Continued from Part 4a - Ronda
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And, now for some fun. Let's tour the White Towns near Ronda, then bike the Via Verde de la Sierra.
The Area Around Ronda
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| Aerial view of mountainous area northwest of Ronda from Google Earth annotations by Lee |
1 = Ronda: largest of the White Towns, where we stayed, center of the region
2 = Grazalema: White town, the first that we visited
3 = Zahara de la Sierrra: White town, the second that we visited
4 = Olvera: White town, starting point for our cycling trip on Via Verde de la Sierra
5 = Coripe: Station and town along the Via Verde de la Sierra
6 = Puerto Serrano: Town where we ended our cycling trip on Via Verde de la Sierra
7 = Acinipo: Ruins of Roman town
8 = La Pileta paleolitic cave paintings near Benaojan
When we were planning to rent bikes, one of the reasons we decided to rent from Hike + Bike the Sierras was that in addition to renting bikes and getting us to and from the Via Verde de la Sierra, they were also able to set up van tours. Heather took us on a half-day tour to the white towns of Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra.
Cork and Ham are Related
During the drive Heather showed us Cork Oak trees (cork is a major industry in the area) and explained a bit about it. From June 15 to August 15 each year cork is harvested from the trees by stripping the bark. To avoid damaging the trees it has to be done very carefully and for each tree, only once in 8 to 12 years. The forests are treated as a national treasure; some of the trees are over 250 years old. It was unexpectedly fascinating; upon returning home I read up more.
This photo story in The Guardian visually summarizes the process of growing, harvesting, and preparing cork. This post gives a brief overview, and this article explains more and some of the economic problems the industry faces.
In Ronda we had passively noticed many shops selling things made out of cork - purses, large bags, hats, coasters, etc. (This article (from Portugal) explains more about the wares.) We're not great shoppers. Usually we tell ourselves at the start of a trip that we'll shop for souvenirs for our friends throughout the trip, but in the end, spend part of the last day frantically looking for some, sometimes at airport gift shops. But when we got back to Ronda we bought all the souvenirs we needed - cork ... and we were only half way along the trip.
The same forests contain various kinds of oak trees, each producing different kinds of acorns, including Cork Oaks and especially Holm Oaks. A great explanation of the forests of Iberia is here. These acorns are one of the three things that produces one of the most sought-after and expensive hams in the world, jamón Ibérico: (1) the native Iberian Pig, (2) its diet of acorns, and (3) its curing. (At least, that's what I'm told - this article explains. I'm not expert. To me food is just body fuel ... one of the few things about food I usually pay attention to is whether it's organic and whether it comes from the agri-chemical industry's factory farms.)
Grazalema
We were fortunate. When we got to the town of Grazalema the clouds were hanging low on the mountains and it was raining. It was lucky. It wasn't on our planned cycling day and this was the only day on our entire trip that it rained (if you exclude our first day in Barcelona when 5 drops of rain fell on us from threatening but rather dry clouds).
Since we come from drizzly Seattle; the rain didn't bother us. Likely because of the rain Grazalema wasn't crowded with tourists - the ambiance of the squares was more subdued than usual - many of the restaurants were closed, and the umbrellas were folded. (It was still warm enough that in summer in Seattle many of the umbrellas would have been up to protect patrons drinking some beer or coffee during a warm drizzle.)
We came upon a sign about about José Mariá "El Tempranillo". In the early 1800's he had been a local version of Robin Hood (or maybe a small bit similar to Poldark in PBS's series of the same name?) - a folk hero.
For those who can't enlarge the above photo enough to read it, it reads:
"The was a time when on this ground you step there were people who underwent hardship.
"Productive farms belonged to a few and unproductive to the rest.
"Justice was not very fair: it favored privileged ones and it was always prejudicial to unprotected people.
"You were lucky if you took acorns from under the Holm Oaks and ate them without being hit by a keeper or being taken to jail. Nevertheless, necessity made you lose any fear.
