The route via Google Maps
On Google Maps, El Toro Blanco can be found here. You can also use this pdf file with detailed route information in case you prefer: https://muchomasholidays.com/pdfs/Route-Description-ElToroBlanco.pdf

The exact GPS coordinates of the gate are: 36.762889, -5.153897.

This is an image of our gate:

Contact us
You can reach us by phone at: +34 626488490 (Alphons Gerritsen). We speak English, Spanish and Dutch.
Our email address is: [email protected]

Wifi
The WIFI network is called: eltoroblanco
The password is: eltoro123

There is only one network to find in the neighborhood, since the house is privately located and too far from other houses.

Alarm system
You can use the alarm system if you like. We would recommend using it only when you leave home. Might the alarm go off, we will be contacted first by the alarm system company.

Barbeque OFYR
Please be aware that Andalucía is very dry in the summer. We strongly advice not to use the barbeque in case of strong winds. There are water hoses surrounding the house you can use just in case. The OFYR runs on wood or charcoal. Charcoal is safer.

Coffee maker
Our coffee machine takes Nespresso cups. The best one to get are L’Or. They are available at the ALDI supermarket (see below).

Breakage
On check out, please inform us what has broken, or which light bulbs need replacement etc. When you feel the need to inform us about something beforehand, please call (our phone numbers can be found below).

First aid kit
Just in case, there is a first aid kit in the closet of the ground floor bedroom. It is a big white plastic box. Just take what you need and make sure to inform Alphons Gerritsen, the house manager, when you check out.

Pharmacies and doctors
This is a big pharmacy with easy parking (just park in front for a short while) and easy access. Click here for the link.

Fruit trees
apricots: There is an apricot tree on the entrance road, on the left hand side, just when you passed the gate. We advise only to eat the ones you pick from the tree, not the ones from the ground.
figs: On the North Eastern part of the house we have to fig trees. Pick as many as you want.
Pears: On the North Eastern part of the house we have to small pear trees. Pick as many as you want.

Garbage
In Ronda, garbage will not be picked up from home, but can be disposed of in big containers alongside main roads in Ronda. If you want to be kind to the environment, you can separate out glass and cartons from other disposals. You can dispose of your garbage in these bins: http://prntscr.com/1ec7lfs.

Gate remote control
You will have two whilst being our guests. The gate can be opened with the remote-control device when within a distance of about 5-10 meters. The gate does not close when pushing the remote-control button but will close automatically 1 minute after having dectected no further movements of persons, cars or alike.

Gate phone control panel
The gate can be opened as well pressing the ‘key’ button on the phone control panel positioned at the wooden main opening doors. When someone rings the bell at the gate, an alarm will sound from this panel. Picking up the phone will allow you to talk to the person at the gate.

Groceries
The best supermarkets are Mercadona, Lidl or ALDI. Click here to find Mercadona, click here to find ALDI and here for Lidl. All of them within a 5-minute drive.

Groceries to buy on Sundays
(1) The Carrefour Express is open all days of the week from 08:30 till 22:00, including Sundays. The assortment is quite big and they also sell freshly baked bread every day of the week, including Sundays. Click here to find Carrefour Express.

(2) Lidl opens too on Sundays, but only in July and August. The opening hours on Sundays are from 09:00 till 15:00.

Heating and Cooling
The whole house is equipped with underfloor heating, operated by a heat pump. Further more, all bedrooms are equipped with air-conditioning (warm and/or cold). We kindly request to respect the environment and not leaving them on when away. It will take only 10 minutes to cool the rooms, so set them when you go to bed and use the timer as we usually do. We suggest closing the rolling curtains and keep window and doors closed. On the top floor balcony, please do not put towels on top of the external air-conditioning unit.

Kitchen
For instant boiling water, you can use the quooker tab.

Cutlery: Goes hidden within hidden drawers within the main drawers. We always put silver wear in the dish washer, so you can do so without any problem as well.

Dish washer: To activate the dishwasher, put a tablet in the disposer and just press the first round button on the left side (on inner side of the door). It takes about 3 seconds before the machine comes alive, then please shut the door. The best program to use is program 1, which is the default program. Each cleaning cycle takes about 3 hours.

Fridge: The ice maker lets you choose cubes or crushed ice. Be aware, the ice cubes fall out fast, keep you glass high! You can also choose chilled water. Please make sure to correctly position you glass when pouring water or ice.

Warm water: Operates on solar panels with a boiler as a backup. I all runs smooth and automatically. On top floor and kitchen it can take some seconds before the water gets warm.

Oven: Very simple to operate. There are two buttons on the right. You might have to press the button to make it come out and press it again to make it disappear. 99 out of a 100 times, the first top button selection (hot air floating) will be adequate to prepare your dish. With the button below, pick a desired temperature.

