In the Presence of Our Lady

Montserrat
Autumn 2011

On a mountain top in Montserrat
(Oct-2011)

Journal Entry... It is recounted that in the Montserrat mountains, visions of the Virgin Mary "in shining lights and angelic music" were seen and heard by shepherd children, and where on a rock surface an image of the Virgin Mary had appeared-- where a Chapel was built around the Virgin Mary's apparition site. Like Assisi is to Rome, so is Montserrat to Barcelona. One hour ride on the train from Barcelona, I found myself in the glorious mountain ranges of Catalunya, the Benedictine monks' mountain retreat and pilgrimage site to the Lady of Montserrat inside a cave chapel.


30-oct: Day trip to Montserrat... Purchased the "ToT Montserrat" tickets at the Plaza Espanya train station, in Barcelona. Journey tickets covered the Barcelona-Montserrat-Barcelona train ride, the funicular ride to and from the Monastery, access to mountain trails, and buffet lunch.

Abbey of Montserrat amidst ornate rock formations

Chapel in a cave
at Montserrat

In purchasing journey tickets, one had to decide between a funicular (with seats) and the cable car (without seats), to and from the Monastery; a chosen ride was not interchangeable, as each had designated train stops. The lady selling the special journey tickets had cautioned me and the hubby to be attentive to the indicated time on the train tickets, and about the Line R5 to Montserrat, but then, in Spanish. I relied on the hubby to take note of it, who as I've said, had mandatory Spanish language classes as part of his college curriculum.

View of Montserrat mountains from a passing train

Return train
to Montserrat

Line R5 train came, and hubby and I boarded it right away to secure seats, and off went the train to Montserrat. Montserrat mountains came to view later on the ride... I pointed out the mountains to the hubby. I also took a photo of the mountain scene from the train, which had caught an image of the funicular tracks to a mountain top. The Montserrat mountains went east, then south of our passing train... Thinking, the train was going around to circle it, I had my eyes calmly set on those Montserrat mountains. Until... the Montserrat mountains were nowhere to be seen on the horizon. I alerted the hubby, who was quite relaxed sitting inside the moving train, about the missing mountains. I stood up, and checked the destination signals (right above the train door), and my fear had been confirmed--  train had forked to the left track at the last Martorell-Enllac stop to some other end line, which is not Montserrat. Immediately at the next stop, hubby and I got off the train; hubby looked for the station master to ask how to get back to Montserrat, and without wasting our pricey journey tickets. Hubby, once again, mustered enough Spanish sentences to the Spanish-speaking Station master, and made sure we weren't paying extra on the return train to Montserrat.

Funicular ride
to Montserrat

So, what went wrong with that Line R5 train anyway? It turns out, hubby and I had hopped on the Line R5 train that arrived at Plaza Espanya station too quickly, forgetting about the departure time printed on our train tickets in our rush to find seats. What arrived as Line R5, had left the train station changing to Line R6 bound to a different destination. It was what the lady selling the train tickets had cautioned about. Station master guided us how to connect to Montserrat at the Martorell-Enllac stop. 

Santa Cova trail
to the Holy Grotto

After an hour's delay, hubby and I were back on track, aboard the correct Line R5 train to Montserrat. Our tennis match of a banter on who was responsible for the blunder with the trains had become enjoyable after a while. Getting lost is part of one's travel adventures. We reached the mountain top, choosing the funicular ride, around lunch time. So, we went straight ahead to claim our ticketed lunch. It was about right to get some energy booster, as we'd discover the way to the Holy Grotto meant walking a kilometric footpath. A shorter funicular ride first brought us down to the Santa Cova trail, from where the kilometric footpath to the Holy Grotto started, which was non-negotiable to those wanting to reach the Holy Grotto.

View of the Abbey of Montserrat from Santa Cova trail

Autumn scene
in Montserrat

For a first-timer, I could not estimate the distance to the Holy Grotto, from that start point, because the natural curves of the mountains had obscured it from view; the long and winding pathway stretched as far as my eyes could reach. The foothpath, even if paved in concrete, went uphill. To my side, hubby was having second thoughts about going on a trail hike. Montserrat's autumn weather was not cold enough to hubby's liking. Hubby was sweating under his shirt, and had already taken his jacket off; I was unsure if hubby was sweating because of the slightly cool temperature, or the mere thought of a trail hike had agitated his sweat glands as hubby is never keen to long walks.

"Christ on the Cross"
in Santa Cova trail

The Santa Cova mountain trail had religious markers set out towards the direction of the Holy Grotto which, I figured, composed the Three Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. At every 100 meters was a religious marker, so I estimated that if there are five to every mystery multiplied by three mysteries, that would compute to 1.5-km footpath to the Holy Grotto, more or less, and the same distance to get back to start. Returning pilgrims, when asked, replied, "It's far!" Only one's faith will encourage that first step to make a series of steps to reach the Holy Grotto. Otherwise, there's another statue of the Lady of Montserrat waiting down at the (main) Abbey one can visit without a sweat. Faith can move mountains... Hubby and I hiked the Santa Cova trail to the Holy Grotto, and back.

Bronze statue of the Lady of Montserrat on a rock in Capella de la Santa Cova

Sant Joan
mountain top

A third funicular ride brought us up to the Sant Joan mountain top. Such breathtaking mountain view catapulted self-reflection on my part, as I sat on the ground looking out into the vastness of the earth and God's creation, admiring the ornate rock formations typical to Montserrat mountains, while the hubby explored the area. 

Lady of Montserrat
at the main Abbey

It was dusk by the time hubby and I got back down to enter the Abbey of Montserrat. Inside the Basilica, I lined up to the Virgin Mary holding a globe, with a prayer. And then, day had turned to night in Montserrat... A funicular ride down the mountain, and a train ride back to Plaza Espanya station on the Line R5 train later, hubby and I were back in Barcelona for another round of Spanish-style tapas and sangria for nightcap, recalling our train blunder to Montserrat. Train blunder and all, the day trip to Montserrat is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was a special moment to be in the presence of the Lady of Montserrat at her apparition site in the mountains at Montserrat.

A pilgrimage to Montserrat in autumn

31-oct: Arrived, Madrid... Link to>>> Journal Entry: Viva! Madrid #spain #madrid #autumn2011

oOo
PHOTOSTITCH


#Spain #Montserrat #autumn2011