View from the Pillion - Back to Barcelona via Montserrat

 

In the morning, along with a group of other hotel guests, we wait for a custodian to unlock the church door with a large key so we can explore the interior. It is a large plain stone building, almost 1,000 years old, with high windows that let in slanted rays of light. It is so empty and bleak, but it must have seen more life than a group of tourists trying to suck history from the walls. I try to imagine monks chanting and a priest intoning mass. There is a crypt that used to house relics, under the main alter. I always find crypts intriguing even when they are cold and empty

It is a bittersweet feeling to be gearing up for our last day on the road. My Scorpion jacket, which was new when we left Canada, feels like a second skin. And I now feel quite at home in the Olympia pants which I grumbled about because they seemed bulky and ridiculously long. When we left home, temperatures were not much above zero in the mountains so we came prepared - but our rain (repellent) gear and warm linings have remained stowed in our bags. Not a drop of rain, mostly beautiful blue skies and warm to hot temperatures, except for a couple of hours of fog one day. 

As our last sightseeing stop, we're on our way to Montserrat. It's only about an hour from Cardona, and once we're heading to peaks of Montserrat, the ride is awesome. Visible from 50km  away, the mountain stands out like a set of jagged teeth. We take the road up the back side of the mountain, heading up to the monastery at the peak. Like most of the roads we've travelled, this is in great shape and considering that our destination is a major tourist attraction, there is surprisingly little traffic. With the twists and turns of the road, we see the serrated peaks from many different angles. It is a dramatic sight; no wonder the monks chose this as a holy refuge.

Riding the back route along stunning Montserrat, up to the monastery, then back down to Monistrol de Montserrat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c82NeRyJ2yI

This is a popular day outing from Barcelona and it's busy with dozens of tour buses as well as private cars that are parked a long way down the road. Fortunately there is motorcycle parking right at the top and one spot waiting for us. However, the down side of our transportation is that there is nowhere to leave our stuff. We hang our helmets off the bike, but there isn't any kind of checkroom,  so we clump around in boots and heavy pants, carrying our jackets.

The Basillica de Montserrat and Monastery nestle dramatically into the mountainside. Pilgrims flock to to be in the presence of the legendary Black Madonna, La Morenetta. There is a service in progress and the Basillica is jammed with people. We can only squeeze into the back where we listen to the choir and get a distant view of the statue, in a chapel high above the main altar, where people take their turn to kiss a cardboard cutout of her hand.

There are a couple of cog railways and a cable car that you can take right to the tip of one of the peaks. The hiking trails also look appealing. But we don't have time today and the view from this level isn't too shabby.

Back on the road again, we head down the mountain which is also a pretty nice road but, due to traffic, at a much more sedate pace than we have been used to. It's just over an hour by highway to Barcelona, but of course we're not going the direct route. Construction and detours for a new highway make it somewhat frustrating, but Peter has one last interesting road in his repetoire; a route that takes us through lovely wooded areas and into Barcelona from the surrounding hills.  Riding the backroads from Monistrol de Montserrat through the hills above Barcelona and down into the City to end our 8-day riding holiday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnXnfs0FqWw

 We only have time to check into the hotel and empty the bags before heading to IMT Bikes. It is already 6pm when we get there, but Mikel is waiting patiently. He spots the scratches quickly, but waits until we 'fess up to laying the bike down gently onto the gravel road. He assesses the damage, checking everything over carefully and tells us what we owe. We feel it is very fair.

The tires have to be replaced, no charge for that. According to the GPS record, we have travelled 2028 km. I feel quite sad leaving the bike, our faithful companion and beast of burden for the past 8 days. I pat it and say "Hey Jude, thanks for the good ride buddy." Miquel is intrigued about the name and he promises to remember it. There is method to my madness, it was my way of remembering the licence plate number.

So, we have come to the end of this part of the adventure. We are both quite tired and ready for a change of pace. We have a quiet night, with an excellent dinner back at the Hotel Market followed by a good walk through the neighbourhood to stretch our legs.