At this end of the Vero valley, the logic of the place names starts to feel familiar, and Gallinero III A is the first half of a pair whose sibling, III B, lies close by. Both sit about five kilometres from Alquézar among the dry terraces and oak scrub on the edge of the Sierra de Guara. The paintings belong to the Levantine rock art recognised by UNESCO in 1998, and in the shelters you may find red stick-like figures and traces of animals, usually faded by weather and time.
A different thought is worth having here. People often imagine prehistoric painters as isolated geniuses, but the numbering scheme itself is a reminder that the rock art of the Vero is a collective creation, with dozens of shelters in a small area, some with a single figure and some with several. The groups seem to have been used over very long periods, and later people sometimes painted over earlier work. It is more like a village noticeboard than a gallery.
Ride this area when the weather is kind. In April the almond trees have finished flowering and the fields are green, with poppies in the margins, and the road from Barbastro rewards a slow pace. The tarmac is a little uneven but sound, the corners are tight in places, and the view opens at every crest. In high summer the heat is intense, and the best moment for a ride is an hour after sunrise. October is excellent for colour.
Barbastro, twenty-two kilometres away, has pumps along the approach and a good choice of supermarkets. Alquézar itself has simple lunches and good coffee, and the walk down from the village to the river is a pleasant way to spend the cooler end of the afternoon, with swifts screaming around the church tower in summer and the stone turning gold. Take a bottle of water if you plan to walk to the shelter, and tread lightly.