I few weeks ago we had a 4 day weekend due to a
national holiday in Spain, so I decided to take advantage of my time off and
see something new. I didn’t want to do anything big and complicated, so I
decided to go to a little Spanish pueblo that I had heard so much about from
friends: Ronda. Literally the only things I knew about the town was that it is
part of Andalucia’s ‘Pueblos Blancos’, and that it has a famous bridge…and that
I found a cheap hotel (breakfast included!) online, so I was Ronda-bound! I
arrived on a Sunday afternoon –in the rain-, found my hotel as quickly as
possible, warmed up, and did some sightseeing. That night I ate a cheap dinner,
then spent the whole next day seeing as much as possible before heading back on
the last bus of the day.
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| ...wow... |
That is the basic outline of the trip, but how
do I describe the actual experience? Ronda was breathtaking, absolutely
gorgeous, full of history and culture, and despite the rain and being alone I
would say its been one of my favorite little trips in Spain. First of all, the
famous bridge that I had heard so much about. What I didn’t expect was to round
a corner and have my jaw drop to the ground and find myself speechless for about
5 minutes. I couldn’t do anything besides stare and admire. Finally I did
manage to take some pictures- about a million or so. Not only is this bridge
beautiful –it is made of stone and has nice artistic ridges- but the sheer size
of it is breathtaking. It literally connects a city that is divided in two by a
gigantic river gorge. Imagine a bridge over a theoretical very narrow part of
the Grand Canyon, and that’s a little bit how I felt this was.
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| Arab baths |
The little town itself is full of things to
see- everywhere you look in the old center of town you can see remnants of the
old Muslim culture, which was replaced but not completely destroyed by the Christians
takeover during the Spanish Inquisition. I was able to see the old Arabic Baths
that used to be at the old town entrance, where people could cleanse themselves
before entering the city. Of course I saw the old Mosque, which was converted
into a Christian School but still has some of the Arab looking architecture. I
wandered through the Anadulcian style ‘pueblo blanco’ which consists of narrow
streets with white buildings on either side that have balconies full of typical
red or other brightly colored flowers, and I visited the Plaza de España which
Ernest Hemingway writes about in his book ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’. (If you’ve
read the book, yes it is the part where people are forced to walk off the
cliff- the cliff being where the bridge now is).
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| Typical Andalusian street |
I enjoyed the trip immensely, because the town
itself was so enjoyable. However, I came up with a list of the pros and cons of
travelling alone, from my point of view.
Pros: you have independence to make your own
decisions, go where you want to go when you want to go there, eat where you
want, basically plan the entire trip without having to take into account the
needs of others. Sometimes even more important; you can give in to any annoying
or selfish habits you might have that must be restrained in the prescence of
others- in my case, taking a 40 minute shower and using up the hot water supply
for the room. Oops. But, nobody was there waiting for the bathroom or complaining
about hot water!
Cons: In the end, I decided that the cons of
travelling alone outweigh the pros. Having company and sharing the experience
with somebody you like makes the experience of seeing new things so much richer
and more enjoyable. Whether it is seeing things from another person’s point of
view, sharing your point of view with them, or simply discussing the
experience, I believe that its better in company. The entire trip I had
thoughts along the lines of, “Oh! That is so cool, my mom would really love to
be here too!” or “I wish my roommates could see this!” or “I just want to
discuss with somebody how beautiful this view is.”
However, I felt proud of myself for stepping
out of my comfort zone and arranging, planning, and executing a trip alone. It
can be an intimidating thing, especially in a foreign country (anybody seen the
movie Hostel?), and to a new place. Overall, while I realized that travelling
alone is not my particular style, I confirmed with myself that I am capable to
do it and enjoy it- and for that I am glad that I went alone.
