Montserrat hiking and monastery

The mountains we were hiking in today

We're about halfway up the mountain here, at the site of the monastery where the black virgin statue is kept

Just beginning our hike to see some of the hermitage sites and a small chapel

Looking out onto the chapel

About where the green bushes are is where we had to cross this rock face on a narrow pathway

Looking up now at the chapel--you can barely see a pathway in the middle of the big rock.  This is where the hermits lived.

Our last full day in Barcelona was a blast—Nancy said it was her favorite day of sightseeing, so we ended on a high note.

After breakfast, we took an hour long train to the town of Montserrat (named for serrated mountains that jut up here), about an hour away.  From there, we caught a series of funiculars (we hadn’t heard this term before: trains that go up and down a mountain at a slope) to the monastery up in the heights.  We waited in a seemingly interminable line to see the black virgin statue, but realized later that we might be able to make more efficient use of our time by getting a farther-away view.  Couldn’t see it very well, but that DID allow us to get to better appreciate the basilica’s majesty.  This is the most important pilgrimage site in Catalonia, so we witnessed many worshippers who had come from far away.  Unfortunately, the printed basilica guides in English were all taken from the dispenser.  On the up side, there were plenty in Dutch!

We went on another funicular up to the loftiest heights and hiked around for an hour and a half—got to see a chapel and a couple of other hermitage sites, where hermits lived hundreds of years ago.  Some truly beautiful vistas!

Nancy and I joked during the ascent that we should climb some of the sheer rock faces—but it wasn’t too long before we were climbing some pretty steep paths and stepping across some seemingly precarious bridges.  Quite an adventure! 

But the best was just being together, and my favorite part was riding on the train back, when Nancy put her head on my clavicle. 

Can’t wait to see the kids when we get home!