The ridge behind Ulldecona has a name for each of its overhangs. Abric d'Ermites IIIb is a neighbour of the IIIa shelter, a twin in the numbering and a few paces away in the rock, and its paintings tell the same story in a slightly different voice. The red figures belong to the Levantine tradition, and the group in this part of Catalonia is part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean basin art.
The shelters in the Serra de Godall are small, tucked behind rocks and scrub, and the local interpretation of the area is the best way to learn where they are and how to see them without harming them. Ask in Ulldecona, where people take pride in what lies on their doorstep.
The town itself has about six thousand inhabitants and is a good place for a break. There is a castle on a hill, an old centre of narrow streets and a church that dominates the main square. Fuel is easy to find, and the bars along the main road serve robust food: rice dishes, grilled meat, local olives and strong coffee. Santa Bàrbara, a smaller town to the south, sits on the road to the coast and has a few services too.
The ride between the town and the hills is a good one, if slow. The roads are narrow and winding, with olive groves on both sides and the occasional old stone farmhouse. In the foothills the road rises through pine and rosemary, with sudden views of the plain and the sea beyond. A short distance to the east, the Ebro delta, one of the great wetlands of the Mediterranean, is flat and full of birds, and a sharp contrast to the rugged ground behind.
Weather is generally kind, but the cold wind that sometimes blows down from the north in winter can be harsh. Spring is the best time, with flowers in the grass and thin white clouds. Midsummer is very hot, and the stone of the shelters warms up quickly.