Having finished our 2022 Camino, we embarked on our trip to the south of Spain. We spent all day Thursday, June 16 getting to Ronda. We walked through Leon in the morning, walked through Ronda in the evening, and spent all day seeing Spain, from north to south, from the train.
Walking to the train station in Leon
I was struck by the number of small villages that appeared in the distance along the northern part of the route. We saw crops being planted and irrigated, and vast distances between villages in this bread basket of the nation.
We had to change train stations, not just trains, in Madrid and were proud of ourselves for figuring out that our ticket to Ronda allowed us to take a shuttle train between them. The stations were both very busy. We managed to grab a sandwich on the old Atoche station before boarding for Ronda
We had to change train stations, not just trains, in Madrid and were proud of ourselves for figuring out that our ticket to Ronda allowed us to take a shuttle train between them. The stations were both very busy. We managed to grab a sandwich on the old Atoche station before boarding for Ronda
 Crowds at the train station. The train system works really well for getting us around the country. |  |
The ride to Ronda is a long 4 hours. The terrain in the initial section was industrial agricultural, as opposed to the more village-centered farms in the north. Large sunflower and rape seed farms spread over the hills. Beautiful, of course. The next section was hours of olive trees. Hundreds of miles of them! Amazing to see.
We stalled out at the Bobadilla station for almost an hour. What a bore. We may have been waiting for a train to come from the other direction because beyond there, the track appeared to be single file. And, we think they changed to a diesel engine.
From that point on, we traversed mountains. It was gorgeous! I had no idea the mountains in that region are so stark and steep. What a spectacular train ride!
About 7:30, we arrived and walked to our hotel. Thanks to Cindy and Pat Day who stayed here pre-pandemic and liked it. It is quite a resort, welcome in the heat.
We stalled out at the Bobadilla station for almost an hour. What a bore. We may have been waiting for a train to come from the other direction because beyond there, the track appeared to be single file. And, we think they changed to a diesel engine.
From that point on, we traversed mountains. It was gorgeous! I had no idea the mountains in that region are so stark and steep. What a spectacular train ride!
About 7:30, we arrived and walked to our hotel. Thanks to Cindy and Pat Day who stayed here pre-pandemic and liked it. It is quite a resort, welcome in the heat.
 Resting from the train trip |  View from our room. I bought a swim suit! |
We will be here several days. We are enjoying shorts walks around town, time in the pool, sidewalk cafes with marvelous Andalusian food, and pleasant evenings watching the sun go down over the gorge on which Ronda is perched.
 Ronda is on a gorge, as the next several pics show |  The gorge |
 The bridge to the old town |  Look carefully to see the mirador ledge we did NOT walk out on |
 In the old town |  Fun exploring |
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