Montserra Monastery
Barcelona, Spain
On Kahlo's birthday, 1/02/19 we decided to take a day trip out of Spain to Montserrat, a monastery high up in the mountains. This worked out perfectly because Kahlo needed to get a big riding day, so he left early and we decided to meet him on top of the mountain which was over an hour away by car.
The road climbed up and up with steep switchbacks and ice collecting on the asphalt in the shady spots. To say the least, we were very nervous for him. The situation was made much worse because he was not at the top at our meeting time and then we waited for over an hour afterwards wondering and worrying with no way to contact him. We kept getting word from other travelers that "yes" they saw cyclists climbing up the mountain. Unfortunately, each rider that crested the peak was not Kahlo.
By now, Leslie was pacing and I was staying near the car on lookout. What seems like an eternity passed by and then a couple who had just arrived gave us a near perfect match of Kahlo and said he was 5 minutes from the summit. With the whole family out looking now, we had text confirmation that he had arrived and then I saw him round the last bend...what a relief!
After Kahlo changed out of his riding gear, we loaded the backpack and started on our trip up Montserrat.
We bought tickets to ride the Funicular which is a rail car that travels up a near vertical hillside. Once at the top, the views were spectacular of the surrounding countryside. We then started our hike which was only about 3-4 miles with some steep, rocky ascents. Nestled in the rocks underneath cliff hanging were remnant hermitages (prayer and meditation spaces) of long ago. A few more hundred feet of climbing and we topped out at the summit with 360 degree views of Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea. The delayed departure of our hike resulted in us reaching the summit at a time of day with the perfect lighting. Even though the day started out as a stressful and worrisome one, it ended as a peaceful one with a moment to contemplate our incredible experiences as a family.
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| Funicular ride with Leslie |
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| Funicular Track showing climb up to base of hike. |
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| Mi esposa tan bonita |
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| The hike up to Montserrat Peak with views. |
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| The Montserrat Monastery |
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| Leslie at top of Funicular railway |
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| Boys and Leslie near the summit |
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| Leslie and I at the summit of Montserrat |
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| Pathway leading to remnant hermitage |
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| View of hermitage ruin site. |
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| Monastery campus |
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| Monastery archway near the cathedral |
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