Journey to Montserrat

13 Tuesday 2007- Tuesday
Montserrat

Awake after 3 hours sleep and debate whether or not to take an Ambien- 2 hours later wish I had. Phone rings at six and if it wasn't for the shower doubt I'd have made it to breakfast at seven. And what a breakfast- fish, cheeses, all kinds of bread and pastries, serrano ham, cereals and of course omelets made to order. Cafe con leche as only the Spanish can make it and I'm ready for the bus tour to Montserrat at 0830. At breakfast notice the diabetic from Chicago has ditched his shades and cane and is doing a great job at the buffet. Bus 3/4s full and some passengers look like the walking wounded, including myself, probably. Stopped at another hotel on Pius XII square on the Diagonal Blvd to fill up the bus. They must have paid more for the tour because the hotel is in a great location across from Alphonse XIII's palace. Head north to a strange looking mountain- Montserrat. Translated it is the serrated mountain- looks like the blade of a saw from a distance. Great scenery, but the reason for the trip is a Benedictine monastery perched on a cliff alleged to be very ancient and started as a retreat by a villager who wanted to devote his time to isolated meditation. Got bored and carved himself a Madonna which turned black from the smoke in his cave. When the Moors invaded Spain he hid it in a cave and it was rediscovered when Moors defeated and a shrine erected later to become a monastery. One of the monks accompanied Columbus on his second voyage. (There are a lot of anachronisms in the story).
The monastery destroyed twice. First by Napoleon's troops in 1808 and then in the Spanish civil war 1936-39 by the Republicans (communists). So most of the structures are new- all the provinces in Spain sent hanging lamps for the new church as a sign of reconciliation. The Black Madonna is ensconced in a glass case above the altar and the globe that baby Jesus holds in his right hand sticks out through the glass. There is a staircase up to the Madonna and great beneficence is obtained by touching the ball. She is the protectress of Catalonia/ Aragon. After the tour go on a photo shoot and pop into the church for the beginning of a 11am mass with 100 plus monks and their Gregorian chant- can only stay 10 minutes, but very impressive- Since this is past the tourist season church pretty empty. Get postcards and then go to the Montserrat post office where they have a generic stamp that the postmistress prints the value on. Back on the bus and complete the circuit of the mountain before returning to the hotel. Head for my all-you-can-eat place (Lunch is only 8 euros). Too late in the day to start a sojourn- it gets dark about 5- so write postcards and realize the printed labels I brought along are useless because I can't separate them from the backing?-
Finally watch another episode of Rome and tonight I do take an Ambien at 10 pm- I'm tired of being tired.