"Among the most ragged and decisive people it was frequent to find people that without any fear, jumped fences, cut wire fences or forced bolts. This was because the hard work of resigned peasants or manufactures was not made for them.
"In that field, and setting aside those who tried the world of contraband, there were others who followed the paths of crime, extortion, and robbery.
"Some of these people are found in our mountains: Barbarán, Zamarra, Antonio Mena "El Sapo" (the Toad), Juan García Nebrón, or the furtive Pasos Largos.
"Some of them, native from other lands, also chose our territories seeking shelter: the most outstanding case was the one of the without equal, José Mariá "El Tempranillo"
"José Mariá "El Tempranillo" christened his son in Grazalema."
Were it people like these to whom Washington Irving was referring in the passage that I quoted in Part 4a - Ronda?
"... even to the present day. Its inhabitants continue to be among the boldest, fiercest, and most adventurous of the Andalusian mountaineers, and the Serrania de Ronda is famous as the most dangerous resort of the bandit and the contrabandista"
This article recounts "El Tempranillo's" life. It says that apparently it may have become fashionable among a few wealthy Europeans during their "Grand Tours of Europe" in the early 1800's to be held up by the bandanistas of Andalucia from whom they "purchased" safe passage. His fame and popularity became so great that King Fernando VII finally offered him a pardon in return for his working for the state, and allowed him to head a group of 60 mounted guards. A few years later he was killed in a gunfight while pursuing the bandit El Barbarello
It's common that people in remote, often impoverished areas out of necessity develop a strong resilience with a streak of fierce independence and a macho outlook on life: witness Greater Appalachia in the US (as defined in Woodward's book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures in North America which posits the 11 separate cultural nations that make up the US - it rings true to me). Or in the British Isles witness Ireland and the moors of Scotland. And witness many other places throughout the world. Maybe that independent and macho spirit is why the love of bullfighting developed in the mountains of Ronda, Andalucia, and much of Spain.
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| Town square, Grazalema |
For those that can't enlarge the photo above it reads, in part:
"The village of Grazalema has a large number of "noble houses" all along its old quarter.
"Most of them were built in the eighteenth century, and have arcades with half pediments at their tops. The windows are barred and dressed by colorful pots of geraniums, and have large cedar doors made with steel nails, and decorated with the most varied artistic carvings. All these details give a post Renaissance air to the houses, something very typical form this village.
"Some other houses of this village were built during the nineteenth century by cloth manufacturers. Their coat of arms show their pertinence to the Brotherhood of the Santisimo Sacramento (with Ciboriums carved at the lintels), the Brotherhood of Veracruz, or the Brotherhood of La Santa Caridad; many of them are topped with the symbol of the Virgin Mary, other with a broken pediment and a shield with a ducal crown."
See about Spanish brotherhoods here or here - they are integral to the history of Spanish culture, but I couldn't find one simple explanation that encompassed all the aspects.
After reading the above sign I noticed that indeed, there are a large number of broken pediments, barred windows, and strong doors both in the town and in my photos - the signatures of the past. Like in many places where society has broken down with a widened gap between the "privileged ones" and the "unprotected", those with relative privilege barricaded themselves from the "others".
Perhaps history doesn't act like a pendulum, swinging between this and that, gradually coming to rest at neutral. Perhaps it acts like a teeter totter rotating on a fulcrum, with forces of nature pulling an end down. That would require diligence and hard work to maintain a neutral equally-advantaged position. In Spain, history seemed to seesaw between the rule of harsh Moorish rulers and the harsh "Catolic Kings" with a few periods of enlightened calm and balance where Moors, Christians, and Jewish where coexisted to make one of the most advanced areas in Europe during the Middle Ages (more about that when we get to Cordoba, next).
