We rented a car in Granada and started our 2-day road trip. We were heading to a nature reserve called El Torcal de Antequera, about 90 minutes from Granada. It has a lot of interesting rock formations and hiking. It was mostly highway driving through the Spanish countryside. On our way, we stopped at a rest stop for a bathroom break.
I have not written a lot about the Spanish obsession with ham, but it is beyond a stereotype. There is thinly sliced cured meat everywhere. Every bar and restaurant has one sitting on the counter, and ham is sliced to serve. When you are in a tourist destination like Granada, you think it must be a bit of a show. A leg of a pig on the counter and more hanging from hooks in the ceiling. In this entirely routine roadside stop, every bit of it was there. Want a plate of ham? They’ll slice it and serve it. Is there ham hanging from the ceiling? Of course. There is ham literally everywhere. We skipped this serving of ham and opted for a coffee and a piece of cake. Andalucia is not known for its desserts, and this was no exception.
When we got to El Torcal, I bought the paper guide for €1, and we decided to take the 3 km trail. It was an easy hike, and it was nice to be out of a city. The sun was out, and the temperature was cool. We saw a few Ibexes while we walked and were both happy to be doing something that felt like it was for Spaniards and not simply tourists. We had planned on doing something called the El Caminito del Rey, but it is closed on Mondays. I am delighted we made time for El Torcal. I thought it was beautiful and very unique. We treated ourselves to lunch at the park restaurant. We split a salad and a plate of …. ham.
We then drove 90 minutes to the town of Ronda through what I thought was a series of lakes, but later read were reservoirs named Embalses Guadalhorce-Guadalteba. It was all quite pretty. Ronda is an old small town that is split by the vast El Tajo gorge. On the U.S. trivia side, both Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles often vacation in Ronda. There are small statues dedicated to them.
I wanted us to spend a night in Ronda because of their giant bridge called Puente Nuevo. It’s an enormous stone bridge that is about 250 years old. There is not much to do in Ronda, but walk around and enjoy the views. We had drinks at a hotel rooftop that overlooked their bullfighting ring and found ourselves the second people to sit down at a local tapas restaurant called Bar Antonio at 8:30 PM.
This meal was a great lesson on a few things about tapas in Spain. Ultimately, tapas are bar food. And just like in the United States, some bar food is excellent, and sometimes it’s not. Lesson #1, track what other people are ordering. There we a few sandwiches we saw others order, that looked outstanding. We had some excellent fried fish at this place, and we had a very mediocre eggplant lasagna dish. Would I go to a bar for eggplant lasagna here? Of course not. Why would I do it there?
There is not much to do in Ronda, and we didn’t need to stay more than we did, but I really enjoyed our time here. I thought the pedestrian street was lively, the views impressive, and finishing the night in a local bar with regional craft beer was fun. Ronda, I love you.
Samer looks so youthful!