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The Ronda Tourist Office is located in Plaza de Blas Infante, which is also where the bullring is, so for the benefit of tourists who arrive by bus and who often get confused walking around Ronda, follow these instructions.

Now, most tourists who arrive at the tourist office pass the bullring to reach it, but getting here from the bus station is something that often seems to confuse people, mostly because the central bus station is at least 600m or more away. So, for the benefit of anyone who happens to visit, when you exit the bus station you'll be facing a traffic troundabout with very few meaningful signs to anywhere.

Here's what you need to do to get your bearings. First, stand directly outside the main entrance to the bus station and you'll see the aforementioned traffic roundabout ahead of you. To your left you'll see a small kiosk selling lotto tickets, and to your right you'll see a street with a pedestrian crossing, and over the crossing, a cafe with street seating. Read More

Ronda is well known for having Spain's oldest bullring, and of course, the fantastic Puente Neuvo bridge across El Tajo. Perhaps a little less well known is the role Ronda played in shaping the modern region of Andalucia.

Back in 1918, Blas Infante, a hero in Andalucia, convened the very first Andalucian regional assembly in Ronda, which ultimately led a few years ago to the recognition of Andalucia as an historic nation within Spain, and which put it firmly on equal standing with other historic nations such as the Basque country, Galicia, and Catalonia.

Sadly, Blas Infante was summarily executed (murdered?) by Franco's forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and it wasn't until 2007 that Ronda finally erected a statue in his honour, although the park where the statue stands was dedicated to Andalucismo on Blas Infante Avenue (Paseo Blas Infante) many many years before.

The statue is easy to find, but most visitors to Ronda probably overlook it. In fact when standing in the carpark adjacent to the bullring most people take snapshots of the statue of the bull with the circular wall of the bullring behind it, yet turning to one's left is this very statue.

Blas Infante's statue stands to the right of the park entrance, and the park whilst small, also includes a large pergoda and one of the two lookouts over the valley below Ronda.

Now I'm not saying the statue is worthy of being included in the great tourist attractions of Ronda, but since so many people miss it altogether, and since Blas Infante was such an inspirational figure in Andalucian local politics, I thought I might as well post a photo of the statue and give you a little bit more info on who this character was.

Yesterday saw us get up early for a walk in the Ronda countryside, there are some attractive wild flowers growing along the side of the road about 5km from where we live. Sadly most of them had gone, they won't be back until next year, but on the way home I stopped and took this photo. Believe it or not, we were walking along this very road and where it hits the base of that mountain is where we were headed. Hope you like it, summer in Spain can be gorgeous if you take the time to see the beauty around you.

I love this little roundabout in Spain. It's in a small village known as Benaojan about 15minutes drive from Ronda and while the fountain is often working, the other day was the first time I had my camera handy to get this great shot of the water gurgling away.

Now in case you're wondering, Spanish roundabouts aren't all surrounded by flowers, although there is an effort being made here to beautify parts of the villages, but in this case the powerlines still haven't been put underground and that's a slow process in these parts.

The hills you see in the background are limestone mountains filled with caves, in fact the one on the right has a cave entrance behind it that forms an underground river which resurfaces about 4 kilometers later at a cave entrance known as Cueva del Gato.

The bar to the left of the roundabout is the local everything, yes its a bar, and at night the locals go there for a beer, but during the day it also seems to be the village hangout spot and a cup of coffee is not impossible. One of the most amusing things that happens in small Spanish villages also happens every day in Benaojan, and the fountain is the focal point.

Years ago, way back in Franco's day and before, jobs weren't guaranteed and the local employers or foremen would turn up in the village and select the men they wanted for that day who would all hang around here chatting and smoking cigarettes. Well those days are gone but the old men still congregate every day right there.

The last time I had any comment on Spanish fashion I was shot down in flames for producing a picture of a girl who could have been in New York or anywhere really. Even though it was quite clear she was in fact underneath the Almocobar Gate in Ronda I felt the need to find another photo to show you guys one of the looks you see here in Spain.

With a little bit of luck this look will be less likely to be seen in the States and might impress you ladies enough to get a few positive comments. Women in Spain tend not to look all alike, whilst there are certain trends I'm sure you'll agree this look is not likely to catch on with a lot of people, although, and please forgive me for saying this, it does show off her posterior really well. I'd have liked to see high heel boots to tighten up her legs but beggars can't be choosers when they're looking for fashion photos.

Guys in contrast, actually do all dress very alike. Dress shoes, a collared shirt and blazer are almost always seen with jeans and if its cold, a round-necked jumper as well. It's very rare to see Spanish guys wearing running shoes or cross-trainers unless they're also wearing a sweatsuit. Come to think of it, this is the same for the ladies as well.

But in Australia and the UK its very common to wear casual clothes or shoes for almost all occasions except where dressing up is called for. Now do you want to know something amusing? I don't think I ever saw a woman in Germany wearing anything like what this woman is wearing, yet the guys in Germany almost always wear outfits similar to this guy with one fundamental difference, the guys in Germany are taller.