Memories of Montserrat

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Monastery of Montserrat
The Monastery is situated about 50 kms northwest of Barcelona. It took us an hour and a half on the train and then we took a cable car to the monastery that is situated 1236m up in the mountains. Pilgrims come from all over the world to pay homage to the Black Madonna (La Moreneta), a 12th century wooden sculpture of Mary that was found in these mountains.

There were breathtaking views from the cable car. We arrived just in time to attend the daily mass at 1pm that is put on mainly for the benefit of the tourists. We managed to find a seat in the packed church and particularly enjoyed two items presented by the Montserrat Boys' Choir. The service also included a prayer and a reading from 1 John which was translated into many different languages. After the service we joined the line to file past the Black Madonna, which is located high above the main alter of the 16th century basilica.

Hiking in the Mountains
Michael and I decided to go on the longest (7.5km) of the five marked hikes. We took the furnicular to Sant Joan and then set off to reach the highest peak in the range. It was a beautiful day and we surprisingly didn't see many other people. The scenery was superb, being made up of many rocky and rugged peaks. We had a map with us with a few instructions in English and we tried various ways of acting out instructions such as, 'continue by the edge of the ridge in an ambient way.' We weren't quite sure what they meant by ambient! Our path led us ever upward and I could see some tall monoliths in the distance. As we got closer I realised that rock climbers were making their way to the summit and I started to tell myself that if that was the way to the summit then I was just going to have to dig deep and find the courage to follow Michael up!!! You can realise my relief when I realised that the path to the summit did not include scaling those heights! We actually ended up being at a higher elevation than the monoliths in the end.

Hermitage of Sant Jeroni
Near the top we passed the hermitage of Sant Jeroni which was deserted and boarded up. We peeked inside and could see the tiny chapel where he must have lived for many years. On the rocks nearby we were treated to views of mountain goats. As we were the only people around we were able to get quite close to them!

The Viewing Platform
A narrow concrete path led over the rocks to the viewing platform at the summit (1236m) and it was quite scary going up it. The views from the platform were awesome and it took me a while before I could sit on the edge and dangle my feet over. There were some others there when we arrived but they left and we had the place to ourselves for ages! It was so incredibly quiet up there! Our small guide sheet read, 'The spectacle is out of this world,' and we did have to agree!

We then hiked all the way back to the monastery via a different route which included dozens of steps as we neared the bottom. We took the cable car down again to the station and caught the train with others that we had seen at various spots along the path. Part of the fun of travelling on public transport is meeting other people and exchanging stories. While I was telling one couple about our bus trip across the snow-clad Atlas Mts in Morocco, a man who had said nothing up to this point said, 'I can't believe you crossed those mountains in a bus!' He had driven that road in a car and he said that was scary enough. It turned out that his name was Andrew and he had been one of the rock climbers we saw on the monoliths. He had a good laugh when he heard that I thought the path to the top led over the monolith he had been climbing.

So, if you are ever in Barcelona do take a detour to the Montserrat Monastery - it is worth it!

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Photos

One of the monoliths with rock climbers
This was the rock that I thought I was going to have to climb to get to the top! You can imagine my relief when I didn't have to!

The Hermitage of Sant Jeroni
This was situated almost at the top of the range.

View from the top!
Amazing rock formations

Can you spot the mountain goat?
He was well camouflaged!

Looking down on the way back down
If you look carefully you can see the Monastery nestled between the rocks.

Comments

[Botsalano]

Magical Monteserrat!
Loved your climb story, especially about the thought of climbing the monolith! Nice picture of the mountain goat - well done!!

[Del Edwards]

Montserrat
Oh Barbara Mary, I do take my hat off to you. You are such an intrepid little traveller! This was one place I long wanted to see but alas, when in Barcelona I did not have the time to go there. It looks fantastic and your wonderful descriptions make it so special

[David Bailey]

Montserrat Moment
Thanks for the time you take to share your stories. On my visit to Barcelona, my priority was the great Football stadium. Very shallow, I know!

[Lil Al]

Nice alliteration! :)
I love how the titles of your adventures always make use of alliteration. Spot the English teacher! :) I really enjoy reading your blogs, and keep thinking 'ooh that's just around the corner from me at the moment' and fantasize making a little trip to Barcelona myself. Unfortunately reality and essays call me back to Freiburg... Just a quick comment on the photos - you wouldn't want to be too large climbing up that path would you! Not sure if you'd fit!

[michaelpaddo]

Gutsy!
Haha, I remember how impressed I was when you told me you'd been gearing yourself up for that rock-face climb to reach what we thought was the summit! =D Another great write-up Mum!

[Pippa]

Reading your blogs inspires me to do some more travelling! I just love having a read and your photos are just spectacular :)