According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, serendipity is the fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary goes for the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. Only Joe King experiences serendipitous events quite frequently. This happened to him last Saturday.
Ronda and the barrio
I popped into Ronda around mid-day on Saturday to run a few errands, promptly got distracted and ended up in Barrio San Francisco at Bar Ambigú to do a book swap*.
Then I headed to the Ruedo Alameda, the pretty square just outside the muralla (Arab city wall) on the southern edge of Ronda, the Ciudad del Tajo. This is the location of a dozen bars and restaurants.
I wrote a review of the culinary offer in the barrio as my first ever assignment for The Olive Press, when I joined the staff of the free English newspaper way back in 2008 when I finally emigrated to Spain. Wittily titled “The Streets of San Francisco”, you can read a more up-to-date version via the link below.
However, 16 years on, there have been a number of changes. Four new places have opened, three have changed ownership and two have closed. I've updated the article a few times, but I guess another revision is due soon.
I digress. “Where’s the serendipity?” I hear you ask.
Serendipity in San Francisco
Apart from the four books I got at Bar Ambigú, which I regard as a serendipitous event, what happened next falls into the same category.
I called into Cervecería El Bandolero, one of the more recent new places to open and a welcome addition to the San Francisco offer.
El Bandolero is run by Rafael and his uncle. I knew Rafael when he was my next-door-neighbour-but-one after my then wife and I bought an apartment, Piso Blanco, in the barrio in 2001. He was also a trainee waiter/barman at a bar in the square which has long since been demolished.
I used to frequent this bar - its name escapes me - back in the day to use their public telephone to phone home whenever I was in Ronda on my own, which became increasingly often. This was after I was sent on “gardening leave” from work prior to being made redundant.
23 years later Rafael is a grown man (“grown” is the wrong adjective, as he is still tiny, around 5 foot two) Rafael is married with a son. He still lives in the same house. I don’t – I sold Piso Blanco in 2019.
“Do you know Justin?” asked Rafael, “He lives near you down in Fuente la Higuera.”
I do know a lot of people after all these years living in the area, but Justin…?
“He’s from South Africa but has lived here for years. He’s joint owner with Joaquín of Bar Restaurante La Plaza, the bar two doors down from El Bandolero.”
Rafael took me along and introduced me to Justin Hindle originally from Durban.
We didn’t know each other, but we did a quick catch-up. He has a house near mine near La Legión, but doesn’t live there. He prefers to rent a flat in town and earns a good supplementary income renting his house in the campo.
His wife Ana is a Basque and she is an English teacher. She has a languages academy in Ronda called The International Classroom, located on Calle Lorenzo Borrega. Justin and Ana have three kids who attend primary school in Ronda.
Bar Restaurante La Plaza was clearing up after the lunchtime session, so I left them to it, retrieved my car and went up to Ronda town centre to go to the cajero at CaixaBank in Plaza del Socorro.
Ronda, Ciudad Soñada
After withdrawing some cash, I noticed that nearby Bodega El Socorro’s door was open. This bar has been shut for at least two years, so I decided to check it out.
Bodega El Socorro has changed hands and has been refurbished. The new socios are Juan and Miguel, both 30 years of age.
The tapas menu looked good. [Note: Must take “Lovely Rita” there sometime soon.]
The group of five rondeños also prsent in the bar were clearly enjoying themselves. One of them, Paco, was due to retire in two weeks; his grumpy friend, Manuel, has a couple of years to go before he can “hang up his boots”.
The womenfolk, two wives and a friend, were all younger, as is the tradition here, so they won’t be finishing work anytime soon.
Fuente de la Higuera
Home time, I headed for my domicilio, stopping briefly at my local, The Ronda Valley (née Don Benito). There was a guy there who looked familiar. It turned out that Víctor is an animal inspector, and we had crossed paths a few years previously.
I chatted for a while with Víctor and his mates, but when the conversation turned to politics and they admitted to being franquistas, ie supporters of General Franco (dead, by the way, for nearly 50 years), I took my leave and joined some English “fascists” who were sitting outside on the terrace.
Despite their appalling views on politics they are good friends of mine, so we try to avoid talking politics, since I really have no truck with people who support Donald Trump, Boris Johnson (Bojo The Clown), Nigel Farage, Genghis Khan and the like.
Home for dinner and to reflect on my serendipitous Saturday.
© Only Joe King
Links:
Back to the "Streets of San Francisco" - Help me, Ronda (help-me-ronda.com)
FORGOTTEN ANNIVERSARY: Spain's General Franco died 45 years ago (secretserrania.com)
Meet Secret Serranía blogger Paul Whitelock - Secret Serrania de Ronda
The other "Ronda valley" (eyeonspain.com)
Photos:
Careers in Government (main photo)
Facebook
Karl Smallman
La Cazalla de Ronda
Trip Advisor
Acknowledgements:
Eye on Spain
Paul Whitelock
Secret Serrania
The Olive Press
Tags:
Ana, Bar Ambigú, Bar Restaurante La Plaza, Barrio San Francisco, Basque, Bojo The Clown, Bodega El Socorro, book swap, Boris Johnson, CaixaBank, Calle Lorenzo Borrega, Cambridge English Dictionary, Cervecería El Bandolero, domicilio, Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Genghis Khan Don Benito, Durban, Ciudad del Tajo, El Bandolero, English teacher, franquistas, free English newspaper, “gardening leave”, General Franco, Joaquín, Justin Hindle, languages academy, “Lovely Rita”, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Olive Press, Only Joe King, Plaza Socorro, Rafael, Ronda, rondeños, Ruedo Alameda, serendipitous Saturday, serendipity, Super Saturday, South Africa, tapas, The Crazy Guy, The International Classroom, The Ronda Valley, “The Streets of San Francisco”, Víctor