March 14th,
Seven months in Spain started out early as I got up at 6:00am, grabbing my pre-packed bag, eating a quick breakfast and meeting Sarah outside my building at 6:30. We walked to the train station in the still dark morning.
Everyone was on time at 7:00am. Debby, Alexi, Rachel, Sarah, Maggie, Kendra and me as the only boy. That's happened a lot this year. Definitely not a bad thing, but interesting as I its obvious that a lot more girls study abroad than boys. We bought our tickets, 25 euros round trip and boarded the train, finding an open car for ourselves.
The ride to Ronda was gorgeous as the tracks cut through the green countryside filled with olive groves. We stopped at a few white villages along the way as the tracks began to climb the mountain. I fell asleep and read for my project, while listening to some Spanish bands that Antonio had given me.
Arriving in Ronda we exited the train station to find ourselves in a beautiful, quaint town with white buildings and inviting architecture. The first thing we did was head to the Mercadona so the girls could buy picnic supplies. We then began our walk through the city, reading about the famous sights in lonely planet as we headed toward the center. We first came upon a park by the oldest and most famous bull ring in Spain. Vertiginous cliff views of the valley spreading below the plummeting cliffs. Green valleys with rolling hills, Spring in Spain was beautiful.
The day was perfect, hot, and the warm sun streamed down. From the bull ring, we walked to the small plaza de España before climbing past the "camino de Ernest Hemingway," and after turning the corner came upon the absolutely incredible, architectural feat of genius, "Puente Nuevo." Rising up between the two cliffs of the spanning gorge, the bridge with its three windows brings the two sides of the valley together. We gazed at it a long time before walking across it, receiving even more incredible views from the other side.
Just seeing the bridge was worth the visit in and of itself. The river ran underneath it creating a waterfall on the other side. Birds flew below its staggering height. I was in awe and wondered how it was ever built during that time. Literally built into the rock itself, brick by brick, whoever put in the keystone must have been very brave. Hemingway had written about the Ronda bridge in For Whom the Bell Tolls as he described a scene during the Spanish civil war in which the "fascists were hurled from a bridge."
From the other side of the bridge we headed down into the gorge following the spiral stairs. We had an early picnic in the shade of some trees.
After lunch, we decided to check out the walls descending the mountain that we had seen on the other side of the gorge form the top of Puente Nuevo. We descended the cobble stone steps until we reached an old arch, part of old ruins, and the most amazing views of the bridge we'd seen all day. We hung out there for awhile taking pictures and admiring the bridge and surrounding landscape. Walking in the opposite direction, we stopped to sit on top of an old arch before deciding to return to where we just were to see if we could make it down into the valley. Our curiosity turned into a great hike. I explored the interior of an old, electrical dam, now overgrown with plants. We kept descending, trying to dodge the stinging nettles until we made it down to the main road.
Back up top we admired the cliff side restaurants. We had two hours before our train so we went to check out the Plaza de Toros. None of the girls wanted to pay the 6 euro admission so they sat in the park while I went to check it out. A sand covered ring surrounded by stadium seats supported by ionic columns, the bullring is one of the oldest in Spain and also one of the most famous. The museum itself was nice, with descriptions on the history of bullfighting, an old armory and lot of uniforms and accessories.
I met back up with the girls and we walked back to the train station. We explored a nice walkway, lined with perfect little houses, before heading back to the train station to catch our 5:35 train.
The train ride back was quite beautiful and I slept most of the way. Back in Granada we said goodbye and Sarah and I walked back to the centro. I talked to Rebecca and Caryn about their day in Granada. They had met up with the other girls from Morocco Exchange and had bought me a ticket to attend a flamenco concert up in Sacramonte. I showered and changed and we went out to Plaza Nueva where we met up with the girls. The show was ok as I it was mix of Disney Movie songs with Flamenco. I liked the parts when they actually danced flamenco. We went for tapas afterword and went out to a bar, before I excused myself to go home and sleep. Tomorrow, I would finish my project.
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