Ronda

First perhaps I should explain the days between and what happened to my posts. All the craziness of travel.

Posts will come but not in chronological order. The tender from our yacht Harmony G is leaving to pick up another set of folks on that tiny boat in the distance. This is the port of Banus a newish resort that began in 1970 with the help of the Dictator. Quite fancy it is the answer to all the other Costa del Sol resorts of high rise hotels in a string along the coast.

I am writing this part at a cafe in Ronda about 45 miles inland up some grand mountains. Famous for a bridge built in the 18th century, the town was once a kingdom of the Moors. Located at the top of a vast crevice with a fine river below, it was simple to protect, until it wasn’t in 1498, one of the last places to be turned over to the Crusaders.

On the right is the old town on the right the new and growing town. The cafe is in the new town it has free WiFi.

Ronda is famous for the beginning of the Spanish bull fight tradition. The bullring was built in the 18th century and the rules of the Spanish fight were established here. Bull fighting has a long human history, the Greeks jumped the bulls.

The sand is called albero and is sent all over Spain as the perfect material to clean up after a bull fight. It is swept clean between bull fights. Each bullfight one must not take longer than 20 minutes and one afternoon of bulls will have four kills , mostly bulls, but once in a while the fighter hold the dust, that is, sand. I will leave the clean up details up to your imagination.