Sink crusher: Next to the tab in the main sink, on the north facing worktop, there is a button to activate the crusher. Push it again to make it stop. Be kind to this system and take notice that we have a septic tank, so please dispose of food left overs in the garbage bin. Always operate the system with running water only.

Main power switches
Just in case, these can be found within the wardrobe next to the wooden main opening doors giving access to the home.

Open fires
Open fires outside the house are prohibited this time of year. You can light the fireplace if you want. Wood can be found 20 meters opposite the main wooden entrance doors.

Perimeter lights
Perimeter lights are on a clock and run from around 20:00 pm at night till 02:00 am in the morning.

The light switches for the terraces can be found in the kitchen, to the right of the north facing opening door and to the right of the fridge.

Septic tank
Please be aware that we have a septic tank. So toilet paper is fine, but other kind of material should not be disposed of through the toilets.

Swimming pool
The water purifying system works on a clock. Every Saturday, the pool will be checked and cleaned. The water level and correct functioning of installations will be checked early mornings on a daily bases. Which will probably go unnoticed by you.

Sprinklers
The sprinklers run automatically at night, from 02:00 am onwards. Important: Do not leave electric equipment, towels, toys or anything other valuable on the lawn, as it will get wet and might damage materials that are not water proof!

Television sets
In the salon, there´s a TV set with Apple TV. It´s a smart TV, so you will probably be able to stream with any phone, tablet or notebook.

Water from the tab
Although the water you buy in supermarkets is of better quality, the water from our tabs can be drunk safely and is being decalcified and purified before you drink it. Water from the hoses outside, is not purified and decalcified. We advise you not to drink from these sources.

Washing machine
The washing area is in the basement. Because of abundant sunshine all year and a nice temperature in the basement we leave it up to you whether you want to use the tumble dryer. The washing area offers lots of space where you can hang your clothes to dry in case you wish to chose so.

Important phone numbers | owners
Alphons: +34 626488490, or use whatsapp or facetime (iPhone)
Marieke: +34 693728960, or use whatsapp

Local police: 112
Fire brigade: 080
Ambulance: 112

Things to do and see

(in alphabetical order)

4×4 Tours (drive2see, drive2walk, drive2swim)
Want to see the environment in a rough 4×4? Chris Mees is taking you to hidden road, stunning views and beautiful country sides. Tours are by hour, half- or full day. Bespoke off road tours, combined with walks, swim, food or whatever requested. Always easy to modify as you go along. His number is: 0034 650 725 684 (Chris speaks Dutch, English and French). Please book in advance. Check out his facebook page.

Beaches
So many beaches to be found on the costa del sol. Here are some of our favorite spots:

San Pedro Beaches – Nearby (about 45 minute drive). Just follow the way down from Ronda to San Pedro and keep driving straigh on untill you hit the beach. Many restaurants and wide sandy beaches. Accessing the water can be slightly difficult because of stones in the water. Click here for San Pedro Beaches.

Nosso Summer Club Marbella – Loungy atmosphere, lounge beds available, excellent quality and fair priced, cristal clear water, plenty of parking, easy access to water, a fancy restaurant to serve your food and cold drinks. Click here to find Nosso Summer Club on google maps. (about 75 minute drive).

Siroko Beach Club Marbella – Very relaxed atmosphere, abundant parking (don´t get your wheels stuck in the sand). Cristal clear beaches with outside shower possibility and massages. Click here for the facebook page. (about 75 minute drive).

Bird watching
An expert on bird watching is Peter Jones, who was our neighbour before we went into our new home. Check out his website: http://www.spanishnature.com/

Buggy Tours
Total fun, book your tours on TopBuggy.es. The owner (Eduardo) was born in the Netherlands (Edwin) and moved to Ronda with his parents at the age of 6. He is fluent in English, Dutch and Spanish of course. TopBuggy can be found at the Algeceiras road, about 20 minutes from the house.

Cycling
Great quality bikes at low prices can be rented at Cycle Ronda. Ferry Staleman is the owner and can even bring the bikes over to the house.

Golf
As we do not play ourselves, we can not really recommend you places here. We have a lot of friends playing on La Quinta, but there are over 300 golf courses on the CDS. (Costa Del Sol).

We found this website where you can book your flight instantly. Also shows nice overview of courses nearby. Click here for the link.

El Caminito del Rey
Bespoke and award winning trail that is not to miss. Beautiful abysses, cliffs and views. You will have to make reservations way before your arrival. You can book your tickets directly here.

Horse riding
Excellent horse riding can be done at Puerto de Las Muelas. Call: +34 607 992 064. Click here for the route. About 20 minutes away from the house.

Another great place to go horse riding, in the valley opposite the villa is: https://caballosyvino.wixsite.com/horseridingronda. The owner is called Sandra. She is German and her English is perfect. You can call Sandra at: +34 622 24 77 57

Lakes, great for hiking and swimming
La Playita (the small beach) is one not to miss. Click here for the route. About 30 minutes away from the house. Great to combine with lunch or dinner at Al Lago (see more info below) in Zahara de la Sierra, a small village worth visiting, at 10 minutes from La Playita.

