Today we visited the vastly beautiful mountain region of Montserrat! We started the visit with a cable car ride which took us up the mountain to an area of shops, restaurants, and tourist information. Looking around I could tell immediately that Montserrat is a very touristy area with crowds of people and English speakers, which felt very different from being in Tarragona for the past two weeks.
After taking a look at the map, we realized how vast Montserrat is with numerous trails and sights to see. We opted to stay as a group and hike up to the Sant Joan path leading to the Sant Jeroni- Pla dels Ocells- Monastery. As we started the hike, we encountered numerous breathtaking views making for great picture taking opportunities.
What started as a leisurely stroll quickly turned into some unexpected climbing. We made our way up the mountain and reached a summit where we soaked in the view and captured more photos. On our way down, we spotted the monasteries formerly called hermitages.
Once we got back down, we refueled ourselves by getting some lunch at the cafeteria then started a new trail up the mountain via stairs to what we thought was a monastery. After what felt like 100 flights of stairs, some of the group stopped at a lookout point while the rest of the group continued up to the top where no monastery was present. Apparently it was a pub at the top, which the rest of the group enjoyed a break in.
We ended the day by looking through some of the shops and getting some gelato before we left to get on the bus. Overall, it was an adventure filled day with some unexpected hiking but some spectacular views!
