Today was definitely a pedal into the history and culture of this area of Andulusia. Our ride took us up to the end of a huge valley and another typical Spanish village nestled high up against the side of a mountain. You can easily see how the natural rock and the sheer cliff faces made a natural fortification and look out for the villages. Having watched my first bull fight in Spain, all be it television highlights, I was interested to learn this particular village has its own version of running with the bulls. Ronda is a city where the bull fights were telecast from . Todays village is within the 20 k radius from Ronda. Bulls are actually "led" through the village streets. I'm unclear what led means, lost in translation. However on 2 sides around a square area, the other sides made up of huge stone buildings, were very sturdy rails, where we rested our bikes. This railing is to protect those wishing protection when the bulls are released and move through the village.
The residents of the village are renown for the way they produce a woollen fabric which was used by the Spanish Military. The wool is knitted or woven and the beaten to make quite a heavy but not course fabric garment that apparently is waterproof. I felt a poncho which while a lovely texture was like a smooth but heavy blanket.
On the morning ride out to the village we passed through a number of small cork forests. The cork bark is stripped off the trees and of course used in wine bottles etc. With the change in technology to screw top wine the flow on effect is a significant drop in revenue for this industry. While cork trees live for approx 200 years it takes the bark 8 -10 to grow back. Many of the trees were in varying stages of light to dark brown indicating the regrowth. Light brown being a recent harvest.
By the end of the ride my head buzzing with all the new sights and information, my very tired legs managed to bring me back within 750m of our village, you guessed it, nestled up off the valley floor set against the rocky hilltops. Not nearly as high as where we had climbed today or yesterday but sadly too steep for me and the bike. I only walked 7 times today, 3 of which on parts of the road winding up into our village, absolutely out of wind.
The residents of the village are renown for the way they produce a woollen fabric which was used by the Spanish Military. The wool is knitted or woven and the beaten to make quite a heavy but not course fabric garment that apparently is waterproof. I felt a poncho which while a lovely texture was like a smooth but heavy blanket.
On the morning ride out to the village we passed through a number of small cork forests. The cork bark is stripped off the trees and of course used in wine bottles etc. With the change in technology to screw top wine the flow on effect is a significant drop in revenue for this industry. While cork trees live for approx 200 years it takes the bark 8 -10 to grow back. Many of the trees were in varying stages of light to dark brown indicating the regrowth. Light brown being a recent harvest.
By the end of the ride my head buzzing with all the new sights and information, my very tired legs managed to bring me back within 750m of our village, you guessed it, nestled up off the valley floor set against the rocky hilltops. Not nearly as high as where we had climbed today or yesterday but sadly too steep for me and the bike. I only walked 7 times today, 3 of which on parts of the road winding up into our village, absolutely out of wind.
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