“By a small sample we may judge of the whole piece” – Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha.
 |
| The picture I really, really wanted to take in Montserrat! |
It has come to my attention that most people lead busy lives, so do not have the time to read long treatises on trivial matters. In deference to that logic, my 4 blog entries for my recent trip to Barcelona (February 2016) will be 2 short paragraphs length and I will, each time, just touch on one aspect of the trip as; “by a small sample we may judge of the whole piece.” My photo essay, and its captions, at the end of the 2 paragraphs will then furnish the other details of the trip.
by Kudakwashe Kanhutu, Montserrat, Catalunya, Spain 12. 02. 2016.
I am a person who is more at home with nature than in the city. I am happier climbing mountains and navigating thick forests by following rivers than commuting on the express train between Terminal One and the Central Station (God knows there is both in every city). So, I was not as enthusiastic about visiting Barcelona as I should have been in all the 2 years I have been planning to go there. Even when I had paid for everything associated with the trip, I was still thinking it would be exactly like being in London (all big cities being a carbon copy of each other anyway). It was the most fortuitous thing that, with a week to go before departure, I came across the picture (above) of Montserrat on Facebook and, the owner of the picture had given helpful hints on how to get to Montserrat (including how much it costs). Thus Barcelona has something London does not have: the great outdoors!
 |
| The monument to Ramon Llull high in the Montserrat Mountains. The eight stages of the monument, in the form of a spiral, represent the eight stages of awareness: (stone, flame, plant, animal, man, heaven, angel, God) but when I got there it was fenced off. Sad day indeed. |
Montserrat means “Saw Mountain” and the Caribbean Island of Montserrat was named after this mountain. It has many attractions, chiefly, the Basilica there which houses the Black Madonna (a site of pilgrimage for many). And, as this is Spain’s First National Park, nature hikes at this high altitude is also the other main draw. But even though these attractions were available to me, I am a one track minded person and what I really wanted to do in Montserrat was to take a picture exactly like the one above; balancing at the top of the monument to Ramon Lull. But this was not to be. You see, they have since fenced off this monument, perhaps because there have been fatalities among tourists attempting that pose. Each of the 8 blocks of this monument, as noted in the above caption, represents the levels of awareness starting with stone and going on through the levels to God at the highest. What made my not being able to take the above photograph a great disappointment is that when I got back to England, I saw a picture where someone had jumped the fence and taken the same picture anyway? Am I losing my sense of rebellion??
Facts and Figures:
When you get to Barcelona, turn left and head for the mountains!
 |
| Montserrat, Catalunya. |
 |
| The cards I swear by in Barcelona - The TransMontserrat and the 5 Day Barcelona Pass. |
Photo Essay:
 |
| Platform 4 at Placa Espanya is where you catch the R5 to Manresa. From Barcelona to Montserrat takes 1 Hour on the R5. |
 |
| Placa Espanya, for the R5 to Manresa. |
 |
| Platform 4 at Placa Espanya. The first train is at 08:36 and then every hour thereafter. |
 |
| The R5 to Manresa pulls in at the Aeri de Montserrat Station. |
 |
| Aeri de Montserrat Station |
 |
My first sight of Montserrat
|
 |
| Montserrat, the part that overlooks the Aeri de Montserrat Station. The Rack Railway Station is the next stop (I think). |
 |
| So happy to be here, before I found out I was not going to be able to execute my Coup d'main |
 |
| The Cable Car Station |
 |
| The Cable Car to halfway up the mountain. |
 |
| The Cable Car in action |
 |
| The view from the Cable Car on the way up |
 |
| The Cable Car on the way up. Is that Burberry I spy high up in the mountains like this?! |
 |
The view from the Cable Car on the way up.
|
 |
Arrival on the other side.
|
 |
| Aeri de Montserrat Station. Mountain. |
 |
| Looking around soon after disembarking from the Cable Car. |
 |
Then disaster struck!
