Montserrat

First off, thank you Stas for teaching me to drive stick shift the week before I left for Europe. Getting out of Barcelona was a little tricky, but I was able to relax once the car was on the freeway.

The route to Andorra lies past the mountain of Montserrat, a mountain held holy by Christians, Moors, and agnostic tourists alike. Its serrated top stands out dramatically from the surrounding landscape. The monastery of Montserrat sits about half way up the mountain and is accessible by rail, cable car and road. Above the monastery is a network of winding paths that climb or circle the slopes above. The path I chose to walk was, in actuality a staircase known as "path of the hermits." Although I saw a couple of small huts during my ascent, I am sure there were many more I didn´t see, since I noticed the ones I did rather by accident. I followed a trail marked with red and white slashes, which signify a major trail (Grand Randonne) in France, and possibly in Spain as well. I thought the markings would take me to the top of Montserrat, but instead they veered off to the side and circled the mountain counterclockwise. In the end, I took pictures of some spectacular scenery, but never made it to the top. My hike was about 2 - 2.5 hours, and I probably could have made it to the top in almost the same amount of time.

From Montserrat, the highway north turned progressively more spectacular as the terrain became more and more mountainous. The palm trees of Barcelona were replaced by pine forests and sheer cliffs. I lost count of the tunnels, one of which was an impressive 5 kilometers long. Beyond this tunnel was a secluded and flat plateau with tilled fields and a few stony villages.

Everything was idyllic and peaceful, until Andorra that is...