The last day in April, our study abroad group had its last trip, and we went to the Andalusian town of Ronda. We arrived around 11am after a horribly curvy bus ride up the winding hills of the countryside, but once we got off and felt the cooler breeze of the mountainous area, we were all refreshed and ready to explore the town! Ronda is full of casas blancas or white houses and at this time of year they all have beautiful flowers in the patios and growing over the balconies! We found a nice overlook with a view of the green rolling hills and mountains off in the distance and enjoyed our packed lunch while a harpist and Spanish guitarist performed in the plaza! Because Ronda is so green, I almost felt as if I were in Ireland, especially with the Celtic music that was serenading us! After lunch we met with our tour guide and he took us to some more beautiful outlooks and we got to see the waterfall and valley below, as well as the oldest bridge in Ronda that goes over this deep valley. Next, we headed to the Arab Bath’s that were built during Muslim rule in Spain. Even though today they are ruins, it is so impressive and astounding how innovative humanity was back in the era without high tech tools and modern science! The last part of our tour took us through the winding barrios of the casas blancas and to the largest bullring in Spain! There we learned some history about bull fighting saw the arena and went into the museum. Although I would not personally want to go see a bull fight, it was interesting (yet sad) to learn more about it and its significance in Spanish culture. Once the tour was over we had about an hour before catching the bus back, so we all grabbed a snack, went to a sunny park and enjoyed the wonderful views Ronda had to offer! It was a great last group trip!
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