Spain Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Woman on Her Way

May 9: Montserrat

Leaving Molins de Rei, Dennis spotted a cyclist and caught up to him to get directions. We had been unable to find how to get to the bike route we were looking for. Adolfo Jimenez was our trail angel. He asked directions at a local hotel, and then lead us as far as Pallejá. He even wrote a blog about our encounter.

Because of his help, we were able to get to St. Andreu de la Barca before the shops closed. There Dennis spotted a Mail Boxes Etc (on Crta. Barcelona) and we stopped to unload some of our weight.

We left St Andreu nearly 64 lbs lighter, having shipped home 15 kg and then forwarding our backpacks with hiking gear (14.15 kg) to Santiago.

The ride to Montserrat was up and down hill, but mostly upward. I was so glad we jettisoned the weight and that huge front pannier. It made the hills climbable as long as I was in my lower range. But when I spotted the cable car at the base of Montserrat, I was more than happy to wimp out and take it to the top. I think we saved at least 3 to 4 hours of pushing the bikes to the top. As it was, we had to push the bikes from the landing up several flights of stairs, not an easy task with all the gear.

This monastery is now a resort, replete with hotels and attractions such as funiculars (railways up the mountain), guided tours, museums, restaurants, and gift shops. There are several school groups and busloads of international tourists. Adding to the noise are church bells and jackhammers—not the tranquility I had anticipated.

We arranged for a room in the albergue, (pilgrim’s hostel) visited the church, and listened to vespers. I was thinking that, like most towns in Spain, dinner would start around 8 p.m.; unfortunately, the only open eatery after the ceremony was in the hotel. Neither of us had eaten since breakfast, so we eat there.

This morning we returned to the monastery to get directions to the next albergues. The kind woman copied pages from a guide-book written in Catalan. With this, we should find our way to Logrono.

We hiked several trails to the top, visiting the various hermitages and gasping at the beauty of Montserrat. Dennis commented that it was good to take a rest day—even if “rest” includes walking uphill for several miles.

Looking forward to the downhill ride tomorrow. Too bad it will take only a few minutes.

Wednesday May 8 – St. Andreau

Dennis and I are leaving the bike store for Montserrat, a mountain-top crag about 35 miles north of Barcelona. I’m a little nervous about riding in the city on a new and fully loaded bike. Dennis has planned the route which means he will pay attention to street signs while I concentrate on avoiding people and cars.

Dennis’s route worked until we got to the E-90 where we were going to take a bike route. We could see the route, but not figure out how to get down to it. Neither could the people we asked. Adolfo came to our rescue. He lead us to his home town of Pallaja. From there we followed his directions.

On the way to St. Andreau, we biked through a tunnel. Once in St. Andreau, Dennis spotted a UPS store. We sent back home the large and heavy front pack on my bike and a set of biking shoes. If it gets cold, we will wear socks. That removed 14.5 K (about 30 lbs). At some point, I will find panniers for the front of the bike. Had we had time to test ride the equipment before we left, we would have realized that this front pack was not appropriate for long-distance travel. Very unwieldy, heavy, and large, obstructing my ability to shift ring gears. We decided the shipping cost (137.24 E) was better than the replacement).

Since it was getting late, we got a room at Hotel Ibis, where we sorted out our hiking and biking clothes. Today we will ship our backpacks with hiking clothes to Santiago. That should relieve us of about another 30 lbs each.

I have been kissed twice by Spaniards since arriving. Once by the salesperson in Tomas Domingo, the bike store, and then yesterday by a pedestrian who stopped to watch us put on our odometers. He told me he would have liked to do a trip as we were commencing, but was too old. When I asked him his age, he replied 60. After telling him that we were older, he kissed both my cheeks. I am starting to like this European custom.

Sunday, May 5 — Barcelona

Yesterday was low-key. Dennis was still not well and spent most of the day in bed. By evening he was starting to feel better and had the first restful sleep in five nights. The rest seems to have helped him.

Its Mother’s Day in Spain, so I get to celebrate the holiday today and again next Sunday.

After a leisurely morning, we met Elena at her house and then walked about 3 km across town to Montjuic . The weather was perfect for walking, about 70F, with blue skies. Being so close the Mediterranean, the air is clear, in spite of all the cars.

At the base of Montjuic, we walked by fountains. We used the escalator to ascend the various levels (using Dennis’ weakness as a rationale to do so). One level had the National Art Museum of Catalonia; another, the 1992 Olympic Ring (where Freddy Mercury and Montserrat Caballe sang “Barcelona”, one of my favorite songs), and then we walked up to the Botanical Gardens. At the top, we visited the Castell, a fortress which provide a wonderful panorama of the city and harbor.

We took a cable car and then a subway train back into the city. There we ate lunch at a vegan restaurant (Gopal): burger, potatoes with salsa brava, (“wild sauce”, a mildly spicy sauce made with tomato, garlic, onion, and vinegar), and shared a chocolate covered doughnut. Even meat lovers could enjoy this meal.

We visited Placa de Sant Felip Neri in the Gothic Section of town and where 20 children were killed in the Spanish Civil War. Afterwards, went to the parish of St. James, the Apostle to get the first sello (“stamp”) in our pilgrims passport. We are now pilgrims on our way to Santiago, even though we will not leave Barcelona until Tuesday morning.

Friday, May 3: Barcelona

After brunch at the hotel, we went back to the bike shop to retrieve a day back pack that I had left in the front rack pack. Nacho (nick name or Ignacio) kissed me on both checks. When I commented that store personnel in the US don’t have this custom, he replied “Its the latin way. Once kiss on each check.” I retorted, “I can get use to this,” which made him laugh. My bike, a Specialized Tricross, has arrived from the other store and has the front pannier mounted. They still need to add the fenders, back rack, panniers, and seat. Dennis’ bike will arrive Monday morning and should be ready by 6 P.M.

If all goes to plan, on Tuesday we will bike to Montserrat, a hill-top monastery about 35 miles from Barcelona. I am a little nervous about driving a fully loaded and new bike through the city streets where drivers madly weave in traffic and tourist cross streets with little regards to vehicles, including bikes. Even though Barcelona has many bike lanes, walkers do not cede to the bikes and a rider needs to be constantly vigilant.

On the way back to the hotel, we saw a dog carrying his leash in his mouth. At the intersection, the owner held out her hand and the dog stopped. No verbal commands–just the hand signal. There are many well-behaved dogs in Barcelona, and no dog poop; every dog owner carries and uses a poop bag.

Since Dennis is not yet feeling well, we returned to the hotel. When the maid came to clean the room, we went in search of a pay-as-you-go phone for use in Europe. I think we will have to get a phone for Spain, and then a SIM card for each country. Nothing is easy, even in the EU.

For supper we went to NAMASTE a Hindu restaurant. We order a chicken soup for Dennis, a lentil soup for me and a vegetable sampler. I had a small bottle of vino de Rioja, while Dennis ordered coke. After the soup and drink, Dennis started to feel better. Hope is continues. He has been suffering from nonstop hiccups. Once this stops and he can rest, I hope he will be fully recovered.

Tomorrow, if he is better, we will tour sites in Barcelona that we had not seen in 2011. I love this city and could easily live here.

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