|
 |
| The other way to get up the mountain is this - the Rack Railway - but when you buy your TransMontserrat ticket you have to choose either the Cable Car or Rack Railway in advance. I chose the Cable Car. |
 |
| The other way to get up the mountain is this - the Rack Railway - but when you buy your TransMontserrat ticket you have to choose either the Cable Car or Rack Railway in advance. I chose the Cable Car. |
 |
| The views from up here, and this is only halfway up the mountain. I still had a climb to the summit ahead of me. |
 |
| The object of my desire: to stand on top of this monument and have my picture taken. |
 |
| The closest I got to climbing to the top of this monument. You can clearly see the different levels of awareness written on that monument with Deu (God) being on the highest block. |
 |
| How I would have posed had I managed to climb to the top of the Ramon Llull monument. |
 |
| How I would have posed had I managed to climb to the top of the Ramon Llull monument. |
 |
| I believe this is a monument to the Spanish Civil War 1936 - 39. |
 |
| I did not get to find out what this monument represents. |
 |
| I did not get to find out what this monument represents. |
 |
| But do not be disheartened by failing to make that dangerous pose on top of the Ramon Llull monument. The star attraction of Montserrat is this Basilica which houses the Black Madonna, one of Catalunya's Patron Saints. |
 |
| But do not be disheartened by failing to make that dangerous pose on top of the Ramon Llull monument. The star attraction of Montserrat is this Basilica which houses the Black Madonna, one of Catalunya's Patron Saints. |
 |
| But do not be disheartened by failing to make that dangerous pose on top of the Ramon Llull monument. The star attraction of Montserrat is this Basilica which houses the Black Madonna, one of Catalunya's Patron Saints. |
 |
| The thing to remember if you want to see the Black Madonna is that you have to be very patient. There is a bit of a queue, and as it is free entry, there is no jumping the queue by booking in advance. |
 |
| The thing to remember if you want to see the Black Madonna is that you have to be very patient. There is a bit of a queue, and as it is free entry, there is no jumping the queue by booking in advance. |
 |
| The thing to remember if you want to see the Black Madonna is that you have to be very patient. There is a bit of a queue, and as it is free entry, there is no jumping the queue by booking in advance. |
 |
| As I had other things to do back in the city, I did not get to see the Black Madonna, instead I was just content to look around the other parts of the Basilica. |
 |
| As I had other things to do back in the city, I did not get to see the Black Madonna, instead I was just content to look around the other parts of the Basilica. |
 |
| As I had other things to do back in the city, I did not get to see the Black Madonna, instead I was just content to look around the other parts of the Basilica. |
 |
| I got out of the Basilica and decided to go yet higher up this mountain as the Basilica is only located halfway up Montserrat. |
 |
| How did I get to the summit of Montserrat I hear you ask? |
 |
| Well, nothing quite that dramatic, I used the Furnicular, but only because I had already paid for it. |
 |
| Well, nothing quite that dramatic, I used the Furnicular, but only because I had already paid for it. |
 |
| Well, nothing quite that dramatic, I used the Furnicular, but only because I had already paid for it. |
 |
| The engine room of the Furnicular. |
 |
| The summit I reached since, as you can see, there are points of the mountain still higher behind me. |
 |
| I don't even know what that means. |
 |
| I wish now I had taken a video instead of those clouds as they got trapped by the peaks of Montserrat. |
 |
| Yes, that is a perfect diagrammatic representation of my walk from here on. |
 |
| How I briskly got up to the summit I was attacking here. |
 |
| How I briskly got up to the summit I was attacking here. |
 |
| The path up here at the summit. |
 |
| Standing room only at the summit |
 |
| The highest point I reached on Montserrat. If you remember my pictures from the ground, I am actually now behind the peaks visible from that vantage point. |
 |
Looking to the other side of the mountain. The Aeri de Montserrat Cable Car Station is directly behind me (I think!)
|
 |
| Mountain climbing is hungry work, besides... |
 |
| ...part of my mission is to taste some genuine national cuisines of each country I visit. |
No comments:
Post a Comment