Day 9, A day in Ronda

At 8:30am Torremolinos was still veiled in dark. The sun did not come through until later.

Eduardo talked to us on the bus. Pedro, our driver, can be seen in the rear view mirror.
The bus' clock displayed 8:14, but it was Portuguese time (one hour behind Spain)
because this bus and Pedro came from Portugal.

After arriving in Ronda, we walked to this ham shop called Casa Del Jamon.

Inside the shop there were wall-to-wall legs of ham.

The world's best ham, Jamón Ibérico de Bellota (from acorn-eating Iberia pigs), was 40Euro/Kg.

These were just Iberico ham from Cafina region, did not say anything about acorn,
therefore they cost less, at 18 Euro/Kg.

The shops owner was busy slicing ham.

The owner's daughter was also busy slicing ham.

She held up a thin slice of Jamón Ibérico de Bellota that she was slicing to welcome us.

Both father and daughter were ham-slicing competition champions.

We devoured the ham, cheese and cracker in less than 5 minutes.
Eduardo paid for what we ate, 30+ Euros

A view of the surrounding terrain from Ronda.

A very pleasant leafy walkway.

We were walking by a parador, inns converted from palaces or castles and run by goverment.

This bridge spans the 200-ft wide and 360 ft deep ravine, connecting
the Moorish old town to the new town built after the Christian conquest in 1485.

This is an often-seen picture of Ronda.

The ravine, dividing Ronda into the Moorish old town and the Christian new town.

Our lunch, churros and sandwiches. 

close up of churros.

The pretty courtyard in a mansion in the old town that a wealthy couple donated to the church.

The mansion's elaborately carved fireplace mantel.
We were told that some one from Hollywood offered to buy this mantel, but either the price
was not good enough, or the retired priests living in the mansion did not want to sell, it stays.

A gate on the walls of Ronda.

Ronda's city walls.

Ronda, a white hill village in Andalucía.