Bco. de la Plana I and Abric d'Ermites VI

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Bco. de la Plana I

   Mequinenza sits where the Segre and the Cinca join the Ebro, and the Barranco de la Plana, a dry gully less than a kilometre from the town, is one of the painted shelters scattered through the hills above them. The ride that includes it also touches Roca Roja, the Red Rock, and another shelter of the Abrics d'Ermites group far to the south, which shows how far these rock-art routes range. The paintings belong to the Levantine tradition, protected by UNESCO along with the rest of the Mediterranean rock art of Spain, and in this semi-arid corner of Aragón, where there is little to shelter a painted wall from the weather, what survives is a small miracle.

   Read the complete Bco. de la Plana I write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Bco. de la Plana I is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de mas del Abogat.

2. 2. Cueva de mas del Abogat

   Calaceite is the kind of village that makes you slow down without being asked: honey-coloured stone, arcaded squares, a big baroque church and grand old houses with carved doorways, all perched on a ridge in the Matarraña, the corner of Teruel where Aragón meets Catalonia and Valencia. A few kilometres from it lies the Cueva de Mas del Abogat, one of the painted rock shelters that belong to the UNESCO listing of prehistoric art in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula. As with its sisters across eastern Spain, the paintings are small and often hard to read; the setting is what you take away.

   Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Cueva de mas del Abogat comes up about 71 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric d'Ermites VI.

3. 3. Abric d'Ermites VI

   Ulldecona sits at the foot of the Serra de Godall, in the southern tip of Catalonia, close to the border with Valencia and a short distance from the Ebro delta. The town is an old one, set among olive groves that produce a good oil, and above it stands the hermitage of La Pietat, with long views to the sea. The Abric d'Ermites VI is one of the rock shelters of the Ermites group, painted in the Levantine style with small red figures of hunters, and part of the Mediterranean Basin rock art inscribed by UNESCO in 1998. The shelters lie in the cliffs of the Godall range, and access is by foot with regulations to protect the paintings.

   Read the complete Abric d'Ermites VI write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 156 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric d'Ermites VI. Next is back through Cueva de mas del Abogat.

4. 4. back through Cueva de mas del Abogat

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Cueva de mas del Abogat, late in the day. Next is Bco. de la Plana I, 62 km on.

5. 5. Bco. de la Plana I

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Bco. de la Plana I write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Bco. de la Plana I. That is the ride.