“Help Me, Rhonda”

On a whim I decided to take a day trip to Ronda back in September and was happy to find two other nurses who had the day off and who were willing to endure the drive with me. As luck would have it, or actually the lack thereof, we ended up spending more time in the car than we did in the city itself. Due to unforeseen circumstances we were only able to spend about two hours in Ronda, most of which were spent searching out a place to eat lunch (because, as it was barely noon, restaurants actually serving anything more substantial than a café con leche were hard to come by). We did, however, spend four hours in the car but thankfully, with the help of Lauren’s iPod, the drive wasn’t too bad… and while we didn’t actually listen to the classic Beach Boys song with the same name as our destination, it was nonetheless playing on repeat in my head for most of the trip.

Even though I only spent two short hours in Ronda, I could tell that it was quite an impressive city. It is situated on either side of a huge gorge and the two parts of the city are connected by three bridges. The newest of which was completed in the late 18^th century and is aptly enough named Puente Nuevo (Spanish for New Bridge).  Although the Puente Nuevo was the only one of the three bridges I saw on this trip I can’t imagine that the other two are in any way as impressive as it was; this bridge is actually rumored to be one of the most photographed sites in Spain. It’s easy to see why.

Puente Nuevo

Overlooking the Canyon

View of the Parador

Hopefully the next time I visit Ronda luck will be on my side and I will be able to enjoy the city and the views from its bridges for more than a couple short hours. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to perusing the many stores that line the streets as you walk to the Puente Nuevo.