Tuesday April 30, 2019

A short moment must be taken to remember my father, Charles I Zerilli, who would have turned 90 today. It has almost been six years since he passed to a better place, but those he left behind, miss him greatly. Here’s to you Dad. You instilled a love of travel and the outdoors in me for which I am forever grateful. 

Old Walls

There is a small cafe attached to the hotel so Carol can start her day with a cafe con leche which always cheers her up. We head out around 0900 and decide to find the Jardins de Cuenca park, some hanging gardens that are on the opposite side of the bridge from the gorge we will hike. We randomly turn down a street we think will get there and it winds, then starts a steep descent. It doesn’t seem like we will find the gardens as they should be higher up than we are. We continue downward to make sure, as a steep retreat doesn’t seem like fun. We level out by a small bridge and find the lower entrance to the gardens just like I had planned( yea sure).

Our Garden Climb

We climb steps to several tiers each with unique views and rose gardens around them. The stairs continue until we reach the viewpoint we had seen from above. This looks at the other side of the bridge and the continuation of the gorge downstream. We now come out on a side street off the steep street we went down but are almost at the top.

Hiking Down

Up and back to the bridge, we cross it, and walk to the barbed wire blockade. It is a little trick going through the opening but we make it and then start the path down. One nice thing about the barbed wire is it keeps the other tourists away and we have the path to ourselves. As we descend to a dirt viewpoint, danger signs saying you could die if you fall, warn us of possible doom. We ignore them and get a great view of the gorge, bridge, and a waterfall that is not visible from above.

Looking Up

Now, we turn past some police tape and travel the cliff edge on a path that could lead to your death if you fall. We stay alive and reach near the bottom of the gorge and the closed off outdoor museum/ sight. We get to look up the bridge from 300 feet down. Kind of like being at the bottom of Hoover Dam looking up. Very impressive. We turn around a retrace our route to the top, navigate the barbed wire and are happy with our adventure.

Ronda Town

From here we decide to explore the town further and walk to one of the city gates. We can walk on the top of it, where we get some nice views of the white Andalucian hill town, the old wall, and an old church.

CNC Tapa Time

                                   Now it is lunch time and we walk back over the bridge to Entrevinos, another place on our list. We sit outside on this beautiful day and order two canas and some tapas. We get Fideos Negra which is a thin short noodle ( think rice a Toni but much much better) with black sauce and calamare.

Fideos Negra

It is really good with a bit of garlic aioli on top. We also get three little bocadillos, pork with roquefort, smoked cod, and local sausage. Served with some potato chips, every one is unique and great tasting. The pork is only one Euro, so we order another roquefort and one with a mojo sauce. Exquisite. The cost for all this with two beers each, under 13 Euros. Great food and great value.

More Stunning Views

We walk to another viewpoint park and promenade to digest and then do some shopping for essentials such as toothpaste and items for Carol, like a washcloth. Then we return to our room to siesta before going out to dinner later.

Can I Eat Now?

Siesta complete, we take a leisurely walk to Maravillas for our dinner reservation. We are seated and order beer for me, white wine for Carol, and a mussel appetizer. The mussels are pretty large and very good served in a wine and garlic broth. To our dismay, a group of five Asians with a kid sit next to us. They are loud and the kid has a tablet and is watching some Japanese or Chinese cartoons with the volume unpleasantly loud. They do not seem to care so I ask the bartender if we can switch tables and why. She says sure so we move.

Salmon and Wine

When our waiter comes back he asks why we moved so I tell him. He says if we are ordering dinner, we can sit in the enclosed back patio which is very nice and quiet. We take him up on the offer and move again. Much better to enjoy our meal. Carol orders Salmon and I order a hamburger with bacon, cheese, and egg. I had thought about a poke bowl but decided to big carnivore. The meals come and we are both happy. Carols salmon is cooked perfect with vegetables and couscous. We are a little surprised by the amount of couscous ask the dish was called salmon with couscous, she was expecting salmon on a bed of couscous. She is happy nonetheless as her fish is plentiful and good.

Egg on Top

My hamburger is incredible. Supersize and super delicious. I ask the waiter his name and he says Rafael and then asks our names. I tell him in Spanish he is very kind ( for moving us) and very happy. He says he is a little loco.

Free Irish Cream

After our meal his done, he tells us to sit and relax. When our drinks were finished, he brings us two shots of Baileys. Pays to be complement your waiter. When we are leaving I tell him in Spanish he is working hard but to have a good night. He jokes in front of his colleagues that he is the only one working hard. We thoroughly enjoyed both our meals here. We return back to our hotel having enjoyed our very relaxing stay in Ronda.

Expenses
Hotel Andalucia 40E
Lunch at Entre VInos 12.80E
Shopping Super Sol 2.44E Cash
Shopping Mercadona 2E Cash
Dinner Las Maravillas 42.50E
Walked 7 Miles