Sabuco is the old word for the elder tree, and a fuente is a spring, so this shelter is named for the water that makes the place possible: the Elder Spring. Fuente del Sabuco II lies about eleven kilometres from Nerpio in the high country of south-west Albacete, and it is one of the many shelters of this district that hold paintings. The ride also links it to a site called Diosa Madre, the Mother Goddess, a name given by archaeologists to a type of schematic figure that appears across the prehistoric art of the Iberian Peninsula. The Levantine art of the region is protected by UNESCO as part of the Mediterranean rock art of Spain.
Why a spring? Because in this dry mountain country, water was everything, for people, animals, and, it seems, for ritual. Wherever the old painters worked, there is often a source of water nearby, and the places where springs emerge from the limestone were probably sacred. Today, the flow is gentle but steady, and the spot is a cool, shaded refuge in summer, with ferns and moss around the rocks and the sound of dripping water.
The mountains around Nerpio are wonderful riding country. The roads climb in long loops through pine woods and across high pasture, then drop into valleys with tight, well-banked turns. There is virtually no traffic, so you can set your own pace, though you should take care on the side lanes, where the tarmac can be broken and loose. Spring and early summer are lovely, with wild flowers and clear air, while in autumn the colours are soft and warm. Snow can close the high passes in winter.
Fill up at Yeste, with about three and a half thousand people, or at Letur, a smaller place, which has a bar and a view of its pretty whitewashed lanes. A few kilometres farther, you will find roadside springs where you can top up water bottles, but check that they are marked as drinkable. A hat and sun protection are useful, since the thin air and strong light at a thousand metres make sunburn easy.