Nowadays the above teeter totter image is troubling. With the increasing inequality and resurgent concentrations of power and wealth coalescing around a few powerful dictators, political oligarch wanna-be's, oligarchs who control capital, and the wealthiest 1% , with the growth and radicalization of the anti-tax, anti-government, and libertarian movement interested only in their own greed, everything on the teeter totter's beam seems to be beginning to slide towards the increasingly weighted lowering end.Is the new era threatening to resemble feudal Europe ? It happened to Greece. And Rome. And Moorish Spain. And during the industrialization of Europe. And the pre-World War I European/American world. Is it happening now?
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| Compare the total wealth of the bottom 40% of US households with the 4 richest people from http://metrocosm.com/wealth-vs-income-inequality/ |
A local example in Seattle: The US federal government supplied trillions of dollars to help blunt the economic affect of the pandemic. The portion given to hospitals was far less, but like in other areas of the economy, that was siphoned to the richest hospitals, to the coffers of a few hospital systems that had significant capital reserves and political power, while their own staff and other needy hospitals suffered. Many of those more needy hospitals will likely not survive, making the broken US healthcare system even worse.
It requires diligence and hard work to maintain a teeter totter in balance.
The memories of the nationalism that led to the horrors of World War II and the stark memories of the deprivations of the Great Depression made many acutely aware that we're all in this together, and aware that it works better when nations and people with divergent needs and perspectives seek for ways to cooperate while working towards their varied self-interests. That enabled the post World War II Euro/American world to become as rich as it became, and enabled it to help the developing and third worlds struggle for better lives. Those memories that prompted the balance are quickly fading. What will the new world that's approaching be like? It requires diligence and hard work to maintain a teeter totter in balance.
But enough of that shit! Let's get on with our trip.
Zahara de la Sierra
We drove down the mountains (hills to me, being from the mountainous American Northwest) to Zahara de la Sierra.
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| The tinted windows of our van distorted the color |
This article contains much more about Zahara de la Sierra, or as it was called prior to the 1970's: Zahara de los Membrillos.
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| In the distance: the Church of Santa María de la Mesa, built between the 17th and e8th centuries |
Months after we got home, after the pandemic was ravaging Spain, we were reminded of Zahara when we read that they had devised their own approach to safety. I haven't yet heard how well it worked in the end.
Biking the Via Verde de la Sierra
Fortunately the next day was perfect for cycling. The rain was gone and the temperature wasn't hot.
Heather drove us to Olvera (another of the while towns) where the route starts (or ends). We didn't have time to look around the town, but from the little we saw and from things I've read since I think that's where I might choose if I were to spend a night or a day in one of the white towns. I especially like the pictures that scroll across the first page of Olvera's website.
The Via Verde de la Sierra is an easy bike route on an old abandon railway grade; its grades are consistently very gentle - it's quite usable by the entire family. (Incidentally, some of the rails removed from it were used in some of the early construction of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.)
A great website by its sponsoring foundation, with lots of information about it is here and a downloadable leaflet with map is here..
There are some videos on youtube, including one showing a few highlights without explanation (3:45 length) here, my favorite is in Spanish but with English subtitles (4:32 length) here, an 8:25 long collection of still shots of a father and young son's trip made into a video here, and a lengthy video (14:13 long) featuring a group having a great time on the trail here (they must have had a camera drone along with them).
In short it is 36 km long, crosses 4 viaducts, runs through 30 tunnels, has 5 stations to rest at (3 or 4 of which have facilities, 3 have cafe's, and a couple even have accommodations.)
Heather from Hike + Bike the Sierras unloaded our two bikes and fitted them to us. They were both electric (a surprise and a first for us to try).
Here I apologize. When walking I take far too many pictures. But when biking I can't be bothered by them. So following is just a taste of the route. If I were younger and were intending to ride hard for many years I'd definitely get a GoPro video camera. Some of the commuter cyclists in Seattle use them front and back for, among other things, evidence if they get hit by a car's driver. But most just enjoy making videos of their trips and exploits - and they serve well in demonstrating the need and advocating for roadway improvements for bike safety.
