On 20 October 1982, after days of torrential rain, the dam at Tous on the Júcar gave way. The flood that followed swept down the Ribera, drowned fields and towns, and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, and it remains one of the great disasters in the modern history of the Valencian country. The reservoir was rebuilt with a larger spillway, and today it is a calm sheet of water, but the people of Carlet and the neighbouring villages have not forgotten. The Abric del Charco Negro lies some way upstream, in the hills above Millares, where the Júcar and its tributaries cut through limestone.
Charco means a pool, and the name suggests a dark one, probably in the barranco below the shelter, where water lingers in the shade after rain. It is a reminder that in this country water is both the blessing and the danger. The same ravines that hold a pool in spring can run with a torrent in autumn, and it is wise to avoid any dry riverbed if there is heavy cloud in the hills.
The road to the shelter is a quiet and winding one, with bends that follow the contour of the valley, a mix of good and patchy surface, and a good deal of gravel at the verges. Traffic is minimal. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, as summer is hot and winter cold in the shade. Millares, Bicorp and Quesa are tiny villages with a bar each.
Carlet, nineteen kilometres away, is a town of about fifteen thousand people in the orange country of the Ribera Alta, and it has all the fuel and supplies you need. If you are there at the right time, the smell of orange blossom in spring is unforgettable. Bring water for the walk to the shelter, and treat the paintings with care.