Our drive between Terramolinos and Seville was broken by an informative visit at a bull ranch owned and operated by a well-known matador, Rafael Tejada, and a pleasnat afternoon visit in Ronda, a village in two parts linked by an amazing arched stone bridge reaching some five hundred feet downward to the canyon floor below.
At the ranch we heard about the four year process involved in raising a fighting bull to maturity and all of the other accompanying necessities of a successful breeding operation. Rafael Tejada was a gracious host and a striking figure on horseback as he herded some of the stock closer so we could get a better look.
In Ronda, we first stopped by a jamon shop where we sampled some tasty Iberian ham (very thinly sliced) and local goat cheese before heading down the street to a Cistercian convent for some cookies backed by the nuns as an ongoing necessary fund-raising project.
We were also introduced to some local history (Ronda is particularly closely associated with bull fighting and the fashion-concious world of the nineteenth century as testified to by two prominent statues on display in a city park). Then we were treated to the fantastic views provided by the high perch on which the two adjacent parts of the city reside before heading off to lunch on our own.
The two of us were especially happy with the melon-and-ham plate, glasses of white wine and a bowl of delicious cucumber-and-apple Gazpacho ordered at Puerta Grande ...
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