Cieza is a big town for this part of Murcia, with over thirty-five thousand people on the banks of the Segura, and its fame in Spain rests on fruit. In February, the peach and apricot orchards of the river valley burst into pink and white blossom, and visitors come from all over the region to see the hills turn soft with it. The name of the shelter, Los Grajos, means the jackdaws, or rooks, the black birds that nest in the cliffs, and the ride ties it to Maina and to the Abric de la Paella. The paintings belong to the Levantine tradition protected by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean basin in Spain, and Cieza has some of the most important sites in this part of the country.
The landscape is a surprise. Just beyond the orchards, the river has cut the Almadenes gorge through the limestone, a narrow cleft with walls of rock on either side, and the dry hills around are the colour of toast, dotted with pine, esparto grass and rosemary. The grass was once a major local industry, and esparto from Cieza was used for ropes, mats and baskets. Moorish farmers laid out the irrigation channels in the valley, and some of them still work.
The roads around Cieza are not the most famous in Spain, but they have plenty to enjoy. The main routes are fast and open, while the lanes into the hills climb through scrub and rock with plenty of tight bends and good views over the valley. Surfaces are variable, with occasional dust and gravel. Traffic is heavy near the town and negligible once you leave it. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, and summer heat is fierce, with temperatures pushing past forty degrees in July and August.
Fuel and food are no problem in Cieza, and Abarán, with nearly thirteen thousand people, and Blanca, with about six thousand, are both nearby, in the lovely Ricote valley, where Moorish orchard terraces still line the river. Blanca is a good place to stop for a coffee on a terrace, with views over palms and orange trees.