Visiting the Jagged Mountains

In planning this trip, we thought seeing some of the countryside around Barcelona would be a good idea.  So, we booked a trip to Montserrat which included a wine tasting.  I didn't know much about Montserrat (translation:  serrated mountain) but the photos in the promo ad for the tour looked amazing.  So, Saturday for our last booked tour, we met our group at 8:30 (too early especially as it is impossible to find anywhere to get breakfast that opens before 8) and boarded a bus for the one hour drive to our destination.  One of the couples in the group was from Campbell River.   Small world!  We started on a motorway but then took a regular road which impressively wound up and up a mountain with amazing scenery, especially the incredible rock formations.  We were told this landscape was created millions of years ago when the area was covered by a sea.  When one of the world's tectonic plates mover north, it created the mountains and wind, rain and other forms of erosion did the rest to create jagged or serrated looking mountains.  Whatever the cause, the result is amazing.

I took this photo later in the day from the vineyard we visited.  In it, you can clearly see the serrated (jagged) mountains.

On the way there, we learned that St. George plays a big role in the history of Barcelona.  While the story isn’t that dissimilar from the British version regarding St. George slaying a dragon and then giving the rescued "damsel" a rose, the legend seems to have much significance here.  April 23^rd is St. George’s day and it is the day when men give women roses.  The Barcelonans have embraced this day and rejected St. Valentine’s Day as the day of romance.  In return for the roses, women give men books.  Interestingly, the date coincides also with the deaths of William Shakespeare and Cervantes who both died in the same year.  It also explains why roses are one of the symbols of Barcelona.

Montserrat is a major religious site in Spain.  Aside from its religious significance, its natural setting is in and of itself is breathtaking and beautiful.  The following information is from the Internet:

This mountain is home to one of the most important religious sites in Spain and groups of young people from Barcelona and all over Catalonia make overnight hikes at least once in their lives to watch the sunrise from the heights of Montserrat.  A residence for the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, the mountain is visited not only by those seeking spiritual rewards but also by those looking for one of the most spectaculars views of Catalonia.  The history of Montserrat goes back to 880 when a group of shepherd children saw a bright light descending from the sky in the Montserrat mountains.  [When they investigated, they found a cave and, in it, a statue of a black Madonna and child.]  The image is one of the Black Madonnas of Europe; hence its familiar Catalan name, La Moreneta ("the little dark-skinned one" or "the little dark one").  Believed by some to have been carved in Jerusalem in the early days of the Church, it is more likely a Romanesque sculpture in wood from the late 12th century.  By one account, the image of the Madonna was moved to Montserrat in 718 to avoid the danger posed by invading Saracens.  Legend has it that the Benedictine monks could not move the statue to construct their monastery, choosing to instead build around it.  The statue's sanctuary is located at the rear of the chapel, where an altar of gold surrounds the icon, and it is now a site of pilgrimage.  The Escolania, Montserrat’s Boys’ Choir, is one of the oldest in Europe and performs during religious ceremonies and communal prayers in the basilica.  They also perform every day at the Basilica of Montserrat.  The monks are also the owners of the Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, a publishing house that continues to operate today. It is the oldest press in the world, having published its first book in 1499.  

We arrived early enough that there weren't many people around and it was only a short walk from the bus parking to the abbey and the church.  Later in the day, when we left, people had to park quite a few kms away and walk up the steep hill to get to the abbey.  That is one advantage of being on a tour, for sure!  Before going into the centre, we stopped to take in the amazing views.

The monastery which once housed over 600 priests is now down to about 40.  Much of the abbey was sacked and destroyed by Napoleon twice (1811 and 1812) but it was rebuilt and restored in 1833.  

We spent nearly 3 hours here including visiting the cathedral where mass was about to begin as well as the art museum and shops.  It wasn’t lost on me, having a Catholic sister, that it wasn’t me but Nawal who stayed for the mass because she likes Gregorian chants.  I went outside to enjoy the natural beauty of the place instead.  Before I left the church, I did see La Moreneta, at least from a distance.  

Just before mass started

That's La Moreneta in the white casing

Montserrat also has a contemporary art museum which Nawal and I made a short visit to.  It contains important artworks including paintings by a large number of Spanish artists as well as some by Monet, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, and Picasso.   

Unfortunately, even though we had 3 hours in Montserrat, we didn't have enough time to do everything.  In addition to the museum, there is an interesting boutique featuring food stuffs, liqours and souvenirs plus a street of food stalls where you can sample - which I need to point out leads to buying! - cheeses, dried fruits, cookies, candies.  I certainly came away less lighter than when I arrived both because of what I put into my stomach and because of what went into my shopping bag!  For the more energetic, there are a number of hikes which can be done from here plus there is a funicular which take you up to the top of the mountain.

The funicular going up to the top of the mountain

The original abbey courtyard which survived Napoleon's destruction
The trees are a palm (fertility), a cypress (hope), the olive (forgiveness) and a laurel (courage)

One of the many food vendors offering samples

The sculpture, called Stairway to Heaven, had to be roped off when someone climbed it to get a selfie and fell off

We had one last chance to take photos of the amazing scenery here before we were driven to a nearby vineyard where we had a four course lunch with wine.  Olla de al Mas (the Potter’s House) winery is small by Catalan standards and only produces 100,000 bottles of wine a year.  Our lunch was a set menu of wine, gazpacho, salad, a meat-filled cannelloni and yoghurt for dessert.  It was okay but, like so many tour-produced lunches, not the highest quality.  Following our meal, we walked over to the small castle nearby which houses the wine production facility and tasting rooms.  We got to taste 3 wines – a white plus a couple of reds, one of which was very good.  After that, we boarded the bus and headed back to Barcelona which took about 1 ½ hours.  We were all pretty tired when we arrived back in Catalonia Square at 7:30.  It had been a long but very good day!

Jordi, our guide