Montserrat, I mean, sorry. I was going to title this entry ‘The Hordes’ but hey, who doesn’t like a smug little play on words. And in this case either title is appropriate. Don’t get me wrong, as Montserrat is very high on the list of things to do when you are in Barcelona, but OMG! Maybe we timed it badly, low season and all, but really, ‘European school day vacation, Montserrat’. All that was missing were the Griswolds!
So, Montserrat is well known as the site of the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary. It’s a spectacular place built high up on the mountain with stunning views of the surrounding countryside. It is promoted as a peaceful place to meditate, contemplate, or generally enjoy the religious ambience. You can tour the grand monastery and associated chapels scattered over the mountain, the holy grotto, or listen to the Escolania, Montserrat’s Boys’ Choir, one of the oldest in Europe. Or take the funicular (rack railway for getting up steep inclines) up to the top of mount Sant Jeroni for some hiking and great views of the province of Catalan.
Yes, there are hordes of people. It’s a stunning place, a destination spot for both tourists and pilgrims. And school children apparently. All of them! There must have been 15 thousand kids from all over Europe ranging in age from about 8 to 16. Lots of yelling and screaming, yes, in 5 or 6 different languages. Lots of running (in the form of races) around the basilica and up and down the hiking trails, yes. Lots of students who seem to need a backpack mini boom box for their favorite music, yes. Lots of meditation, no.
It was a bit exhausting and so we left a little early to return to the peace and quiet of bustling Barcelona. It was worth seeing, we got some great photos, and we’d go back again for the hiking and views. I’m told there is a large population of feral cats that live at the monastery and some wild boar on the mountain, but the only wildlife we saw were the mall-rats.
I absolutely love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you make this site yourself?
Please reply back as I’m trying to create my own blog and would like to find out where you got
this from or just what the theme is called.
Kudos! https://app.hiive.co.uk/profile/d802438b-1421-4bdf-bd04-d84e5af75684/
Hi, thanks for your encouragement. This is our first blog, so it is a work in progress. We designed it ourselves using WordPress, running the Zerif Lite theme.
You were unlucky with the timing of your visit. We were there late autumn and the chapel above was pretty much deserted.
Yep, price of being a tourist I guess. May face ‘hordes part 2’ at the Alhambra in Granada. It’s completely booked through to June (who knew…not us apparently). May have to get resourceful and we have some time as it is chilly and rainy here at the moment. Still better than chilly and rainy in Vancouver though. Granada is very interesting.