El Chorro, fantastic lake, where you can go on a waterbike as well. Bring your own food if you want and make use of one of the many BBQ’s available. Or dine out with lake views at this great place sitting just above the lake. Click here for the route to the road leading to El Chorro.

Massages
Our neighbors’ daughter, Nuria Bravo, gives massages at home. You can call her at +34 605 038 774, or have us arrange for an appointment. In case so, please call or text Alphons: +34 626488490.

Photography
Family photos and portraits for life, shot by SJOOTS in Spain. Click here for the website. They speak Spanish, English and Dutch.

Shopping
Ronda has a lot to offer. We advise to park in one of the underground parkings, which are cheap. Loads of small shops can be found close to the bull ring and famous ronda bridge.  The main shopping street is called Calle Espinel (better known as Calla la Bola).

The best shopping experience you can find is in ‘La Cañada’, a big shopping mall close to Marbella. Click here for the Google maps link to La Cañada:

And not to forget of course, El Corte Inglés, shopping centers on the coast offer excellent quality, good staff and fair prices. Click here for the link

Spa & Hammam
Fancy a spa and massage? Aguas de Ronda is close to the ruïns of the Arab Baths Ronda once was famous for. Click here for the link to Aguas de Ronda. The route you can find on the website.

Swim adventure at the Costa del Sol

Check out: https://www.aqualand.es/torremolinos/. There is a park in Mijas as well. To get to Torremolinos will take approximately 75 minutes by car.

Restaurants

The best restaurants for tapas, lunch and dinner in Ronda are:

Almocabar. Click here for the link. A bit more expensive than the regular restaurant, but absolutely worth the money. A great variety of dishes they prepare with care. Dining and lunch outside possible. Reservation is necessary, except for tapas. Phone: +34 952 87 59 77

Las Maravillas is a great place for fusion like tapas and traditional Andalucian dishes. Their risotto is a must. Great atmoshere too. Click here for the website.

El Zucio. Click here for the link. Sits on the same square as Almocabar. Great terrace to enjoy lunch and dinner outside. You may need to make a reservation in advance: +34 952 87 16 36

Bar & local food shop: “Trinidad”. A great place to buy local cheeses, wines and hams and also an excellent place for wine, ham and cheese tasting. The owner Miguel cuts thin slices of the most delicious hams like nobody else. If you prefer a beer, you can simply take a bottle yourself from the big fridge. Click here for the route.

Tragata: old center of Ronda, good local wines, tasting per glass, excellent tapas, opposite the Parador. Click here for the link. Reservation, not necessary.

Doña Pakita. Delicious taco’s and the best handmade hamburgers in town. They also serve sushi.

If you like to see a flamenco show, please go to El Quinque, located next to the parking entrance of the hotel El Parador (besides the bridge). In summertime they have several shows a day, really worth seeing one. The food is nice! Click here for the link.

Restaurante La Bodeguita in the Barrio San Francisco: Cosy athmosphere, outside lunch and dinner, simple but excellent food at unbeatable prices. Click here for the link. Reservation, not necessary.

Casa Mateos. Lovely restaurant, local wines, great for tapas. Click here for the link.

Restaurante Abades. Behind the bullring, good food and fantastic views. Click here for the link.

Restaurant Bardal has a Michelin Star. Click here for their website.

Restaurant El Muelle de Arriate. Click here for their website. We come here quiet often as we love the food and the hospitality. It is located in an old train station (always fun when a train is passing). 15 min. drive. Route.

Close by our house, tipical Spanish Rondenean atmosphere, quality food, low price is El Molinillo (the small mill). They don´t have a website and are not on facebook. Here is the link to follow on Google maps:

Nice to combine with a day out into the Pueblos Blancos, the white villages: Restaurant at the lake: Al Lago. Run by our friends Mona and Stefan. Click here for their website and Click here for the route. Lunch at Al Lago is great to combine with visiting: ‘La Playita’.

City walks
Pick any street in the old center of Ronda to start your walk. Explore, taste and get a feel of this old morish town. Be aware to start your walk before noon, as it might get too warm.

Blog. There is a great blog about walks and what else to do in Ronda. The editor is an english friend who does an excellent job. Click here for the city walks link. Click here for the Ronda Today blog

Lonely Planet has some nice tips as well on Ronda. Click here for the link.

Walking tours in and around Ronda
We can recommend this website for walks in the Ronda area. There are several walks to pick from, all with differents lenghts and difficulty levels. Click here to go the All Trails website.

Pharmacies and doctors
Pharmacy can be found all around Ronda. The one with easy parking (just park in front for a short while) and easy access is this one: click here.

Enjoy your stay!