The Rain in Spain(My Fair Lady) - Up into the fog of Montserrat - 8th May 2016

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Today is the day we would really like some dry weather and preferably with some sunshine.

We are visiting Montserrat which is at an altitude of 1450 metres above sea level inland from Barcelona and if there is any rain about then the views are likely to be diminished.

The forecast looks reasonable with a few showers around in the morning so we have our fingers crossed.

We rejoined the N340 after leaving L’Ampolla. Our night in the mobile home had been a better experience than the time in the cramped one we had in Granada.

We headed inland at Salou, just short of Tarragona, having made very good progress on a double laned highway.

The double laned highway continued on to Valls where it was time to fill the petrol tank.

Here we had another of those experiences where the automatic card reader wouldn’t read the card and I retrieved it before it disappeared inside the machine. Thankfully there was another petrol station just up the road and we filled there at the same price with no problems.

We joined the C37 which was a remote road that twisted and turned its way up the side of gorge that was out to the left of the car and seemed to be getting deeper the further we drove.

Part way up this road we stopped to have lunch in a lay-by and once the engine of the car was turned off the silence was ‘deafening ‘and we could have been the only people left on earth such it seemed our isolation.

Up until lunchtime the weather had stayed dry although the sky was overcast and we were hopeful of making it to Montserrat before any rain arrived.

However as we continued to climb steadily the weather turned against us and soon we were driving in light misty rain and the surrounding mountains disappeared from our view.

As we made it onto the road leading to the abbey built in the 9^th century the light rain turned to a mixture of mist and fog. However we had come this far so we continued on even though we could tell there would be no scenery to look out once we made our destination.

We had actually programmed the GPS to take us to the little village of Monistrol from where we had planned to take the rack railway up to the abbey. This involved a 15 minute ride on the railway which clings to the mountainside and apparently gave spectacular views of the valley below.

However from the direction we had climbed the mountain we actually arrived at the abbey before Monistrol which in a way was just as well because the train ride would have been a waste of money as the fog would have meant absolutely nothing to look at except the inside of the carriage.

After our experience at the Alhambra with bus tour parties taking up the majority of entrance tickets we wondered whether we should have checked to see if entry to the abbey was limited by number although it was hard to imagine that there would be as many people as up venturing up here today.

We started to count the tour buses coming down the mountain road and were surprised just how many people had been visiting up here in the fog this afternoon. Gretchen had read earlier in the day that there were parking spaces for 70 tour buses in the car park and at least 10 had passed us on their way out.

We had been to Montserrat before in 2009 on the BBA V1 but on that occasion, a beautifully sunny day, we had thought that the entry to the car park of the abbey was closed and we didn’t actually get to see inside the abbey. Hence our trip up the mountainside again on the BBA V3.

So we weren’t too disappointed that the fog had taken the scenery away as it was the inside of the abbey that we had really come back for.

This time the barrier arm at the entry to the numerous car parks lifted after we took a ticket and we drove up to get a park as close as we could to reduce the amount of walking in the misty rain.

Dodging puddles formed from the misty rain we got over to walk the last couple of hundred metres under a covered walkway from which on one side you could see the rack railway’s last stretch to the upper abbey station. Out there should also have a panoramic view of the valley below but the dense fog hid that expertly.

The abbey grounds are a mix of commercialism and tourist attraction with a religious theme. The commercial side in from a cafe and a restaurant as well as a line of small stalls selling locally made produce. The cafe and restaurant being in buildings were doing a good trade but the stalls were out in the open and the tourists generally were avoiding them in an effort to keep dry.

We entered the courtyard in front of the basilica noting a long queue that had formed down one side under cover and wondered why people were doing that when it seemed like entry to the basilica was free through the doors ahead of us.

Like many buildings of this type which had been established centuries ago it had been added to several times over the years and had been substantially destroyed during the war with the French in 1808 and was not reconstructed until the end of the 19^th century.

Notices as you enter the basilica in several positions clearly stated ‘No cameras or video’.

However this was being ignored, especially by Asian tourists who were clicking like mad on their cameras, tablets and mobile phones and some using flash. No one in authority seemed to be about to tell them not to take photos. A couple were even standing right next to one of the signs taking photos.

We obeyed the rules and anyway we already have a lot of photos and video of other church structures we have been into to satisfy ourselves.

As we took a seat to contemplate the interior of the basilica we realised what the queue was all about. Above the altar was a small opening and in it you could see the small statue of the Black Madonna, the patron Saint of Catalonia and the reason for the people queuing. Slowly the people passed by, some stopping to say a prayer and most touching the statue, which is allowed.

We decided not to join the queue but rather admire the small statue from the body of the basilica.

We took a stroll around the chapels on both sides of the basilica before heading back to the covered walkway and the car park.

The interior of the basilica was not overly ornate but there was enough to look around and take in.

The car park would have been free had we been able to complete our visit to the basilica in 30 minutes. Our guess is that that is simply impossible whether or not it was a foggy, misty day and that everyone who visited by car would have to pay the minimum fee of €6.50 once their 30 minutes was up. You would have had to sprint from the car park to the basilica, take a quick look and sprint back to the vending machine to put in your ticket for validating for the exit if you wanted to get a free visit.

Driving down the mountainside behind an ambulance that was taking it all very slowly wasn’t a bad thing considering the part we were driving down seemed to be more fog bound than the other side of the mountain we had driven up to the abbey from.

Then as we got down to the highway that would take us the final few kilometres to our overnight stay at the Hotel Barcelona Golf Resort and Spa which was located in a remote country site about 5km off the highway, the weather cleared and fog and mist lifted.

We have found ourselves a real bargain for the night having a room that usually went at €129 for just €29.It was your usual hotel room although quite spacious with a decent size bathroom area and also a lovely outlook over the golf course.

Parking in the basement we were able to take the lift straight to the 1^st floor bypassing the reception area where we had checked in, when we took our motley looking range of packing cells which held a change of clothes for overnight and the next night too and stuff for breakfast including the shopping bag with the toaster. We might have been thrown out had the reception staff seen our ‘luggage’!

We had hoped to find a local restaurant in one of the nearby towns for our last dinner in Spain but being a Sunday evening there was nothing open as we drove around and we ended up in Burger King as we became desperate for some food as it had been a long time since lunch.

It was a tasty burger we each had but not quite the way we wanted to end our gastronomic experience of Spain.

Then as we were driving back to the hotel we noticed a couple of the restaurants that had been closed when we went out at 8pm and of course we realised that we had been too early as most Spaniards don’t dine until at least 9pm!

Tomorrow it is back to France.

PS enjoy that timeless song from My Fair Lady on Youtube with the great Rex Harrison

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