A day trip to Ronda

Ronda is a quaint little town in Andalusia that was one of the last Moorish bastions in Spain. It finally fell to the Christians in 1485. The reason why it remained for so long in the hands of the Moors is that Ronda is located perched atop of a 330 foot gorge, with a bridge crossing from the old to the new town. This gave the Moors the advantage with repelling intruders from their hilltop location.

Above: an aeral shot of Ronda (a postcard I bought). The bridge is in the bottom centre-right of this photo (in shadow). You can see the bullring in the bottom left of the photo, with its classic ochre coloured sand in the centre of the ring.

The train ride from Málaga to Ronda takes about two hours and cost about €8 return for an adult ticket with a rail pass. There are only two trains to Ronda from Málaga per day, and only one train return, so I had to make the most of my 4.5 hours while I was there. The terrain that I traveled through was very arid and mountainous. It felt like another world from the gardens and beaches of Málaga. Olive trees dot the landscape in all directions. 

Next two photos: One of the best places to take in the view of the bridge is the delightful Casa de Bosco. The €2 entry fee affords a view framed by it's garden and fountain that is hard to rival.

 

Ronda is very walkable, from the train station to the tourist office is about a 15 minute walk downhill. The old town has so many museums, it was hard to choose what to see. Most of the people in the tourist office and restauranteurs speak about four languages! English, French, German, and of course, Spanish. Many tourists visit Ronda to see the bridge and the gorge but also because Ronda is the home of bullfighting. The Plaza de Toros bullring is the oldest in the world - 18th century - but the bullfighting cooperative (Real Maestranza) has existed since 1572 in Ronda. The first bullfight in the ring took place in 1785, when local matador hero, Pedro Romero, created a new and modern style of bullfighting. Romero himself killed over 6000 bulls in his lifetime. He even has a street named after himself in the town. Ronda hosts the Corrida Goyesca each September and millions watch it on TV. It is the dream of aspiring matadors to fight at Ronda during this competition.

Above: the bullring and gate number 5. Visitors can tour the bullring and take in a small museum about the history of bullfighting. It is the first building in the world built specifically for the purpose of bullfighting.

Below: the larger-than-life bull statue outside the ring.

I am, admittedly, not a fan of bullfighting. To be honest, I feel that it's cruel to tease, wound, and finally kill an animal in the name of "sport." But, this is not my culture, I'm merely a visitor to this culture. However, it is interesting to note that in Catalonia they have banned the sport of bullfighting for the reasons I've mentioned. I don't fully understand the "why" of this sport. I wanted to visit the museum inside the bullring to gain a better understanding of the history and development of bullfighting. But due to short duration of my trip and the timing of the trains, I was unable to do so. Entry is approximately €7 for an adult ticket and audioguides are available.

Ronda has inspired many writers and artists over the years - Hemingway, Rilke, and other poet types fell in love with it's whitewashed houses, beautiful vistas, and charming winding little streets. It's easy to see why artistic types would be drawn to this town. Here are some views to take in:

Above right: the remains of the Moorish wall and battlements can be seen peeking down the narrow streets. 

Above left and below: typical houses and views from within the old part of town.

The museum that I spent te most time in is the Lara Museum, which holds an eclectic mix of artifacts from 17-19th centuries, inluding: clocks, watches, sewing machines, hand painted fans, opera-glasses, vintage microscopes, carriages, photography and movie cameras, ornamental guns, a rather ridiculous witchcraft exhibit, and these oddities:

Above: handcarved pipes that are quite the works of art. Second photo is of a seven-barrelled handgun that was used to dispel mutinies aboard sea-going vessels. How this was achieved is rather up to interpretation, however.

The part of the museum that I was most interested to visit was their exposition on the Spanish Inquisition. After being disappointed in Seville at the Castillo de St. Jorge, I was not disappointed in Ronda. Perhaps I have a morbid sense of curiosity. But I think it's more that I'm baffled and amazed at how humans can be so malicious towards each other. The Lara museum had an array of torture devices and explanations of how they were used. 

Below: This man, Thomás de Torquemada, was known as the "hammer of heretics" because he was overly zealous in his pursuit of cleansing the population of supposed non-believers.

Above: the inquisitior's court. The alleged heretic was clapped in chains and a cone was placed upon his or her head depicting satan dancing around a fire while the two inquisitors questioned the person. Prisoners were considered guilty upon arrest until proven innocent. More often than not, victims of the Inquisiton died from torture before their innocence could be "proven."

Below: a wax model of a woman suspended while being tortured to entice her to confess her heretical crimes. Right - a copy of the Iron Maiden of Nuremberg. The victim was placed inside and the spiked doors were slowly closed upon the person within.

The museum also has a rack, a garotte (a chocking device that was used in Spanish prisons until the death of dictator General Franco in 1975), a head-crusher (which is still used as a device of interrogation but non-lethally), and most disturbing of all - a Judas Cradle. I won't describe what this last torture device looks like or how it's used...if you are really curious, google it. Suffice to say, it looks like the most cruelly painful device ever imagined by a human mind. Even the guillotine is more merciful. I'm sure Europe breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Inquisition finally ended in the 18th century. I'm amazed that it lasted so long.

I wish I had either visited Ronda as a day trip from Seville (where more trains are available) or that I stayed overnight to take in more attractions, like the Bandelero Museum which is an exposition of bandits, highwaymen, and the development of the Spanish civil police to track and catch these brigands. If I'm back this way again some day, I will definitely be returning to Ronda.