Montserrat

Montserrat

The 11th of November was a cold and crisp morning; we had decided the day before to go to Montserrat Mountain if the weather was clear. Luckily for us it was a nice day and we all got in the car and set off on our journey. The mountain came into view very quickly from the motorway because of its sheer size however it took a considerable amount of time to get to the base of Montserrat as the distance was deceiving. When we reached our destination we began to climb up the mountain using the windy and dangerous roads leading up to its summit. On arrival it became clear we were not the only people with the idea of heading to Montserrat today, it was very busy and it became apparent that it was impossible to park the car in the car park, which is basically a piece of wide road scaling the mountain.

This meant we had to descend down the mountain and try another form of transportation, this in the end turned out to be a great piece of luck. We headed towards the cable car station at the bottom of the mountain and on arrival bought a ticket. After a quick lavatory stop for me and Leandre and tickets in hand we waited for the next car. It was on its way down from the summit and descended with a great speed, we began to joke about the cable cars safety and in no time the car was here and entered. The car was bright yellow and of a decent size, it fits about 15 people in I’d say. We hopped in and stood by the window which wasn’t difficult as the entire car was circular with windows everywhere, much like a pod on the London Eye. The driver started the cab and we began to rise steeply up the mountain, the view was beautiful and it was a shame that it wasn’t a perfectly clear day because I’m sure you would have been able to see for miles from the position we were in.

A few minutes later and we arrived at the top; the strange formation of tall rounded rocks at the summit of the mountain confused me, with the thoughts of impossibility yet I was seeing it with my own eyes. 

I stepped out into the cold, fresh air and it was obvious we were at a high altitude. We began to walk up the concrete steps adjacent to us whilst looking at the mountain side in front of us, it was a beautiful sight and is somewhere I recommend anyone to visit just for the fact you have said you have been there. We then made our way to the Monastery, the main reason we came, it housed the Virgin Mary statue which was very sacred here. People travelled from far and wide, queued for many hours just to get up close to it and have the chance to kiss the statue. Surprisingly for me it was a very spiritual place as usually nothing like this affects me with no religious views what so ever. Inside the Monastery it appeared very extravagant and excessively expensive; the monk was talking in Catalan to the crowd who had formed on the pews in the Monastery, it was full with people standing on the sides and I was one of them.  It fell very quiet as they listened to every word intensely.

After the Monastery we made our way through the small walkway opposite which contained some shops and a hostel, here was where many of the tourists came to buy souvenirs however it was also for locals who came to buy special bread or cheeses from the local market traders who had set up on the mountain side. They all offered you cheese on the end of a knife for you to taste, fighting for your custom but I couldn’t help but think all the cheese probably tasted the same, no matter who was selling it.

Then it was time for a well earned rest, we went into the only cafe on the mountain and had a coffee and some biscuits, it was very nice a good way to relax however after it was time to descend back down the grandness of Montserrat.