Check out this bridge!

El Puente Nuevo in Ronda connects the new town to the old town. The ravine below is 360 feet deep and 200 feet wide.

I was up early this morning and on board the Renfe train at 6:50 for the 2.5-hour ride to Ronda, which is located southwest of Granada. Ronda, one of Spain's pueblos blancos, is home to 37,000 people ... and one very famous bridge. The main reason for my trip to Ronda was to see the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) ... but it's definitely not "new," as it is from the 18th Century!" Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" even mentions Ronda in Chapter 10.

　
The Puente Nuevo goes across the Tajo Gorge and connects the new town with the old town. The ravine is 360 feet deep and 200 feet wide, and the bridge is absolutely amazing, as you can see from the picture above. It was a short walk from the train station to the Plaza de Espana. The Puente Nuevo is located just a few feet from the plaza. I crossed the bridge into the old town and made my way to one of the lookout points to get my first view of this stunning piece of architecture, as well as the waterfall. From there, I took a trail down about 150 feet to get another view. There was another trail I took that led me right underneath the bridge, behind it and to the top of the waterfall. I snapped several pictures, explored the area for awhile, and then hiked back up to visit the other side of the bridge. I walked to the Casa del Rey Moro because I had read in my Lonely Planet book that you could hike down an Islamic-era stairway that was carved inside the rock. I descended some 200 wide and zigzagging stairs and eventually arrived at the bottom of the gorge. The water was so clear that I could see the bottom.

　
After spending a couple of hours hiking around the bridge, I made my way back to town and walked to the bullfighting ring. It is the oldest one in all of Spain, as it opened in 1785. Ronda is where bullfighting on foot began. I thought I might go inside for a tour, but I didn't have time to wait for the next one, as I had to catch the 1:30 p.m. train back to Granada. I spent the next 30 minutes walking around Ronda. It was such a beautiful town, full of whitewashed houses and buildings. I wish I would have spent one night in Ronda so I could have seen more of the town and returned to the bridge near sunset. Now I know for my next trip to Spain! It was great to finally do some hiking! I even saw a cactus, which brought back several memories from Arizona hiking adventures!

　
I returned to Granada around 4 p.m. and walked back to my hotel. I spent my last night in Granada walking through some of the narrow pedestrian streets I hadn't explored yet. The evenings here really are beautiful. The sun casts some amazing shadows on the buildings, and the temperature drops to such a comfortable level. I've really enjoyed my four nights here.

　
Tomorrow, I'm taking the 11:30 a.m. bus to Murcia, located around four hours from Granada. I'm planning to visit a former exchange student from Murcia who studied at Homestead for a year about three or four years ago and came back to visit us a couple of years ago. I'll spend one day there, and Alejandra is going to take me around to see the city.
　
Hasta luego,
--Justin

The other side of the Puente Nuevo.

The Parador (a really nice hotel) that overlooks the bridge and ravine. 

Ronda

Ronda

Here is the road across the top of the bridge. This bridge connects the old town to the new town.

 A daycare place I saw today. In Spain, a babysitter is a "canguro," which also means kangaroo in Spanish.

The Renfe train station. All of the stop signs in Spain say ... stop, not "Pare" or "Alto" like in every other Spanish-speaking country I have visited. 

A Renfe train.