Ronda

On our last day in Nerja we decided to stay close to home and do some laundry. There was no self serve at the hotel and the services were *pricey* so we decided to do it backpacker style ourselves in the tub. We had laundry soap as we brought of Emily's along. The clean job wasn't fantastic, but it was better than nothing (besides I really needed socks cleaned... just ask Mark). Once we got all the clothes cleaned we realized that without the "spin" cycle on the washer the clothes could take quite a while to dry. Given they didn't dry with a spin cycle at the other places we were at in a day we figured we had a bit of a problem. Unfortunately it wasn't 29 degrees that day, but rather rainy and cold... but still windy. Surprisingly with the wind most things dried in the day! 

The next day we set out (relatively) early in the morning for Ronda. We were going to spend the day there before heading off to Jerez de la Frontera (near Cadiz). Again we got to Ronda without incident... parking was much easier as the lot was empty (perhaps because it was the furthest one from where we wanted to be), but it was OK because we had a spectacular day. Ronda was amazing and definitely up on our list of coolest sights in Spain. 

We started out with a quick walk across the new and old towns to a restaurant we found in the guidebook we wanted to try out. It was quite the hike particularly when we both had to go to the bathroom. In the end it was worth it. Once of the best places we have eaten at and such a great deal! 

After lunch we headed to the Cathedral. In the end, it wasn't really worth the 4 Euros. I'd say it was one of the worst deals in Spain. It was a Mosque that was converted into a Cathedral... this sounded cool, until we realized that almost EVERY Cathedral in Andalucia was a Mosque that was converted into a Cathedral.... and not much of the Mosque still existed. We thought we would see some spectacular art and old things... but it turned out much of what was in the church was done after I was born... not very old and awe inspiring. 

The only remnant of the Mosque in the Cathedral

After the cathedral we headed up to one of the bridges that crosses the gorge. All of the bridges had spectacular views. 

The view from the top bridge down to the second.

The view from the second bridge up to the top bridge.

After taking a number of photos from the top bridge we headed down to the Casa del Rey Moro. The guidebook says it was free... it wasn't. We paid the 4 Euros, but I was a bit reluctant. There didn't seem to be any other tourists there so I wasn't sure it was going to be a good deal. We walked around the gardens which were quite pretty, but not worth 4 Euro. We then headed down to the "mine" - the book said it was 300 steps... (we only counted 256). The walk down was sketchy at times. Emily was sleeping in the carrier so I had to haul her down. It was wet and dirty and the steps were not the best at times.

About 3/4 of the way down there was an opening and we could see out through a "window". At that point I was disappointed (one for going all the way down those stairs and two for pay 4 Euros each!).

Mark found a few more stairs down and I reluctantly headed down with him. I should note we only passed 2 other people coming up and the one looked like she was going to pass out. Needless to say it was worth it. THe stairs ended *right* at the bottom of the gorge and offered incredible views up. They had put this sketchy looking grate out over the water that you could walk on (good thing Emily couldn't run around). The views were amazing...

We even figured out how to use the timer to take a family photo! (Emily is under the blanket, trust me). When she woke up we took another one, but this was half way up. 

I was pretty proud of myself for carrying Emily both down and up the 256 stairs. In the end it wasn't even that bad. Here you can see the platform that we were standing on looking down from the top of the gorge. 

We finished off the day by checking out the Arab Baths. They were really preserved so it was neat to check out. (And they were free on Monday's, so that was an added bonus). 

After the baths we headed back to the car and onto Jerez. On our way to the baths we had to walk down a few other steps so Mark carried Emily. Here are the steps he carried her, compared to the ones that I carried to get to the bottom of the gorge.... note the difference...