South of Tortosa the Ebro river slows down and spreads into one of the great wetlands of the western Mediterranean, but a few kilometres inland the country is hilly and dry, with limestone outcrops and terraced olives. Cova del Taller sits somewhere in this landscape of the Baix Ebre, near El Perelló and L'Ampolla, and is one of the shelters that carry prehistoric paintings in Catalonia.
The region itself has plenty to offer. The Ebro delta, a flat triangle of rice paddies, lagoons and sandbars built by silt from the river, shelters flamingos, herons and many other waterbirds, and in autumn the paddies turn gold before the harvest. Not far inland, around Gandesa, the Battle of the Ebro in 1938 was the longest and bloodiest of the Spanish Civil War, and its trenches, shelters and memorials are open to visitors. Olive oil from the hills here is among the best in Catalonia.
Riding is varied and often delightful. The coastal road past L'Ampolla is flat and fast, with views of the sea and delta, while the roads inland wind through olive terraces, pine woods and small villages, with enough bends and gradients to keep a rider alert. Surfaces are generally good, and traffic is light outside summer weekends. The wind, especially the cold, dry mestral from the northwest, can be strong, and in summer the heat is intense. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, when the light is clear and the fields are fresh.
El Perelló, about ten kilometres away, has small shops and a station or two, and Mont-roig del Camp, the bigger town in the neighbourhood, has more services, though it is a good distance off. For dinner, look for arròs negre, rice cooked with squid ink, or a plate of the Ebro's eels and shellfish, and wash it down with local white wine. Carry water for any walk, and ask the locals about access, since farmland often surrounds the shelters.