Hiking Montserrat

On Tuesday, we took an hour-long train ride to Montserrat, a beautiful old monastery set atop a beautiful mountain just outside of Barcelona. We heard it was a “must-see” while we were here, and that it was a full day trip, so we decided to take a day off class to go visit. In addition to the monastery, there’s a hiking trail that you can take to go all the way to the top of the mountain. So, we put on our sneakers and gym shorts and ventured up Montserrat. From the train station, we took a cable car up to the monastery. From there, it was a 2-hour hike to the very top of the mountain [we opted out of taking a train half way up to make it only a one hour hike, and it hindsight that was probably a bad idea!]

Before I go on, let’s just acknowledge the fact that I’m not exactly athletic, and hiking isn’t something I would normally choose to do. But, I figured it was a tourist thing, and that it would be a nice 2 hour walk up some windy, paved walkways with beautiful scenery, benches to rest on, and water fountains, and that a little exercise wouldn’t kill me.

As it turns out, it was the opposite. A “little exercise” was actually a 2-hour HIKE up steep (I’m not kidding….like really steep) hills, on rocky paths, in the 80-something degree heat with no water in sight. There were multiple times where I seriously contemplated turning around and going back. Thank goodness for the beautiful scenery and the good friends who slowed down the pace for their out-of-shape companion =].

Now that I’ve caught my breath, taken a shower, and chugged some water, I realize I’m being a little bit dramatic. Except for a scary couple of minutes where I actually thought I couldn’t breathe anymore, it turned out to be a great experience and I’m proud of myself for doing as much as I did. It was a really nice break from all of the noise and craziness of the city. At one point, it was just the three of us standing on the edge of this mountain without a single other person or sign of civilization around – no noise, no nothing, just mountains all around us and a view that went on forever. It was really beautiful. Check out these pictures!

Oh, and P.S….for a more upbeat, athletic, and enjoyable perspective of our trip to Montserrat, check out Maggie’s blog! (www.mkyelencsics.blogspot.com)