#48 At the monks in the mountains

January 2, 2022: Monistrol de Montserrat

F. After yesterday's day at the beach, we took the train to the mountains in Monistrol de Montserrat early in the morning today. Our travel group and we didn't really bother about specific activities in Barcelona in advance, so this hiking trip was not on the radar of all participants. Despite the rather miserable hiking equipment of everyone, we didn't want to miss this hot tip. However, the morning temperature in Montserrat was not hot at all. It was so cold that ice formed on the car windows.

To combat the cold, either a hot drink or movement helps. After coffee at the local café, we started right away. Always steeply uphill. After just a few minutes, the first layers of clothing were packed into the backpacks, and thanks to the sun, I quickly found myself wearing a T-shirt again. Our first hiking route led from the train station in Monistrol de Montserrat up the mountain to the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat. It is possible to cover the 500 meters in altitude with the cogwheel train, but then there is less nature to experience and you don't get as warm. After two hours of hiking on an absolutely beautiful and scenic trail, we reached the monastery. But first, here are a few impressions from the hike.

We met several families during the hike, and occasionally we also encountered runners in sportswear. However, the number of people remained manageable, so we were very surprised that the square at the monastery was completely crowded with tourists when we arrived. The cogwheel train seemed to be doing a good job. The monastery complex was very large, and it was not possible to distinguish exactly what was part of the original monastery and what was an extension. The extension is so large that there was even a supermarket on the ground floor.

In addition to the cogwheel train station, there was also a bus parking lot, an aerial cable car station, and two rack railway stations. After a break in the courtyard of the monastery, we went another 300 meters up. Thanks to the rack railway, the 65% gradient was overcome in about 10 minutes.

The hiking trails from Sant Joan - the end of the rack railway - were not particularly well signposted, and there were several maps with many different statements. Then we started walking again, believing that we were taking the right path, and quickly realized that we were on a hiking trail that was not marked on any of our official maps. However, there were many other people walking here beside us, so instead of using the described hiking trail, we decided to walk roughly by instinct. This led us to an incredible beautiful view at nearly 1100 meters above sea level.

We hiked back down to the monastery and then took a brief look at the monastery church.

After that, we took the cable car back to the valley and then the regional train back to Barcelona.

Day 79 – Total tour 4,905 km

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