Aloha Everyone,
Like most government offices, the Ronda post office is impressive. Serious looking men and women dressed in starched white top sat behind marble counter top. One has to the take a number from a dispenser as if you are ordering meat at a butcher shop. My number was 51 and they were calling 38 when I walked in. Ten spaces on the benches placed along the two walls were all occupied.
Every foreign trip J.J. and I take, we try to mail postcards to our family. From Hungary, it took over 3 months to reach my Mother. In Ronda, the postal clerk insisted that I purchase a book of 5 stamps. I had written 6 postcards which meant that I could mail 4 more from another city.
Calle Virgin de La Paz is the main pathway of Alameda del Tajo. It is a well laid out, spacious pathway with one side located the ledge of the Tajo. I was able to get my much needed walking exercise while J.J. occupied a bench and listened to a street performer play Flamenco music on his guitar.
The Cuenca Gardens is also located on the ledge of the Tajo on the Eastern end. Small, intimate gardens are built on a series of terraces giving another perspective of El Puerto Nuevo (The New Bridge). On the opposite side of El Puerto Nuevo was the unkept, less celebrated Puerto Viejo (The Old Bridge). The main reason of my desire to visit this terrace garden was simple, it is dedicated to Ronda's sister city of Cuenca!
J.J. and I purchased two bags of roasted chestnuts for €1 each. It is such a simple joy to sit on a bench with other chestnut eaters and to participate in the daily Spanish ritual of watching the “paseo” (promenade). It was priceless!
Aloha -- Cathi
