Last Saturday we took a Viatour outside of Barcelona to visit Montserrat and a local winery where they make wine and the effervescent cava. We rode on a bus with 12 other people about an hour northwest of Barcelona to Montserrat, a mountain that rises up from the earth in a rather astonishing series of rocky peaks. The mountain seems to have pushed its rocky peaks up from the earth in some great upheaval millions of years ago. The bus navigated a very narrow rode that twisted and turned, taking us up above the cloud line to the very top of the jagged mountains. Montserrat means saw-toothed or serrated mountain, and the rocky peaks do resemble the jagged edges of a saw.

 On top of Montserrat is the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, and the Basiica of Santa Maria de Montserrat where the statue of the Virgin of Montserrat is displayed . Some believe that this is also the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian mythology. While we didn't see any sign of the Holy Grail or the monks that live there, we did view the outside of the monastery and walked into the Basilica.

A funicular took us to the top of Montserrat where we marveled at the views, and then partway down the mountain to the beginning of the hike to the sacred cave. Spaniards believe that Montserrat is the holiest place in Spain. A statue carved of a dark wood of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ child was discovered many hundreds of years ago in a cave in the mountain of Montserrat. This statue is now in the Basilica at Montserrat. However, a small chapel was built around the cave where the statue was found, and we took a hike down to see the chapel and cave. A duplicate statue stands in the exact spot where the original was discovered. Along the hike to the chapel and cave are 15 stations that depict events from the life of Jesus Christ. Pilgrims hiking to the sacred cave stop at each station to pray and reflect on Jesus' life.  

After hiking and viewing the sacred buildings at Montserrat, we drove an hour west to a local winery. Everyone had a wonderful time tasting the wines and we purchased several bottles to take home with us. Enjoy the pictures!