Puntos de vista - a personal Spain blog

When yet another relationship ended, the second one since his divorce in 2005, Pablo de Ronda came to Ronda at the beginning of September 2008 to drown his sorrows. Pablo owned a flat in the Barrio de San Francisco on the southern edge of the City of Dreams, as Ronda is known (see here), so he had somewhere to stay. If not he would have had to sleep on the streets, for his visit coincided with La Feria y Fiestas de Pedro Romero, and there was not a bed to be had neither in a posh hotel, a two-star hostal nor in a fonda. Pablo takes up the story …..

The afternoon I arrived I met up with my pal Michael, back then a Ronda resident already for about eight years (he’s still here, by the way, and has now clocked up over 20 years). Michael suggested going to the Recinto Ferial (showground) on the Friday night.

“Nah! I’m not keen. I went last year and found it rather overwhelming. Very crowded, loud and I drank too much alcohol.”

“Shush! You’re coming and that’s that!” insisted my friend.

So, somewhat reluctantly, off we trotted. Literally, it’s a long walk from Ronda town centre out to the showground!

On arrival we went into a caseta which was occupied by a dozen or so “guiris” (click here). I knew a few but not all, so I had to be introduced to everybody. Amongst the strangers to me was a pretty lady, who had a funny accent. She was German and living in Montejaque, a village in the mountains 20 kilometres from Ronda. Her name was Rita.

I’m a German speaker, so I chatted to her at length, and then heard myself inviting myself for coffee at her house.

“Well,” I thought, “take the risk”. She said yes, so on the Sunday evening I went for Kaffee mit Kuchen at 4.00 pm, a tradition in Germany.

Guess what happened next? She invited me to stay for dinner! Her sister Birgid from Hamburg was visiting and an English couple, Bill and Jill, neighbours of Rita in Montejaque, had also been invited.

What a smashing evening we had. Because Rita was so pretty and so nice, I christened her Lovely Rita, after the Beatles’ song of the same name.

When I left that night – I was flying back to Liverpool the following day – we agreed to keep in touch. We did so, chiefly by email. Before long I came out again to visit Rita. During that autumn she came to visit me twice in Warrington, where I had bought a Victorian villa to do up, and we also went to Germany to attend the christening of her grandson Anton, where I met Birgid again, her husband, Uwe, Rita’s other sister, Irmhild, her brother-in-law, Egon, her daughter, Katrin, son-in-law, Gero, her two sons, Johannes and Jonathan, two nieces, Silke and Bianca, and Rita’s first husband, Joachim, with new wife Julia.

Sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it? But it wasn’t. They were delightful and seemed to take to me, Rita’s new official “beau”.

Another visit to Germany, as it happens to Knittlingen, the twin town of Montejaque, for the 40^th birthday of niece Bianca and I met the rest of Rita’s large extended family.

By Christmas of that year, 2008, I had packed my bags and emigrated from the UK to live with Rita in Montejaque.

In July 2010, we got married in the beautiful Maulbronn Abbey, near Heilbronn in South Germany. My 92-year-old mum, Vera, managed to get over and stole the show with her dry wit. She was very happy that I was settled again. Sadly, she died three years later. However,she was pleased that she outlived Nelson Mandela, who was born in the same year as Mum, 1918, who died a few days earlier than she in December 2013.

The rest is history. We moved to a large villa with pool and gardens just outside of Ronda in 2011. Over the years she acquired three more grandchildren. My children, Amy and Tom, provided me with three of my own. I bought an old house in 2020 which I have been renovating over the last two years. We both got Covid-19 in 2021, Rita so badly that we nearly lost her. But we’re more or less fine again now, although long-Covid has left us both with issues. I became very active after that and, apart from the house renovation I’ve taken up gardening in earnest once again.

We’re both over 70 now but are quite active. We’re off to Mijas and Nerja for a short break soon, then my children and their families are coming to visit. In October two student friends of Rita from Detmold are coming also and then It’s off to Germany for Christmas and New Year.

Today is our anniversary of meeting on that fateful day in 2008. Here’s something I posted on Facebook this morning:

FERIA Y FIESTAS DE PEDRO ROMERO
El viernes de la Feria de 2008 es cuando Pablo de Ronda conoció a Rita Drechsler, residente de Montejaque, en una caseta en el Recinto Ferial de Ronda. Se enamoraron en seguida y dentro de tres meses emigró Pablo para estar con su “Meter Maid” (el nombre viene de una canción de los Beatles – “Lovely Rita” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v… 

YOUTUBE.COM

Lovely Rita (Remastered 2009)

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupLovely Rita (Remastered 2009) · The BeatlesSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band℗ 2009 Calderstone Productions Li...

A day out in Ronda, one of the most stunning towns in Spain. Pablo de Ronda gives his suggestion for a walking tour of this beautiful pueblo blanco.

Approaching this most impressive of the white towns in Andalucía from either the Costa del Sol or from Algeciras and Gibraltar is to marvel at its location and to be impressed by the ingenuity of the Moors who first established a settlement here 13 centuries ago. 

