From Malaga, we did another day tour to small towns in the mountains, Casares and Ronda. Both villages are quite small. We took the bus to Estepona to meet up with a relative of a friend of ours so that we could be driven into the mountains. Casares was our first stop. There really wasn’t much to see other than the beautiful views of the mountainous surroundings.
I had to read up a little bit on Casares after our visit and I found the excerpts of their history more interesting than the actual visit. Casares, during the Roman times, was a spa town with its well known spa of la Hedionda. The local spring contain sulfuric waters which, during the Roman times, supposedly cured Julius Caesar of a liver complaint. Since Julius Caesar was healed, Casares was allowed by emperors to mint its own coins during the Roman Empire.
The present day town grew around a 12th century Castle which was founded by the Moors. Like most of southern Spain during this time period, Casares was caught between the Catholic forces and Moors. At a later period, Casares was the only town, other than Cádiz, that the Napoleonic troops has not been able to take.
I also thought it was interesting that the historical and artistic heritage of the village has been officially protected since the late 1970s. The homes and buildings along the side of the mountains were white and residents / business owners aren’t allowed to paint it or build in any other colour.
After our short stop admiring the views from Casares, we were drive through the mountains to Ronda. We were told during our drive that there were remains of prehistoric settlements dating to the Neolithic Age scattered along throughout the surrounding areas. In reading up on Ronda after returning back to Toronto, the town was first settled by the early Celts although the modern town of Ronda is of Roman origins.
Puente Nuevo Bridge
We spent a couple hours in the town admiring the views of the canyon from one of three bridges that spans across it. The name of the particular bridge we were on is Puente Nuevo. It is the newest and largest of the three bridges as it spans 120-metres deep into the canyon. Puente Nuevo was built over 42 years in the 18th century. Our attention was pointed to the chamber beneath the central arch and we were told that was used as a prison as one point.
Puente Nuevo Bridge
Church
From the bridge, we walked over to the bullfighting ring, the Plaza de toros de Ronda. This ring is the oldest in Spain as it was built in 1784. We spent some time in the ring exploring some of its features such as the holding area for the bulls and sitting in the benches that surround the ring itself.
Exterior of Bull Fighting Ring
Interior of Bull Fighting Ring
Although we didn’t visit it, there is also partially intact Arab baths which are found below the city and date back to the 13th and 14th centuries. There is also the former town hall, which sits next to the Puente Nuevo.
Ronda is small and we felt we didn’t need more than the couple hours we planned for which also included a quick bite at one of the restaurants in the town centre. After our visit, we were driven through the mountains, admiring the views and serenity of the drive, back to the bus station.
