Montserrat Spain y Torres Family Vineyard

Yesterday I went on a tour of Montserrat and the Torres Family Vineyard.

Montserrat is not actually "above Barcelona" as I said in my last post. It's actually northwest of Barcelona about an hour's drive or train ride inland.

The Montserrat is a centuries-old monastery which has geological, political, and religious importance to Catalonia. Apparently the site has more annual visitors than Barcelona. Geologically it is millions of years old and was surrounded by ocean; then as the waters retreated over the centuries, the interesting rock formations were made.

Besides the Catholic history and presence there, some believe that the mountain is a sort of spiritual vortex or portal, and in fact every month on the 21st a group of people ascend the mountain with expectations and hopes that the portal will open or some other apparition will happen.

In fact it was "a bright light" and the sound of "angels singing" that first brought the Catholics here in the 800's. A group of shepherd children saw the light and heard the singing and informed their parents, who also witnessed the apparition. Finally the religious leaders visited and saw and heard the same thing. The site of the original apparitions is in a cave and where the original chapel was built (photos included above).

On my long trek along the path to the original chapel, I saw a barefoot couple with their child making the hike. It was about 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and so I had to assume they were treating the path to the original site as holy ground.

I was glad to get outside the city and into a natural setting. I got a lot of great photos, a few of which I've shared with you here. The last photo is at the Torres Family winery (about an hours drive away from the monastery) of the vineyard home built in the 1800's which is a good example of the "typical" Catalonian architecture. More perhaps on the winery at another time.

Higher resolution photos are available. Just ask, and please don't use these without permission, thanks.

Tengo hambre y voy a comer.