Many people have been asking for a new blog post. Sorry, the internet on the ship is T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E (meaning really slow) and very expensive. I think we’re spending a few thousand dollars on internet access. So, I decided to wait til we got back to San Diego to update everyone on the first part of our cruise. I dedicate this post to Bonnie and Becca who told me that they look forward to my posts and text each other when they see a new post pop up. Makes all those hours writing the posts worth while. Thanks ladies! And, thank you everyone else for reading my posts.
We left Almunecar on January 2 to head up to Barcelona to start our cruise. On the way, I made the family go to Ronda, Seville, and Cordoba. These are all very historical cities and, boy, are we glad we saw them.
Ronda is a small mountain town of only about 35,000 people. It was first settled by the Celts, Suebi (Germanic), Romans, Visigoths (French), Berbers, then the Christians. Because of the various conquerors, there are different architectural influences all over the town. Their bull fighting ring is the oldest in Spain. The Romero family, from Ronda, played a principal role in the development of bullfighting – from the capes to the swords.
The great bridges of Ronda was definitely worth the trip. There are three bridges but we only saw two. The big one, called the Roman Bridge, was said to have been built on the site of an old bridge built by the Romans. The bridge crosses the Guadelevin River and connects the center of the city with the more commercial part of the city as it expanded. It really is amazing how people back then built all these amazing architecture without large machinery.
Seville – One of the capitals during the Moorish rule, Moroccan/Muslim influences are everywhere. This is the largest city of the Andalusian region and capital of the Seville Province. Seville was also conquered by the Romans, Visigoths, Suebi, Moors, etc. etc. etc. There are many Roman ruins and Moorish influences throughout the city. The kids were very sick of Roman ruins as they were all over Europe. “They all look the same!”
Cordoba – One of the ancient capitals of the Moors, Cordoba was also settled by the Romans, Visigoths, then the Muslims who made it the capital of the Caliphate. Cordoba was once the largest city in Europe, and the Mosque-Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Mezquita was built as a small church but was expanded when the Muslims conquered the region. When the Christians came in during the Reconquista, the site was then converted, again, to a Roman Catholic Church. The mixture of the many architectural styles make this site interesting.
I thought I would do one long post but I have to split it up. It’s too much! See you soon!
Higman Travels 
Amazing Lily! The architecture is absolutely incredible. Thank you for sharing details about some of the sites. The bridges are HUGE and ancient. So cool. Spain is definitely on our list of places to visit!
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