Montserrat mystique

  Montserrat, Spain
Saturday, July 12, 2008

We have been spending every possible evening and weekend at the beach since mid June, but we finally decided that we'd better try exploring other landscapes as well.

Hall of candles

On July 12 we decided to take the train to Montserrat, where mountain and monastery meet. Part of the fun of the excursion is the transportation. The train journey on FGC was scenic and relaxing. Then we caught the zipper train up the mountain and the panoramic views were stunning. The village at the top is part historic and part touristic. There are a few hotels, restaurants and a museum which are fairly modern. Then you have the lovely old monastery and cathedral as well as little old churches further up the mountain as part of the hiking trail. There is also a special Virgin Mary here but I admit that I don't remember the whole story. We had our picnic lunch on the monastery steps then wandered around inside. The area with the candles is really beautiful.

View of Montserrat

Later on we took the funicular up to the very top lookout and walked to one of the old abandoned churches. There are some nice hikes here if you have enough time. We saw that the sky was getting a bit grey and gloomy so we cut our hike short and started to walk down the hill back to the village. At 6:00 we caught the zipper train back to the railway station. On the way down the hill, the skies opened up and let out a great shower. It was still raining cats and dogs by the time we arrived back in Barcelona. We got soaked through just running a block and a half from the metro to our apartment.

Monkey mountains

This is definitely a must-see day trip outing if you want to explore the region of Catalonia but be back in Barcelona in time for dinner. The scenery is so different from the coast - the rock formations and terrain are very unique. Plus the old historic feel of the monastery and little churches conjures up images of the past. There are so many myths associated with the mountains too that are fun to read about. And the religious symbolism is very powerful too. It was a great day out despite the wet ending!