Montserrat

Deep in the heart of the Montserrat mountains, there is a church perched near the summit. I was very much looking forward to this trip. It would be like a mini pilgrimage for me. My cousin Maya and I would take a train an hour out Barcelona, then finally a cable car to the area.

One of the minor chapels

The basilica of Montserrat is dedicated to statue of the black virgin. The story surrounding the entire place is quite mythical. Supposedly, the statue was carved by St. Luke the evangelist. As they were transporting the statue, passing by Montserrat, the statue suddenly became too heavy to lift. Thus it was said that the virgin chose the spot to rest.

Upon arriving there and getting off the cable car, I was stunned. There were so many people! Tourists of all sorts, children on school trips. It surprised me to find that this is actually a popular destination as opposed to the hermitage I expected it to be.

A view from the cable car station

All the people aside though, it is a nice area. To get around, one can walk on many of trails on the mountain. If walking's not your style, there are little trams that go up and down to certain points.

One of the best things we saw there was a stations of the rosary. Yeah, not cross, rosary. On one of the mountain trails, there are fifteen statues or sculptures that depict the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries. This all ends in a small chapel called Santa Cova. This cave converted to a chapel is the original site of the virgin statue.

The agony in the garden

The longest trail of Montserrat (which we didn't do) is two hour hike up the heart of the mountain. This leads all the way up to what used to be the secluded houses for monks, or anyone who is interested in doing some meditation. It's a good 1000 meters above sea level.

When we went up partially, the weather was chilly and there was a mist all about. You couldn't see 10 meters past your place. All this gave off the feel of a poorly written horror film. Two young people going for a hike on a misty mountain. Kulang na lang we split up. Still I can imagine this place as being a good place to get seclusion from the city far below, and even the rest of the monks down at the basilica.

Not a mistake, this is a picture of the mist

Then of course there's the basilica itself. One of my highlights was seeing the statue of St. Ignatius. The story is that St. Ignatius, upon his conversion, went to Montserrat and offered his sword to the virgin, giving up the life of a soldier for spiritual warfare. It was also nearby that he wrote his spiritual exercises.

Here he is Ateneans (and Xaverians)