6/11 Lee and I had a short visit in Gibraltar before catching the 2:15pm bus from La Linea (just across the border in Spain) to Ronda. Ronda is one of the most famous of the Spanish white towns or pueblos blancos. We had an uneventful bus trip to San Pedro where we transferred busses. I´ve noticed the bus staff is often not helpful. They are fine if you want to go from point A to point B but heaven forbid you need to travel between 2 cities that require a transfer. Often they´ll just say you can´t get there from here. It´s best to go online and do the research yourself. The ticket agent in San Pedro, for example, would not sell us tickets to Ronda on the 4:10pm bus until 4pm. Lee went back and got in line and reached the front at 3:58 but still no. We never understood the reasoning behind the rule.

The bus was on time, as almost all are, and we proceeded to take a new highway up, up, up into the Sierra Nevada mountains . We had great views of the ocean and saw many new luxury developments that were under construction. Each development seemed to be trying to out-amenity the others.

Upon arrival at the simple bus station in Ronda Lee and I headed downhill towards a hostal recommended in Rick Steve´s. The hostal, the Ronda Sol, had a decent room for only 20€ a night which we snagged. It didn´t appear that many other guests were there so we wouldn´t encounter delays sharing a bathroom.

We wanted to make the most of our time so we headed into the old town to see some sights. The main tourist section of town is very small and easily walkable in only a few minutes. The primary feature of the city is the 18th century Nuevo Puerto (New Bridge) spanning the El Tajo gorge and the Rio Guadalvin 130 meters below. Lee and I peered over the edges of the bridge at the river far below and just admired the builders who could have constructed such a bridge. More interesting to us was the geology that allowed this tiny little river to carve such a huge gorge leaving two huge rock hills on either side that tower over the surrounding plains .

Just across the bridge is the Casa del Rey Moro (House of the Moorish King). It´s an early 18th century mansion that has an old mine, some neglected gardens and a staircase down to the floor of the El Tajo gorge. The 365 steps down were cut by Christian slaves in the 14th century. The viewing balcony at the bottom gave us a view of the tiny river but the smell of the ¨river¨ was more overpowering. The river smelled like a sewer (even worse than a Houston bayou!). Fortunately most tourists don´t climb down to the base of the gorge and the smell is not noticeable from the bridge above.

Lee and I then took Rick Steve´s walking tour of Ronda. We were continually disoriented in Ronda for some reason. It´s a tiny place but our sense of direction was off. We saw the handful of other sights in town such as the Old Bridge and the Roman Bridge. From the bridges it is just startling how distinct the boundary is between Ronda and the surrounding farms . Once off the rocky outcropping there were just fields for miles and miles.

Many of the restaurants in Ronda close earlier than is typical in Spain. We found many closed and ended up having Chinese at a passable place. We heard the Eagles sing Hotel California while there which just reminded me that it´s hard to escape the modern world. I can remember also hearing Chris Daughtry singing while I was at an Internet Cafe in Lagos, Portugal.

Our hostal was quiet (except for Lee´s snoring) since we were the only ones there. The beds were comfy enough so we decided to stay an extra night. We have a fixed flight from Malaga to Barcelona on June 19th so we just need to allocate the nights in between.

6/12 Lee decided he wanted to see the famous Pileta Caves outside of town. They are quite difficult to get to and I didn´t think I was up for the trek. The caves are the best look a tourist can get at prehistoric cave paintings in Spain . Lee took a bus from town (he was the only one on the bus!) where the driver was nice enough to stop as close to the caves as he could. Lee then hiked about 4.5 km up. When he arrived there was no one there despite signs saying they opened at 10. As we´ve noticed opening late is quite common in Spain and an employee arrived about 11. Lee hooked up with a group from Alabama that had arrived and entered the still primitive cave. There is no electricity so they took lanterns. Lee was able to see some simple paintings of animals that have been dated to more than 20,000 years ago (no photos allowed). That´s so hard to imagine since that makes them 5 times older than the Egyptian pyramids! The Alabama family graciously gave Lee a ride back to town.

I wanted a rest day so I just walked through the old Moorish part of Ronda. There´s really not much there. It´s small and largely residential. There were great views, of course, and lots of tourists. Our perfect weather continues and I´m becoming quite accustomed to it and feel sorry for my Houston friends right now . :-) Every day is sunny and warm with low humidity and a breeze.

I went by an Intersports store where I had seen some clothes that looked like a good value. It´s a chain of sports stores in Iberia that has decent prices and a good selection. I bought quite a few things which will delay my need to do laundry a little longer. My daily Internet session was longer than normal since I was trying to get caught up. Afterwards I took my book out to the plaza and just read. I was enjoying the great weather and stayed until I finished the book. I´m trying my best to lighten my backpack so each finished book helps (they either go to Lee or the hostel).

After returning from the cave Lee found a place nearby that gave him an 8€ haircut. I think I´ll let mine grow a little. Dinner was at a Chinese place again. This one gets my award for best restaurant name - Hola! (and a Chinese place no less).

6/13 We´re off to the train station for a trip to Granada . On the way I notice what is very common in Spain - orange trees lining the streets full of oranges. They are very pretty but we´ve been told the fruit is quite bitter. I also continue to admire how polite Iberian drivers are when someone is remotely near a crosswalk. They always stop and allow you to cross. Pedestrians are just given the right of way although if you´re jaywalking then you may not be quite as lucky. Millions of scooters zip around these towns and I always fear a collision but I have yet to see one.

Our tickets for the Andulucia Express train were only 11.25€ to Granada for the 2 1/2 hour trip. Ronda was a pretty town giving us a look at a different part of Spain.