Preparing for Morocco, and views around Ronda

We arrived in Ronda before lunch, doing the drive straight through from Archidona. We figured if we stopped along the way we might get sidetracked again, which tends to happen to us.

Ronda is a big tourist spot, and there are lots of campervans and motorhomes here as well as other tourists. We had no trouble finding a decent free overnight spot though, located across from a new Lidl store.

We want to take the ferry to Morocco on Monday, but we've got some preparation to do before we cross. We've read that it can be difficult to get our LPG (propane) tanks refilled in Morocco, so we'll be staying at a lot more campgrounds with electricity. So in order to conserve our propane we were looking at buying an electric kettle and an induction hotplate.

Lidl sells a lot of inexpensive hard goods as well as groceries, so we wandered over there first. And they do have an induction hot plate for €40, which is about what I figured it would cost. But it's also a lot larger than we thought it would be and of course space is an issue.

Another issue we've read about is campground electricity. RV'ing in Morocco is similar to RV'ing in Mexico. The electrical infrastructure in campgrounds is often not up to par. So if we buy one of these induction burners, will the electricity even be strong enough to use one? 

So we didn't buy it yet. Still thinking about it.

We went for a walk into the central area, but stopped at a couple of "china shops" along the way. These are large stores that sell a little bit of everything... often owned by Chinese people, and with most of the goods made in China. I bought a digital multimeter for €6. If we are concerned about campground electricity, I need to know what the voltage is. We also found a 0.8 liter electric kettle for €16. Perfect. (We didn't buy them then and there, but stopped in on our way back to Max later.)

Then we went and played tourist.

The main pedestrian street in Ronda.

The patios were busy.

Beautiful sunny day, but only a high of 16C (61F).

Ronda central plaza.

We were in Ronda six years ago with friends Glen and Steve. We had taken the train up from the coast just for the day. 

The main attraction in Ronda is the location of old town high above a canyon, and the big bridge that crosses the canyon. 

These photos were taken as we walked across the bridge.

From a viewpoint looking back at the bridge.

Easy to see why it's a popular place.

The scenery around Ronda is great!

We hiked part way down a path that gives a good view looking back at the bridge...

Ronda bridge.

(Puente Nuevo).

Puente Nuevo was built between 1759 and 1793. It took 34 years to build. It is the newest of three bridges that cross the canyon. It's really something to see.

Ruth and a big church door.

Scenery along the way.

Ronda's population is around 35,000 people.

The ancient Arab baths.

Looking up at one of the two smaller bridges.

Built in 1616.

We walked back up to the main bridge to see the viewpoints from the other side...

The beautiful valley looking southwest of Ronda.

A good day visiting Ronda. We could definitely spend more time in this area.

Today is Three Kings Day in Spain, so it's a public holiday here. Everything will be closed. We're going to drive down to Jimena de la Frontera and see if we can find somewhere to do some hiking.

Here is a map of our route the last several days...

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