This was our 3rd visit
to Barcelona so we booked a ship's tour to Montserrat. We arrived here a
little early because the captain announced it was a busy port day here and he
was in some competition for a 7am pilot. He rescheduled for 6:30 am. The ship
was still cleared around 8 am. We were one of 5 cruise ships dock at the port.
Regent Voyager had the prime spot beside the WTC. She looked smaller than we
remembered. It was chilly and overcast here today. But up the mountain, it was
cold and it rained as we left. Pasted below is our tour description. This was
our final ship's excursion.
EXCURSION $79
THE MARVELS OF MONTSERRAT
Approximately one hour north of
Barcelona is Montserrat, or “serrated mountain,” the site of an extraordinarily
well-preserved medieval monastery. Step aboard an air-conditioned motor coach
for the journey to Montserrat.
LEVEL
MODERATE
DURATION
APPROXIMATELY 5 HOURS
On arrival, take the funicular for
amazing views extending to the Pyrenees and the islands of Ibiza and Majorca.
While the vistas are indeed impressive, what draws thousands of pilgrims here
every year is the monastery and legendary statue of La Moreneta, or the Black
Madonna. Founded in the 9th century by Benedictine monks, this site, with its
treasured relic and venerated history, remains one of the most important
pilgrimage destinations in all of Europe.
Before returning to Barcelona and your
Crystal ship, enjoy time to explore the site on your own.
As this excursion involves
approximately two hours of walking, it is not recommended for guests with
walking difficulties. This excursion is not recommended for guests suffering a
fear of a heights because of the funicular ride. It is recommended that guests
dress in casual clothing and wear flat, comfortable shoes. All guests who wish
to visit the Basilica must dress conservatively; ladies must cover their knees
and shoulders, while gentlemen must wear pants. If a mass is taking place at
the Basilica, guests will not be allowed to enter. The order of sights visited
may vary. A minimum number of bookings is required for this excursion to
operate. Pre-reservation of this Crystal Adventures excursion is recommended.
The excursion went about as planned
we arrived about 9:15 am and boarded the 9:35 am train as a group alone. That
was good because a bus of school kids unloaded as we waited to board. I guess
they couldn't get their tickets in time. We arrived in time to get at the front
of a line to visit the 12th century Black Madonna icon. That was special. We got
back to the front of the basilica just in time to visit the sanctuary before
they locked the entrance prior to the 11 am mass. We had to meet back at the
bus for the return to Barcelona at 12:25 pm. So we walked over to a different
funicular that went even higher to St. Joan station. We were already in the
clouds! On a clear day... well you could imagine. It got colder and the cloud
got thicker. I think we paid about 7 or 8 Euros each for return tickets. It was
much steeper and shorter than the first ride up. I think I remember something
like the elevation of Montserrat was close to 800 meters and St. Joan was close
to 1000 meters. Sorry I can't check Internet is out. We walked uphill from
there for about 15 minutes hoping to see the Ermita of St. Joan. We turned back
before reaching it because the hewn rock stairs became to treacherous for us.
It looked like there was a small rock recess, I hesitate to call it a cave. I'd
Google it to find out, but no Internet. We got back on to Montserrat's main
street and visited the shops, restrooms and cafe. We found a specialty about
noon time. We shared a chocolate drizzled Coques de Montserrat. It was a giant,
long, flat sweet bread. You'll have to Google it yourself. It was perfect and
we were back on the bus right at 12:25 pm. It started raining behind the
predicted schedule of mid-morning as the bus drove down hill. Perfect timing.
We decided not to accept a drop off near the foot of La Rambla because of her
crime warnings, crowd warnings and the rain. We got back to the ship and shared
a pizza at Silk. The sun came out while we were up there and we decided to go
into Barcelona. We caught a complimentary shuttle Crystal provided from
Terminal B to the World Trade Center. That is about 2 blocks from the bottom of
La Rambla, Barcelona's most popular pedestrian street. It was popular this
afternoon. We didn't have any problems. We headed out around 3 pm and got back
around 6 pm. We were lucky missing the rain again as it drizzled for a while
when we under cover of the market and quit for our walk back to the bus. We
were headed for the old market, La Boqueria. It was more of a food hall with
prepared food to consume than the fish, meat, produce and flowers we remembered
from our last visit. We ate way too much to be hungry when our 6:30 reservation
at Silk came around tonight. I'll have to save this and hope to get it
published with Clay's photos tomorrow.
We sail at 10 pm tonight
to 4 pm tomorrow afternoon to reach our final 2019 WC port of Monte Carlo. So
our last sea day. The next day is our final full day aboard. We are off by 10
am the following morning. On our way home. Clay is antsy to start packing and
to continue booking parts of the August/September return to Europe. He's
already got our supply of Euros!
