!

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Today we journey from Barcelona in the north to Ronda in the south. We woke up early in the morning around 4:00am to catch the N17 bus from Barcelona city centre to the airport. Then after our Vueling flight from Barcelona to Malaga, and a bus ride from Malaga to Ronda, we finally reach Ronda at around 12:00pm.



After settling into our hotel, Hotel Arunda II, we had lunch which included some delicious Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup. Then it was off to see the Ronda bullring!



The Ronda bullring or the Plaza de Toros, is one of the oldest and most revered bullrings in Spain. Although I don’t condone bullfighting, it was interesting to learn about the history of bullfighting and explore a typical bullring.



After the bullring, we wandered the many streets and alleyways of Ronda. We hiked down a hidden path to get a better viewpoint of the Puente Nuevo Bridge. The Puente Nuevo Bridge, is Ronda’s most striking feature. It runs over the El Tajo gorge that separates the city’s 15^th century new town from its old town, dating to Moorish rule.



While exploring the old town we discovered an underground Water Mine. The place was called the Palace of the Moorish King and the Water Mine. With further research we learned that The Palace of the Moorish King (aka The Casa del Rey Moro) was never the home of a Moorish King. It was built in the 18^th century after the Moors left Spain. The Palace does incorporate one genuine and important relic of Ronda’s Moorish occupation, the Water Mine.



In the 14^th century, during the war between the Moors and the Christians, the Moors used Christian captives as slaves. Ronda’s Moorish King, Abomelik order the cutting of steps into the stone wall of the gorge to enable the bringing of water from the rio Guadelevin below. Though intended as a secret, it must have been a pretty open one, since it was common knowledge among the Christians that "in Ronda you die carrying water skins".



Walking down the stairs to the water mine was a little nerve wracking. The steps are uneven, occasionally damp and slippery and in some places badly lit. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, we finally reached the bottom of the mine and were rewarded with a scene of undisturbed tranquillity. After a brief moment we realized that the only way out was to climb the stairs back up to the entrance of the mine.





When we finally got out of the mine, we headed to the nearby Cuenca gardens. We just arrived at the gardens before we had to leave since it was closing. So we wandered the streets some more before we headed back to our hotel. Tomorrow, we head off to Cordoba, to see the famous Mesquita, the Roman Bridge and the Alcazar.

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