Pine resin has a smell you notice before you see the forest, warm and sweet and a little medicinal, and it is the first thing that greets you in the rodeno woods outside Albarracín. The Abrigo del Tío Campano lies four kilometres from the town, among the red sandstone outcrops of the Pinares de Rodeno, and the name, which means something like Uncle Bellringer's shelter, suggests a local character whose story is lost. The painted figures on the rock belong to the body of rock art that UNESCO listed in 1998 as the Mediterranean arc of the Iberian Peninsula, and in this district they are mostly small animals and people in red.
The pines are maritime pines, grown for their timber and for resin, which for generations was tapped by local families in the summer months. Cut a diagonal scar in the bark, hang a pot under it, and the tree weeps for the rest of the season. The resin went to make turpentine and rosin, and the industry has all but vanished, but you still see old scars on the trunks. Under the trees, wild rosemary, thyme and rock rose cover the sandy ground, and in spring the scent of the thyme is strong enough to cut through the resin.
The road from Teruel to Albarracín is a good way to arrive, rising from the dry basin of the Alfambra and Turia rivers onto the high ground of the sierra, and then dropping into the gorge. At the end of the day the light on the rock is the colour of a ripe apricot. The final approach to the town has some tight bends and a narrow stretch where the road runs between the cliff and the river, with the walls of the old town above. Be careful with sand on the road after rain, and with tourist cars that stop without warning.
Albarracín has about a thousand people and no big fuel station nearby, so plan to fill up in Teruel, twenty-five kilometres off. In the town, lamb, local ham and a hearty soup called sopa de ajo are on offer, and cafés open early. For a walk in the forest, take water and a hat, and avoid the paths in thunderstorms, because the sandstone is slippery when wet.