Montserrat was a must-see, on the itinerary before we left the States. From our Barcelona flat, we took the metro to the train station and from there took a train (about an hour) to a rack railway...to the mountain, monastery and basilica.
We waited on a long and slow-moving line to see one of the "Black Madonna"s of Europe, La Moreneta. Barbra's patience was tested by the college kids behind us, I was enchanted by the middle aged couple and one of their moms in front of us. To see the elderly woman gaze upon the Virgin when it was her turn...the love and fervor in her eyes...I felt grateful to bear such lovely witness. I captured a shot of her feet as she turned away...
There was a wonderful sanctuary space behind and below the Virgin. It was the first time I consciously realized how wonderfully restorative the scent of fresh lilies are. We walked around the room and sat there for a few minutes, alone. Then a small, but chatty group came in and we left.
Finished at the basilica, we had some lunch and delved into the mountain. We took a funicular up one mother of a steep ass incline and took in a whole other landscape and reality. (Barbra was having mystical experiences right and left. I was PMSing...didn't realize it at the time...and felt more tired than anything...such is life. I did recognize the immenseness and majesty of the place even as I couldn't connect to it...the pictures are my evidence :-)
If you ever go to Montserrat, make sure you wear good walking/hiking shoes. I fell walking downhill on a rocky section of path. (I fell at Kamakura on a similar surface.) I was fine, a minor scrape on my left knee. Also, as you might guess, bring protection for the UV rays which will come down on you.
What an amazing place. It left me breathless in more ways than one. A place so otherworldly that despite its being developed to suit the every tourist, it stills retains an ancient, nonchalant core of being itself.
My mind was blown by the stone formations that comprised the top areas of the mountain. It was nothing like I had ever seen...and this is such a critical reason to travel. Sometimes, the big stuff explodes your consciousness in a clean and clear way that feels amazing and lays new ground, just different from the day-to-day magic of small things.
On our way down the mountain, I strained to capture the wonder I felt from behind the windows of the rack railway car. It was the best that I could do, but really, I think you might want to go and see for yourself.
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