Day: November 14, 2019

By Friday after a week of work and assignments, we were ready for a day out!

We decided to head for Ronda, another mountain town, famous for being the birthplace of bullfighting and for the 100m gorge running through the town, the two halves of which are connected by a few bridges. Again, the drive was spectacular, windy (but good!) mountain roads, hills and switchbacks, views that took our breath away. On the way we drove past El Burgo, another typical whitewashed village. We pulled over at a viewpoint shortly after that and took a short walk to admire the scenery. It was cold! Well, to us, it was cold: only 7ºC and I was wearing a skirt and sandals.

When we arrived in Ronda and looked for parking, we were hoping to avoid a repeat of the parking garage in Lisbon. We did venture into an underground carpark but it had two lanes(!) and wasn’t too steep or tight. Quite manageable. For Eric, at least.

We walked past the bullring and to the edge of town, on a cliff, where the views down wouldn’t be fun if you’re afraid of heights! It was easy enough to follow along the cliff edges (there are good barriers) to the bridge, where we could really see the scale of the gorge. We could see paths going down the side of the gorge so decided to follow them. We went down…. and down…. and down… til we were about level with the bottom of the bridge, but the ground was still a long way down. There were still cliffs (and no barriers) so it was feeling a little dicey, but really incredible to see the gorge and the bridge from that angle. And then we had to climb back up. About 80 metres up, in about half a kilometre. A pretty good workout!

We wandered around the old parts of town for a little bit, got some fresh squeezed orange juice and espresso, then decided to head home before it got dark. The drive back was just as spectacular!

We’ve been here for nearly two weeks now, in a lovely house just outside of Coín town, in the hills west of Málaga. The house has some interesting decorative features with a handmade feel, and has 4 bedrooms plus a sleeping loft, 2 living rooms (so Eric has set up his office in one), a pool and a 2nd outdoor kitchen beside it, and several outdoor seating areas. The weather has been pleasant, (OK, it’s warm compared to Ireland but we’re apparently used to warmer weather now and needing to wrap up when it’s 15ºC!) but it’s definitely getting cooler, especially at night. The kids used the pool most days the first week but since it’s not heated, and not even really in the sun, they’ve finally decided it’s too cold. We also have parrots! There’s a large aviary down in the garden with about 15 various birds, including a baby that can’t fly yet, so climbs around the walls using beak and claws. It’s pretty cool!

It’s really hilly here, which I expected, but the road we’re on is a single lane, up a fairly steep short hill from the main road, around a tight corner under a tall stone bridge, and then down a really steep hill. We made it with the trailer, following our host, with Eric driving, but I haven’t actually driven out of here myself yet. I could cope with the hill or single lane, but not both — I don’t want to have to figure out what to do if I meet someone coming the other way on the hill!

Eric has enjoyed the hills for riding, having been out for a couple of short (by his standards) rides, but with more climbing than is probably even possible in Ireland!

The day after we arrived, which was a Sunday, we went looking for a grocery store. The big ones are all closed on Sundays here, and we couldn’t find parking near the small one we found in Coín (narrow, steep, windy, one-way streets and fully parked up!), so we headed to Mijas. Beautiful drive, windy roads along the side of mountains, spectacular views including the Mediterranean, but, umm, no parking. The place was really busy on a sunny Sunday afternoon. A whitewashed town built on the side of a mountain, the streets are basically switchbacks, each a storey or two higher than the one below. Eric found a place to pull over and Ben and I ran down two flights of stairs to get a few basic supplies and then ran back up. It was enough for breakfast, anyway!

That first week, Eric worked many hours more than usual because of a release deadline, and I had an assignment due for my French course about a period in French history, so we just spent our days here. The kids did schoolwork, played in the pool, started learning Spanish on duolingo, and played computer games, sometimes with friends, in the afternoons, as has become our habit.

We’ve made a few short trips out in different directions so far, seeing more of the mountains and down to the beaches, which I will post about separately.