It was beautiful sunny day, so we decided to take a drive up to Ronda. We took the scenic route first, passing through or nearby a number of white villages. This time, we were diligent about counting the number of roundabouts along the coastal A7 highway from Estepona to Manilva – there were 8 altogether. After passing the turnoff to Casares on A377, the road turned rough before dropping down to the Rio Genal and up to the village of Gaucín. We stopped on the north side of the village (where the route number changed to A369) at a mirador (viewpoint) to take in the sweeping view. A few kilometers more and the next mirador afforded a clear look down to Gibraltar and Africa. We stopped at two more miradores before deciding that we needed to continue on to Ronda … or we wouldn’t get there until the evening. Fortunately, the last stop was near the village of Atajate, the northernmost white village near the road until Ronda.
The road continued to wind up through barren hills. In fact, some of them were so rocky, they reminded us of The Burren in Ireland. For the most part, we enjoyed the sunshine and drove with the windows down to bask in the warm breeze. We finally reached the west end of Ronda and drove through the old town before crossing the Puente Nuevo (new bridge; http://www.andalucia.com/ronda/puentenuevo.htm) that was completed in 1793 – only in Europe would a structure completed over 200 years ago be considered new! We crawled through a bit more of the narrow streets before finding a parking garage off the main road. It was a bit of an obstacle course to get down to the lower level, but we finally found a spot wide enough for our car and parked. (This is where Anna goes "WHEW!" She gets a little anxious driving through tiny roads in the middle of towns. It's a huge relief to get into a parking spot!) Even better, this parking garage has public toilets! Score! Climbing up the parking garage's stairs, we couldn't wait to bask in the warm sun. We decided that lunch was the first order of business and found the Restaurant Flores. The meal was tasty although it turned a bit cool on the terrace with the shade and freshening breeze.
Fortified, we wandered over to the lookout and drank in the spectacular view. Ronda sits on the edge of a cliff, which affords a wide panorama of the nearby valleys and hills on the horizon. Plus, the town had built one of the viewpoints on an overhanging balcony that allowed people to look straight down to the valley below. Wandering along the cliffside (safely inside the railing!) brought us back to the Puente Nuevo. After snapping several photos, we took to one of the back streets to avoid the crush of tourists. Ronda is one of the favorite white villages in Andalucia and even this early in the season was swarming with tourists. We’re certainly glad we will miss the heavy tourist season later in spring and summer. We did see a wonderful plaza where the whitewashed buildings contrasted wonderfully with the azure blue sky.
Leaving the parking garage was easier than entering. However, finding our way out of town was a bit more challenging, especially since there was road construction at a crucial roundabout east of town. We visited the roundabout twice before finding the correct exit for our journey back to the coast. This route (A397) took us through the Parque Natural Sierra de las Nieves (Nature Park of the Snow Mountains). Although there wasn’t any snow along the road, we did enjoy the change of scenery: more trees (mostly fir) and no villages until we reached the coast. The road let out near our apartment (so THAT'S where that road goes!), so it was a short drive home and settling in for the night
