A tejera is a tile works, a kiln where roof tiles were baked from local clay, and the name is common across the dry south-east of Spain. The Tejera on your map is near Vélez-Blanco, about two kilometres from the village, in the country that falls away from the Sierra María towards the plain, where red soil, almond terraces and clumps of pine and juniper make up the view.
The range behind is a natural park, the Sierra María-Los Vélez, covering more than twenty thousand hectares of limestone mountains, with its highest summit, Maimón, at about two thousand metres. The park is quite unlike the green north of Spain, dry and sunny with a rocky skeleton showing through, but it holds a surprising mix of life, with golden eagles and eagle owls, Spanish ibex on the cliffs, and in spring a carpet of wild flowers, thyme and rock roses, giving the air a sharp scent. Walking trails climb from the villages, and the views from the ridge stretch across Almería, Murcia and Granada.
The two Vélez towns were once part of a lordship that the Marquises of los Vélez ran from the castle in Vélez-Blanco, and Vélez-Rubio, a few kilometres down the road, grew bigger and richer thanks to farming. Its parish church, the Iglesia de la Encarnación, is one of the largest and most ornate baroque churches in the province, and quite out of scale with the surrounding dry hills. It is worth a look inside if the doors are open.
On a motorcycle the area is enjoyable and uncrowded. The road between Vélez-Rubio and Vélez-Blanco, and the one climbing towards María, offer easy, flowing bends with long views, and the traffic is local, with an occasional tractor or goat flock. At nearly a thousand metres the air stays fresh, but nights are cold in spring and autumn and winter brings frost and the occasional snowfall. The wind blows hard across the plateau and can be a nuisance on the open stretches. Come in April and May or September and October, and if you must come in July, ride before eleven.
Vélez-Rubio, with seven thousand people, is the town for fuel, supermarkets and bars, and Vélez-Blanco has a couple of restaurants where lamb and migas, fried breadcrumbs with peppers and sausage, are on the menu. Ask for a tapa with your drink, as is the custom in Almería.