Molinos means mills, and the name tells you how this corner of Almería was run. Above Vélez-Blanco, the sierra drops snow and rain on limestone that gives it back as springs, and for centuries the streams below were harnessed by grain mills, fulling mills and irrigation channels. Many were laid out under Moorish rule, and the system of acequias that still waters fields in the Los Vélez valley follows their pattern. The shelter at Molinos I, a bit under two kilometres from Vélez-Blanco, belongs to the rich cluster of painted sites around the town, in the Levantine tradition protected by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean basin in Spain. The ride also links it to the site known as Guijarral, a name that means pebbly ground.
It is a surprisingly green spot for such a dry province. Poplars and fruit trees follow the stream below the village, and on the slopes above grow almond trees, pine and the grey-green of thyme and rosemary. In late winter, the almond blossom turns the valley pink, and the mountain, Maimón, above two thousand metres, may still be capped with snow.
Vélez-Blanco itself is worth the time. A Renaissance castle, built in the sixteenth century by the Marquis of Los Vélez, stands on a crag above the village, with a robust, square outline that looks remarkably like a toy fort. The marble courtyard that once graced its interior now sits in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, a bit of local history that residents still mention with a shrug.
The riding in this district is first-rate. Roads leave the valley in long, climbing curves and rise into the Sierra de María-Los Vélez natural park, with big views, easy bends and almost no traffic. Surfaces are mostly good, with dust and gravel near farms, and the wind can be strong on the crests. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, while the middle of summer is hot and dry.
Fuel is available in Vélez Rubio, only a few kilometres away, with about seven thousand people, and the town also has bakeries, cafes and a big baroque church. María, a village of about fifteen hundred, is smaller but useful for a coffee. Carry water for the walk.