After a lovely breakfast, we left the hotel at 8:00. We boarded the bus which took us to Montserrat. Our city tour guide, Mariona told us that Columbus took one of the monks from Montserrat with him when he traveled to the "new world". This is why there is an island in the Caribbean named Montserrat.
Montserrat is a multi-peaked mountain located near the city of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgrós (1,120 m) and Miranda de les Agulles (903 m).
It is well known as the site of the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary and which is identified by some with the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth.
"Montserrat" literally means "saw (serrated, like the common handsaw) mountain" in Catalan. It describes its peculiar aspect with multitude of rock formations which are visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock. Montserrat is Spain's first National Park. --Wikipedia
Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat is the Patron Saint of Catalonia, along with Saint George.
Mariona said the statue of the Black Madonna was found in a cave. Villagers were carrying it down from the mountain when suddenly something made them unable to go on. They had to put the statue down. The statue was set down in this dark circle and a church was built here. There is supposed to be a lot of power in that circle and everyone took turns standing on it.
We arrived at the harbor and boarded the Norwegian Spirit around 1:00.
Ourroom cabin was comfortable.
Everyone said the nice thing about being on a cruise is that you don't have to keep unpacking and repacking your things.
We then went to our muster stations to learn what to do in case of an emergency. I checked to see where the lifeboats were.
Chocolate covered maraschino cherries was a lovely welcome.
Arnold and Nancy's cabin was just a couple of doors down so we could see each other from our balcony.
We were ready for our adventure!
Montserrat is a multi-peaked mountain located near the city of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgrós (1,120 m) and Miranda de les Agulles (903 m).
It is well known as the site of the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary and which is identified by some with the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth.
"Montserrat" literally means "saw (serrated, like the common handsaw) mountain" in Catalan. It describes its peculiar aspect with multitude of rock formations which are visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock. Montserrat is Spain's first National Park. --Wikipedia
Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat is the Patron Saint of Catalonia, along with Saint George.
Mariona said the statue of the Black Madonna was found in a cave. Villagers were carrying it down from the mountain when suddenly something made them unable to go on. They had to put the statue down. The statue was set down in this dark circle and a church was built here. There is supposed to be a lot of power in that circle and everyone took turns standing on it.
We arrived at the harbor and boarded the Norwegian Spirit around 1:00.
Our
Everyone said the nice thing about being on a cruise is that you don't have to keep unpacking and repacking your things.
We then went to our muster stations to learn what to do in case of an emergency. I checked to see where the lifeboats were.
Chocolate covered maraschino cherries was a lovely welcome.
Arnold and Nancy's cabin was just a couple of doors down so we could see each other from our balcony.
We were ready for our adventure!
So, I'm wondering if you found extraordinary power from the circle? So fun to see your pictures and relive our Barcelona visit prior to the Mediterranean cruise. You are documenting it so well. Good job!
ReplyDeletehow fun, the journey continues...
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! I'm looking forward to visiting you as you cruise away. :-)
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm anxious to set sail with you! I hope the spot with the high energy levels had a good influence on you. I love those special places!
ReplyDeletewhat fun! i can't wait to see more.
ReplyDeleteHow cool!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
Thanks for sharing the fun and bringing me fun memories of the years I lived in Spain/Europe!
ReplyDeleteit will be interesting I believe
ReplyDeleteInteresting you do a tour then straight onto the boat. Funny that you check where the lifeboats are, never thought of doing that!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting land formation, and an interesting and historic church. I really know very little about Spain.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to know where the lifeboats are. Safety on boats is always my top priority. I'm not a fan of being in water long-term.
ReplyDeleteI have many good memories of Monserrat and am so happy you got to see it!
ReplyDeleteCruises have gotten a bad rap lately but they really are the way to travel. That mountain is amazing. I wonder how it was formed. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I thought Monserrat was only the island. Thanks for sharing this adventure! Do I see two TVs in the room on the ship? So you didn't get sea-sick? You two look so relaxed! DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be something if there were two TVs? No, that's just a glass door refrigerator you're seeing below the TV.
DeleteI sure appreciate this. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have such lovely travels!
ReplyDeleteI'm still grinning.
ReplyDelete