Continuing in Spain - from Granada to Cabo de Gata Natural Park to Ronda

San Jose, Cabo de Gata

Hello again.....we have so much to say as this adventure continues. We left you in Granada at Christmas and now it is already a few days into the new year. We headed for a week at the secluded Parque Natural Cabo de Gata - Nijar which is at the most southeastern point of Spain. It was very quiet at this time of the year as the main season is during the hot summer months but this made it even more special for us. We found another airbnb in a tiny town called Pozo de los Frailes which was so small that it had no restaurant or stores. We were only 2k from the largest (though still tiny) town in this park called San Jose so we were able to buy simple foods and cooked in on most days.

Los Genoveses

The week consisted of many walks with many times getting lost. Our big complaint was that most hikes were not well explained as to start and route - we did follow along with various notes and brochures but seemed always to get lost and confused. One thing that helped is that we found out after a few hikes that red arrows meant mountain bike routes and we had thought it was the walking route...no wonder we never found our way. We did rent a car for this whole week so were able to drive to places that would have been impossible to get to. In fact, we would not have been able to get to the little town we stayed in without a car.

Playa Monsul

Mostly for myself or for anyone else who has been to this area, I am going to list all the places we went so that we can remember them for ourselves and advice to others. The variety of walks included different flora, fauna, rocky coast and mills or mines. Each a different terrain - reason to be protected in this natural park.

Isleta del Moro

Las Negras

Las Salinas

We walked to Los Genoveses and Playa Monsul. We tried walking from Pozo de los Frailes to Los Escullos  but went completely the wrong way. Visited Los Escullos and Isleta del Moro, then Rodalquilar and El Playazo. On our anniversary (Dec. 30th) we went to Agua Amarga and Las Negras and celebrated with tea and tapas. Also to Playa de Los Muertos, Las Salinas and Cabo de Gata.

Playa de los muertos - a
nude beach for some.

Rodialquilar - old mining village

Once again we had delicious veggie paella in San Jose the first and last night and home cooked meals for the rest.

Veggie paella at sunset in San Jose

25 years and still in love with our best friend

This was a great place to celebrate our 25th anniversary and quietly bring in the New Year. In fact, I never got dressed that day - stayed in all day - to some this is not a big deal but to me - a once in my life (so far) occasion, gracias a dios .

Then on the 2nd we headed to Ronda, a beautiful little jewel of a city - very friendly, comfortable and walkable. It has an amazing location and history (built on the edges of a steep gorge) and is one of the oldest cities in Europe. We feel we got to know the city well by walking up and down from new part of town (1700's) to the old part of town occupied as early as the Roman empire. Ronda was a moorish fortress and therefore walls around the high cliffs on the gorge of the river below. It was such an amazing place for photographs - could have taken one in any direction at any spot in the town.

View from the puente viejo (old bridge)
13-15th century)

"New" bridge from the 1700's

Arabic baths

We visited the ruins of the Arabic baths (Banos arabes) and treated ourselves to one of our favorite luxuries - the new hammam "Aguas de Ronda". We had two hours of hot bath, tepid bath with forceful waterfalls on our shoulders, cold bath with ice chips shooting out of a pipe and steam bath. We did it all, several times over and needless to say, we were completely relaxed after this treat.

view from below the bridge

my favorite morning breakfast -
gluten free bread with tomato puree salsa

Ronda was great for food options. This time we stayed in a small hotel so had no facilities for cooking. We were lucky to be right next to a great little breakfast spot and found a few great tapas bars and and an Indian restaurant.

Our hotel on the left

Our weather (for the first time on this trip) was not so great - drizzily most of the time. As you have noted in our pictures, it has never been warm enough to go in shirt sleeves and always needing a scarf and jacket.

Halfway down the gorge

As I write we have just arrived in Cadiz and I will share more on this area in the next post and now for some words and thoughts from Ricardo.

Travel, why travel? It is a question that I am often asked. I grew up being taught that you can watch everything on TV and it's cheaper and safer. Well, I can truly say that I was misinformed. There is so much more to be seen and felt by the act of just leaving one's comfort zone and traveling. We are now into our fourth week in southern Spain called Andalusia and our adventure will take us to Cordoba; Buxton, England and then to Portugal for the rest of our time in Europe.

We are closing in on six years of living mostly outside of the US and working very hard on a new language. All of our travels since retirement have been to Spanish speaking countries where we have been feeling comfortable enough in the language to move easily and engage with other people. Later on this month we will be in Portugal where language will force us into a different situation and maybe some isolation. More shall be revealed.

What about our last two destinations Cabo de Gata and Ronda?  They were opposite kind of places which helps to give a contrast to each of them. Cabo de Gata is all beach and very few people, very laid back with incredible landscapes of sandy beaches to rocky cliffs. We enjoyed the hikes and just being alone in our apartment. I would recommend it highly for a meditative and relaxing experience.  We left it feeling as if the world just stopped and that all is well.  

The old and new steps going down
from the old bridge in Ronda

Next we went to the magical city called Ronda, one of the oldest in Europe, it has been said. This was a mix of old and modern coming together to offer the traveler a truly deep experience with modern conveniences - it has it all.  It is a small city that one can walk all over including steps down 900 foot cliffs that surround the old city.  Both places have given us one of the joys in our lives, which is walking and some times we call it hiking. I'm not to sure of the difference except that I think that hiking means it is more difficult. Both these places had both kinds and so much more to offer.

Serene landscape in Cabo de Gata

And I cannot forget that we spent our 25th wedding anniversary here with much talk about the past 25 wonderful years and many more to come. As they say in Mexico - "Si dios quiere" (if God wishes).

This is just my two centavos. I am happy to be able to express myself which always helps in adding to the feelings of our travels together. Have a great year full of love and adventure.

Once again - thanks for traveling with us both on our adventures.