Day 6 - Benahavis and Ronda — Travelling bryans

We all had another deep sleep and dragged ourselves out of bed at 10am to get on the road to Ronda.

We popped to the local supermarket for pastry and juice to eat enroute. Today was my day for driving. Not sure why I picked Ronda as my chosen destination because it is set on the top of a mountain and in a deep gorge. Think winding road after winding road, hairpin bends, the white knuckles of Andrew …you get the picture? It was 21km of winding roads and I managed just under half before my co-driver’s (definitely not a passenger) nerves could stand no more. So we swapped!

The drive took us past some stunning scenery - green as far as you could see and the bluest skies.

We soon came to Ronda - a very nice town, quite big, with parks and wide open roads. We found a car park and set off on foot for the old town. We found a lovely shady park and walked around there and took some pictures of the gorge.

We walked past Plaza de Toros - one of Spain’s oldest bullrings. It is also the largest and most dangerous. We didn’t go in.

We were headed for the main attraction, and the reason that Ronda was on our list - Puente Nuevo - the New Bridge. It is the reason that Ronda has so many visitors and it’s easy to see why. It straddles the dramatic gorge and links the old and new towns. It is not actually new (built in 1759), but it replaced the Puente Viejo (the old bridge). You can still see the old bridge and the even older Roman Bridge.

We walked down a side road and were soon on the old bridge looking back at the new.

The issue with walking down is that you often have to walk up again! We huffed and puffed in the now hot sun and took a walk around the streets of the old town - deserted (t’s Sunday and it’s hot).

We found a nice little pedestrianised street and sat outside a sweet little resturant where I had revuelto de setas (mushrooms and scrambled egg) and Andrew had tortilla with chorizo (Spanish omelette). Delicious. Oliver did not eat - not hungry.

We walked back to the car and tried to get in it - it was baking! 49 degrees in the car - I had to empty my bag and sit on it as the seat was so hot and I was wearing shorts. Air-con on and off we go - back down the winding roads and back to Benahavis and the refreshing pool.

Andrew found a German TV channel showing the England vs Germany Euro 2022 final, which England won! and we relaxed in the room for a while.

Dinner was in a small restaurant that we had a drink in last night. Run by a lovely lady from Manchester who had lived here for 20 years. Delicious food and drinks. We walked one final time through Calle de Malaga ( the main restaurant strip) and took in the friendly and happy atmosphere.

We are all packed up again and off on the road to Granada tomorrow. Benahavis has been a really nice stop, the days are relaxing, the hotel is nice (although the wifi is shocking), and the pool has been a god send.