Vélez Blanco and the Caños de la Novia
When travellers drink the water from this fountain, they are unaware that they may end up falling in love, which is what tradition in Vélez Blanco tells us. The story goes that a stranger who came at night to cool off, was surprised by the appearance of a ghost wrapped in white robes. It was the spirit of a young woman who slept eternally and who went down to the fountain every night to fill her pitcher with water. The stranger hid and saw how the girl woke up when she got wet with the water. Then he covered her with his cape and embraced her, triggering an outbreak of love between them.
With the Castillo de los Fajardo on the horizon, when visitors arrive in the town of Vélez-Blanco, in the province of Almería, as they turn the first corner and walk down a staircase, they appear in an idyllic place called "Los Caños de la Novia". Two channels of crystalline waters pouring into the ravine of La Canastera ravine which flows downstream and feeds the streams along an interesting route called "la Ruta de los Molinos de Vélez Blanco".
The exquisite waters, straight from the source in the Sierra María-Los Vélez, are a delight for those who come to drink from the spring, although few of them know about the mystery that surrounds the fountain. A legend about a young, abandoned sleepwalker and a stranger who rescues her from her eternal sleep.
A story that tells how at nightfall, when shadows fall over the narrow streets in the town, a ghost appears dressed in white robes. It is a young girl who comes every day to fill her pitcher with water. One winter's night, a stranger came down to the fountain without knowing about the mystery. As always, the ghost of the young girl came down with a pitcher and when she got wet from the water, she woke up. He was so captivated by her beauty that he covered her with his cape, hugged her and this is how they fell in love.
In Vélez Blanco, the custom of fetching water from fountains continues as alive as in the legend itself, which tells us that those who cool off using the water from the channels will always end up falling in love. This is why couples go down to the fountain together to drink from the spring of love.
Fountains like this one called "La Novia" and the Fuente de los Cinco Caños, have always been a meeting point for lovers, not only in Vélez Blanco but in many other towns and villages. They were somewhere you could be free, where young people could meet and have fun, especially at a time when girls rarely left the house even if they wanted to.
So fortunate travellers in the Sierra de María-Los Vélez should never stop tasting the water from the Caños de la Novia. Have you ever heard of the famous "indalo" in Almería? Just a stone's throw away is La Cueva de Los Letreros, which is where you will find this famous cave painting.
