We woke today to the unexpected noise of rain outside, fat raindrops that were forecast to stop about 10:30AM. What a surprise! We had somehow resigned ourselves to hot and dry while down south but cooler and even somewhat wet was OK for us and certainly for the farmers around us.
Today was deliberately a short day mileage wise at 20 miles, but full of Pueblos Blancos that we wanted to have time to explore. We left Olvera on wet streets but with no rain falling and headed south, stopping on the way at Torre Alháquime, Setenil de las Bodegas and Arriate before arriving in Ronda. The terrain was hilly and we got some great views along the way!
Just outside of Olvera is a famous sanctuary that we wanted to see, also offering a viewpoint back at the amazing profile of Olvera.
From the sanctuary, it was a steep downhill where we began to see our next white village, Torre Alháquime, come into view. There, we parked our bikes and walked to the top of the village. It was Sunday and so everything was pretty quiet.
From there, we headed to Setenil de las Bodegas, which had been highly recommended by the Dutch couple that we had met at dinner the other night. And it is indeed amazing, a village tightly arranged in, under and on top of rugged cliffs.
With bikes, we could get into the village, whereas cars must all park outside the village and walk in. There’s simply no room for cars. We stopped for coffee and a tortilla for lunch, cringing as multiple people fell on the slippery rock steps near our cafe table, and then made our way to the Lover’s Bridge for a quick smooch before continuing on our way.
Tour buses skillfully navigated tiny streets outside the village to drop off tourists before heading outside to park. Our next white village, Arriate, was not so touristy nor as dramatic, and so we admired it as we passed along its flanks to continue on a small farm road to Ronda.
The road was delightful on the way to Ronda, before tipping up dramatically for the last couple miles. We successfully scaled the hills, and found our apartment on the far side of town in the accelerating fine rain.
We cooked a simple dinner for ourselves and enjoyed a lovely bottle of white wine. Tomorrow we’ll explore Ronda!
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