Més Que Un ascenso

One hour northwest of Barcelona, Spain lies a truly unique place. It is the mountain Montserrat with the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat. While visiting Barcelona for the first time, I had heard that the mountain monastery was a site worth exploring, despite the fact that the monastery was a considerable distance from the Catalan capital. After a one hour train ride from Barcelona, one must take the cable car or cog railway, both provide beautiful views of the landscape of Catalonia. I wanted to see the mountain, the monastery, soak in the view.

Without thought of reading the hiking trails, I started my long descent up the mountain. I had no intention of reaching the summit, as it would take more energy and time that I was willing to spend. I simply wanted to reach an area where I could get some quality pictures of Montserrat's unique rock formation cliffs, and possibly appreciate the view of the Spanish countryside.

My mistake was thinking that I would only want to climb a certain distance.  I should have known that the higher I climbed, the more that my curiosity would to push me to go farther.

To put it plainly, I was not dressed appropriately to scale any sort of mountain. TOMS knockoff shoes without socks likely isn't the desired footwear, if even I was just doing some of the lower trails. In order to reach the summit, climbers need to be be outfitted properly.  See the following from the official website:

"From the monastery, it is another 300 metres up to the peak of the Montserrat....there several good and well-marked hiking trails lead through the nature park Montserrat. It is worth the effort - you will be rewarded with a magnificent view of Catalonia....you should wear sturdy shoes and be in good condition in order to manage the hike."

This monastery was an amazing place. Many like it lie far up in the mountains of Europe, so naturally they are isolated from society.  The only thing like it that I had seen before was the Great Hospice and the St. Bernard Pass close to the Swiss/Italian border, it had a monastery as well.

The Thinning of the Herd

Despite the path being long and the journey arduous, it seemed like I was embarking upon something memorable. I have always wanted to try one of those long but rewarding treks through some famous world landmark, like the Camino de Santiago journey in northern Spain or the hike through the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru. Perhaps in a way, this climb was an abbreviated version of those more daunting treks, it felt like it.

Five minutes in and the whole thing already seemed like a terrible idea. The sun was unforgivably hot, my lightly supported shoes were full of rocks, and I had probably stubbed my toes over a dozen times on the loose rocky path.  Despite the frustration, the surroundings were beautiful.  The Mountain was large and towered over the monastery to provide an imposing backdrop. The view there was very much postcard-worthy. As I continued my ascent, I noticed less and less tourists making the casual climb. There seemed to be more experienced hikers and climbers going up the mountain. I seem to have reached the point where the contenders were separated from the pretenders.  I was left with a choice, do I continue the ascent (how much farther I have no idea)? Or do I call it a day and make my way back to the  monastery?

The tricky complication was that I had no idea how far I had climbed, and consequently how much longer it would be to make it to the summit. Remember that originally I had zero intentions of making it to the top, it is just that I had climbed so much higher than I thought, why not finish the job? What would Tenzing Norgay do? Surely he wouldn't have given up at the first sign of adversity!  With renewed efforts my mind was made up. I decided to continue the climb.

For the first time in the climb, I decided to do something intelligent. Perhaps the sign postings I noticed every 15-20 minutes contained some sort of information that would be considered useful? In examining the next observable sign post, I was able to deduce that the summit was within reach. I had already done most of the climbing, I would just need to keep a good pace for the next 30 or so minutes.

The home stretch of the climb was particularly rewarding. As the summit approached, the view seemed to open up making the entire countryside visible.  My decision to keep climbing seemed lime a good one. At last I reached the final ascent. Only a series of stairways separated me from the summit. Sir Edmund Hilary would be proud.

The CONQUEROR of Sant Jeroni

Reaching the summit of Montserrat was the obvious highlight of the climb. The nearly two hours of stumbling up the mountain in euro flop shoes had finally come to a satisfying conclusion. The Sant Jeroni trail was probably the toughest and most intense way to get up the mountain, but I did it. I won't lie, once I reached the summit, I was in no rush to leave. Perhaps my exhaustion made the view look prettier than it was. Regardless of the reason, I stayed there for a while. The descent would be considerably less taxing, nearly even enjoyable.

It may not seem like it, but I would absolutely make the climb again. Exploring Spain's first national park was a choice experience. One interesting fact that I discovered while exploring the mountain is that the Caribbean country of Montserrat was named after the Mountain, and the man who gave the island its name was none other than Christopher Columbus. It's amazing the things that one learns while exhaustingly hiking a mountain trail in ill-advised footwear.

The unexpected climb and descent of Montserrat had taken up nearly the entire day, but I didn't mind.  It didn't seem like there was a more appropriate way to end my trip in Spain. Those who are planning their first or next trip to Barcelona should make it part of their itinerary. Yes it will take you out of the capital by some distance, but it will be well worth your time, especially if you want to take just a brief break from all things Gaudí in the capital, all of those parks, churches, and monuments will be waiting for you then you get back.

 I ended the night by catching the train back to Barcelona and eating pasta on Las Ramblas while people watching, not a bad way to put a bow on things.