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| A panorama of some of the country side we passed through. |
Here's Ginny riding across one of the bridges.
We periodically passed, or were passed by, a large group of riders. We kept leap frogging past each other during the entire trip.
At Zaframagón there is a large colony (perhaps the largest in Europe) of Griffin Vultures - a huge bird with wingspans between 240 & 280 cm - 7.8 & 9.2 feet - nesting in the nearby crags.
Most of the tunnels are short and don't need lighting. A few are long enough that lighting systems have been installed (they usually require riders to push a button to turn them on.) The tunnel below is very long and curves so you can't see the end ... without the lighting it would be pitch black.
For the most part the lighting is very dim. By riding in the center you can "feel" the slight crown to the roadbed. But when passing an oncoming rider or walker and trying to get closer to the edge it becomes a bit more concerning and the slight crown feels like its drawing you to the edge. In Idaho in the US I've ridden through long former railroad tunnels that had drainage ditches on each side that you had to stay away from. You needed a good headlight. Remembering those, I was always nervous about getting too close to the edge of any dark tunnel. But happily the roadbed here was relatively flat with only minor gentle swales for drainage in a few places.
Shortly before the end of the trip at Puerto Serrano one of the tunnels is blocked and one has to ride up a short climb on the detour around it. Anyone who cycles knows that you try to take advantage of any flat area to build up momentum to help take you up any steep hill, especially on gravel or earth where you have less traction.
Just when we were trying to gain momentum a goat appeared on a hillside above us. Then another, and another. Uncertain, we slowed down. We were already beginning the climb then they decided to bound and leap and slide down the hillside onto the trail. A whole herd of them. We stopped. Quickly. After sauntering along the trail a short distance they disappeared down the other side. Our bikes were out of gear to easily start back up on a hill, but we made it.
At Puerto Serrano while having lunch we met both Heather (who was there to pick us up and take us home) and the other group of cyclists (from Scandinavia). To our surprise Heather and they knew each other. They had rented their bikes from her for a multi-day ride.
The guy at the counter didn't know English, but we both pulled out our iphones to use the screens as translators. We were able to have a brief conversation. The modern world really helps in some instances.
On the way back to Ronda we passed some interesting signs - I had noticed them in a number of locations in Spain, enough to make me wonder why the warning needed to be made.
A Third Day?
We had only planned two days in Ronda, but we wished that we had a third day to work in visits to the following:
Roman Ruins at Acinipo
Prior to the establishment of Ronda during medieval and Moorish times the largest city in the area was Acinipo. It had been established by the Phoenicians and eventually was ruled by Carthage. After Rome destroyed Carthage in the Punic Wars in 208 BC it became a Roman city. It was an important enough city to have a population of 5,000 at the time, Roman theater (photo below), a coliseum for Roman blood sports, and even the authority to mint its own coins. Not much is left today besides a portion of the theater, some foundations, and various stones. An excellent explanation of the town, its archaeological site, and its area is here.
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| Photo from Wikimedia Commons © Jan
Hazevoet under share alike license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/ |
La Pileta Cave Paintings
Many of the tour books highlight the La Pileta paleolitic cave paintings near Benaojan. If we had more time we would have definitely gone there to see the 20,000 year old paleolitic cave paintings, probably on a bike tour.
Biking more
I might mention here: biking is an excellent way to tour while maintaining social distancing and getting outside. You can experience so much more by biking than from a vehicle. And during the coronavirus pandemic biking is surging in popularity. There are even shortages of bikes developing in parts of the US. All this may portend well for the future of cycling tourism.
Newer Ronda
Except when getting to and from the train station we didn't get into the newer parts of Ronda. If we were there for longer we would have tried.
Off to Cordoba
We caught a morning train to our next stop, Cordoba. There we might even meet up with Seneca, the great Roman philosopher, statesman, and writer who was originally from Cordoba.
To return to Part 1 - Overview of the trip, click here.
Up next: Cordoba. I'll post a link here when that report is done.
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