Ronda City Gates, Arab Walls & Baths Plus Pick-Up of One Son !!!

So we had a slow-ish start to the day after getting ready & having brekky.  I had a few guest admin tasks to care of PLUS we were on the phone to the UK re the re-insuring of Pink Beach 🏝️ after the flood… (‘nuff said 😐)

To try & shake Dave’s (not brilliant) mood, we headed out about 2pm heading firstly for (yet another) locked 🔒 church 💒 – how your man up there expects us to worship when the doors are always closed is beyond me 😐

Then we trundled off to Puerta de Almocabar & Arab Walls – Ronda’s defensive walls and City Gates… (few piccies below)

We followed this with a visit to the Arab Baths – which was almost RIGHT at the bottom of the valley…

It was an interesting half hour including a 10 minute English information film.

So the baths were built – on purpose – next to the city entrance so that the peeps could be clean after travelling from afar & before entering the city (& also cleanliness for religious purposes)…

At the bottom of the ravine is water & they built the baths along with a water wheel driven by donkey which continuously collected the water in canisters and dragged them up & tipped them into a gulley which then ran into the baths.

In the baths there was a fire 🔥 fuelled by wood 🪵 which warmed the water & in the first room next to the fire all the water evaporated so it was like a steam room.

The next room was the “warm room” where peeps sat & chatted & sometimes had massages & then there was a cold room.

And they had sessions for ladies too…

There are pretty carved shapes in the roof which let in sunlight thus illuminating the place… (see piccies)

Oh and on the way back we took piccies of the bull & matador outside the bullring as we forgot yesterday !!!

We then had a fairly lairy journey 😳 through the mountains (see piccie of the chicaines on the SatNav below !!!) on the way to Malaga Airport ✈️ to collect Marcus. Even though (I thought) I’d Googled where to park, It was all a bit stressful taking the motorhome & it was too high for all the parking spaces; Marcus rang in the middle of it all and (thankfully) spotted the motorhome and came to us 😅

Marcus was STARVING & Dave was tired so dropped us off near town and Marcus & I went to the Indian (it was OPEN !!!) and he ate & I had a vino blanco 🍷 and then we hiked the half hour back to The Van parked in front of Paul & Sue’s place again at Capistrano Village & 😴…