Spanish Castle Magic

Yesterday we took our second trip to Malaga. Last time we had decided to leave a tour of the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle until we had a complete day to spend, so we headed straight for the Alcazaba only to be greeted by the worst words; "Cerrado Lunes". Fortunately this only applied to the Alcazaba, so we instead to the long trek up the hill to the castle instead.

The castle itself wasn't particularly interesting, but the views over Malaga and the surrounding area were breathtaking. It was built when the city was under Muslim rule in the 14th and 15th Centuries, and was certainly a superb lookout point (the name comes from the Arab for "hill" and the Greek for "lighthouse"). We had a great view over the sea, towards the mountains and of the city's cathedral, bullring and port. It was incredibly hot for a December day, but the wind at the top of the rampart made for a real difference in temperature. Back down the bottom, it was warm enough for us to eat lunch in the sunshine before heading off to the Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares.

I had seen an article about this museum in the local English language paper. It is in a building that previously housed the Victoria Tavern and it displays the day-to-day life of the people of Malaga, both working and middle classes. It's very well done, placing as many objects as possible in "room" settings to give them a more realistic feel.

On the recommendation of our host, last week we took a trip out to Ronda. It was a long bus journey and we had to catch the 7am bus to Marbella. As we travelled back inland, the sun rose over the sea making Marbella oddly picturesque! Having spent the last few months in mountains I think I may have started to take the scenery for granted, so I made sure I enjoyed every minute as the bus swerved around the mountain roads.

Our first stop was the Plaza de Toros, Spain's first purpose built bullring still in use. Inside was also a museum detailing the history of the bullfight, although I would have appreciated a bit more information about the fight itself. You could walk almost throughout the whole building, including onto the ring itself and into the paddocks. We watched one girl training a horse for a while with an amazing disply of balance - riding without stirrups or reins. The bullring also had displays of riding gear and an exhibition on duelling with swords and pistols.

Ronda is a town cut in two by a gorge, across which the Puerto Nuevo links both halves of the town. The bridge provides some of the most spectacular views of the trip so far, miles and miles of mountains. It was incredibly relaxing - like Villefranche-du-Conflent, I could quite happily revisit Ronda just to sit out in the sunshine. I'd also like to return to try and find a decent restaurant. After the worst meal of the trip (and I didn't think I'd say that after Marseille) we went in search of the Bandit Museum.

Lots of tourists come to Ronda to take in the views, but the locals obviously want to get in on the act. There are a huge number of museums for such a small place, many of them seemingly set up in people's houses! The Museo del Bandolero is no exception. It's a very impressive collection of bandit memorabilia, from costumes to birth and death certificates to comics and videos. I'm not sure I learnt too much from the museum, but it was good for just a couple of Euros.

For another couple of Euros we visited the museum under Puerto Nuevo. The small exhibition explained how it took several hundred years for technology to catch up to the design of the bridge and how important the bridge has been to Ronda's development as a town. It also gave us a better view of the ravine itself. Then it was back to the bus station and the long journey back to Monda.

Unless I have the time and the facilities in Paris or Amsterdam I suspect this will be my last update until I return to British shores. As much as I am looking forward to returning home, I will miss Monda. It's a wonderful little town in a really beautiful area. It's the sort of place I can imagine living. Maybe I'll return one day.