Small wonder then that Ronda is part of the Grand Tour of Andalucía, along with Granada, Sevilla and Córdoba.  Small wonder too that Ronda numbers amongst its 33 000 inhabitants as many as 650 foreign residents, according to the most recent census.  As a resident myself now, it somehow doesn’t seem that many.  Expats are there if you want them, but they are easily avoided.

The popularity of this town is demonstrated by the groups of day-trippers from the coast who wander the streets in their shorts and sandals, marvelling at the stunning architecture in the Old Moorish Quarter, staring unbelievingly into the deep gorge, el Tajo, that divides old Ronda from the new, and taking advantage of the wide range of shops at their disposal.  Occasionally, these visitors may wish they’d donned something warmer for Ronda is 723 metres above sea level and can be chilly and wet out of season.  On such days the enterprising proprietors of the tourist shops do good business selling plastic macs and umbrellas.

Arriving at the Almocábar Gate on the southern edge of town you are in what was the old Moorish cemetery, now the up and coming San Francisco quarter.  Walk through the gate and up the cobbled street via a short visit to the bell tower of the church of the Holy Spirit, Espíritu Santo, continue up the vehicle road for 100 metres before climbing the steps into Duquesa de la Parcent square, which is home to the delightful Town Hall and the intriguing architectural mix of the Cathedral Church of Santa María la Mayor. 

Head for the back right corner of the square and wander at random through the old Arab quarter with its magnificent mansions, palaces and tiny squares full of orange and lemon trees.  Do not miss the Palacio de Mondragón with its delightful patios and gardens, which also houses the Municipal Museum. 

Also worth a visit is the Casa de Don Bosco, in honour of the canonised Italian priest St John Bosco, who never actually visited Ronda!

Emerging from the old quarter and turning left you find yourself on the 18^th Century Puente Nuevo, the newest of three bridges joining the two halves of the town.  The view from either side of the bridge is spectacular: to the west a fertile valley with a distant backdrop of brooding mountains; to the east deep cliff walls topped by hanging houses.  A trickle of water runs through the bottom of the gorge 130 metres below whilst hundreds of birds nest in the cliff faces.  At dusk these rise into the air; among them Crag Martins, Pallid Swifts, Black Redstarts, Blue Rock Thrushes, Choughs, Griffon Vultures, Rock Doves and Blackcaps.

Beyond the modern and stylish Parador de Ronda, a luxury four-star hotel, you find yourself at one of the oldest and most beautiful of Spain’s bullrings, the Plaza de Toros. Ronda is the home of modern bullfighting, with the torero operating on foot instead of on horseback. This style was developed by Pedro Romero born in 1754 in the town.  Built in 1785 the Plaza de Toros boasts the largest bullfighting arena in the world, yet has one of the smallest crowd capacities.  Tickets for the infrequent bullfights held here are very difficult to come by.  Nevertheless, it is open to the public and houses an interesting museum about bullfighting.

Away from the bullring and back down the northern side of the Tajo you come to the Fountain of the Eight Spouts, Fuente de los Ocho Caños, before crossing the Roman bridge back to the other side, and climbing through the Arco de Felipe V, the Arch of Philip V. 

This whole area was used as the location for the 1984 film of the opera Carmen, starring a very young and slender Plácido Domingo. 

A brief detour down the hill takes the visitor to the Arab Baths, Baños Árabes, which are a delight.  Restored a few years ago the tour includes a film presentation (also in English) about the history of Ronda dating back to Roman times. 

Back up the hill and you come to the Casa del Rey Moro and the Water Mines.  Climb down 365 steps hewn from the interior of the cliff to the bottom of the gorge to see where the Arabs used to ‘mine’ their water and transport it up to the town above.  On resurfacing you can get your breath back in the beautiful gardens and/or have a refreshing drink in the café there.

After all this sightseeing it’s time for something to eat and drink; the choice is amazing.  There are innumerable bars and restaurants where you can nibble on the wide variety of tapas, sit down for a reasonably priced and wholesome three-course menu of the day for about £10 sterling, or, if you want to, splash out on an a-la-carte meal. 

Specialities of the region include cured ham, bull’s tail, suckling pig, wild boar, rabbit, goat and other game dishes.  For vegetarians there are interesting choices such as fried aubergines in honey, wild asparagus and a wide range of tasty salads.

Despite the tourists Ronda is traditional Spain at its best.  As a taxi driver in another part of Spain once told me: “Aaa, Ronda, un sitio para volver” – a place to return to over and over again.  That’s what I did for a decade and Ronda never disappointed. Now I live here full time, but that’s another story ...

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Pablo de Ronda is a retired former languages teacher, school inspector and translator, who emigrated to the Serranía de Ronda in 2008, where he lives with his second wife, Rita. He spends his time between Montejaque and Ronda doing DIY, gardening, writing and managing his portfolio of holiday rentals.

www.a1-holidays.net