Hello and welcome back to Life in Spain. Thank you to everyone reading along each week, and if you just joined, welcome. You can always browse past issues to catch up on life over here. This one runs a little shorter than usual, but I wanted to write it anyway, because I have been out on the road again and there is plenty happening. Let's dive straight in.

Behind the video: 24 hours in Ronda

I finally made it to Ronda, and it lived up to the reputation. I didn't want to do it as a quick day trip either, so I gave it a full twenty four hours, which turned out to be the right call. I had a blast, and I survived the heat, which felt like an accomplishment on its own. The video is live if you haven't seen it yet.

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Here is some behind the scenes. I went at the tail end of July, and Ronda is notorious for getting hot, more so than Málaga in the summer. So I got there early and pushed most of the exploring into the front of the day, starting with the famous bridge, which I was not disappointed by. But what I loved most about the trip was that I got to slow down. Instead of feeling rushed to see everything before catching a bus back that evening, I could take breaks, sit through a long lunch, and go back to the hotel in the middle of the day to wait out the worst of the afternoon.

What I appreciated most, though, was the chance to be a tourist in the country I live in. It is very easy to get so fixed on your routine and your day to day that you lose track of the time and stop appreciating where you actually are, and this was a good reminder to stop and smell the roses, as they say, and take in the sights. I really enjoy making these videos, because each one is a new experience I get to share with all of you, and even if it isn't the reason most of you subscribed, it is the reason I enjoy making YouTube at all. I have plans for more trips like this later in the year and I can't wait to show you.

Ronda is also where I ran into Karen and Barry, the two viewers I mentioned last issue, which made the trip even better.

A little history: the bridge

Since the bridge is the thing almost everyone comes to Ronda for, it earns this week's history corner. The Puente Nuevo, which translates to the new bridge, is only new by Ronda standards. It was finished in 1793 after roughly four decades of building, and it crosses the El Tajo gorge, which drops about a hundred meters to the Guadalevín river below. Standing on it and looking down is genuinely dizzying, and no photo I took quite carries it.

It also isn't the first bridge to stand there. An earlier one went up in the 1730s, collapsed after about six years, and took around fifty people with it. The one you see today was built on the same foundations, and the construction cost dozens more lives over the years it took.

The part I didn't expect is what sits inside it. There is a chamber above the central arch that was used as a prison, and during the Civil War both sides used it to hold and torture prisoners, some of whom were thrown from the windows into the gorge. You can walk into that chamber now through the old guard house, where there is an exhibition on how the bridge was built. It is a strange feeling to stand in a room carrying that history inside a structure that most people photograph and then move on from.

This week in Spain

Outside of Ronda, the past few weeks have been on the quieter side. I have been busy with work and spending time with friends, and getting some rest that I needed. But one thing is certainly true, and that is that Feria is brewing.

This will be my first Feria de Málaga and I'm looking forward to it. It runs August 15 to 22 this year, with the opening fireworks over the beach at midnight on the 14th. From what I have heard, this is the version of Spain a lot of people picture when they think of the country, with the traditional dresses, people celebrating and dancing in the streets, and everyone enjoying the summer, the sun, and life.

What I didn't know until recently is how far back it goes. The fair marks the Catholic Monarchs taking Málaga in August of 1487, and the city has been holding it in that same week ever since. It splits into two halves too, a day fair in the centre along Calle Larios and a night fair out at the Real del Cortijo de Torres that runs into the early hours. Boy, is it cool to think a party that big started as a Reconquest anniversary and never stopped.

I'm not sure yet whether I'll make a video out of it, but I'll be sharing it here either way, so if that's something you're interested in, stick around.

Before you go

I'm taking this week off from videos. I released four back to back over the past four weeks, and I need a moment to recharge and refocus so that the videos I keep making hold to the standard I want to set for myself and stay enjoyable to watch. If you missed the most recent one, it was on the real cost of living here in Spain, and it went up on July 31. I do plan to release a few more before September.

One heads up while I'm here. From September into October I'm not sure I'll be releasing videos at all, and that is mostly because I'll be in Japan and travelling through the country. What I will try to do is keep these newsletters coming with what is going on and what I'm working on, and when I get back I plan to pick the regular release rhythm back up.

Thanks for reading this week. If there is a corner of Spain you want me to explore, or something about life over here you're curious about, hit reply, email me at hello@evanthewayfarer.com, or leave a comment on a video.

Until next week!

Evan the Wayfarer