Montserrat Monastery

Following an enlightening morning exploring Gaudi's Barcelona, our tour van headed into the countryside to visit a sacred site.

Montserrat means "serrated mountain," referring to the jagged peaks that rise high above the Catalan Lowlands.

This naturally inspiring setting had been used for ancient religious rites, including as a temple of Venus by the Romans, long before Benedictine monks established a hermitage there named for the Virgin Mary.

It doesn't seem unusual in family-centered Iberia to find major churches dedicated to the Mother of Jesus.  In the case of Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, there's a statue known as the Black Madonna that is the featured attraction.

Legend says the Black Madonna was brought there from Jerusalem either before or by 880 AD, when the Catholics arrived, but that would seem impossible based on scientific testing methods that indicate the statue dates from about 1200 AD.

Regardless, many miracles have been attributed to the Black Madonna, attracting pilgrims for centuries, including Spanish Kings and Christopher Columbus.  Perhaps you recognize the name Montserrat as an Eastern Caribbean Island. That's because Columbus dubbed the island with that handle on his second American voyage in 1493.

As to how the Madonna and Child became black in the first place is uncertain, though it probably had something to do with worshippers touching the statue seeking blessings.

In subsequent refurbishments, the faces were painted ebony, so as not to disappoint pilgrims, who to this day stand in long lines just to touch the carved wooden sculpture.  This practice seems a lot like worshipping "graven images" to me, but then again, I'm not Catholic.

We could see a steady procession of the faithful pass in front of the Black Madonna that's positioned in a window above the altar stage for parishioners to see during church services.  Below that exhibition, one of the oldest boys choirs in Europe took center stage and sang angelically.

Seeing as well as hearing L'Escolania was high on Julie's list of reasons for choosing this excursion, so earlier when our tour van encountered what our guide Marta called unusually bad traffic that pushed us closer to the performance time, we worried that we might not make it on time, especially because once on foot, a group inevitably moves at the rate of its slowest walkers.

Despite being a relatively active group, Marta didn't want to push us too fast while walking slightly uphill at altitude, and she had paced it about right.

We arrived at the doors of the church with five minutes to spare, but the guard turned us away, saying there was no more space inside.  Marta tried to convince him with logic, then pleading and finally with heated Spanish words, but all was to no avail.  There was simply no more room.

Most of our group and others hoping to enter turned around, but as I mentioned, this was important to Julie, so we waited for a miracle.  I'm not attributing it to the Black Madonna, but a dozen people, who apparently had checked "see the inside of the Abbey" off their list, filtered out, and the guard allowed Julie and I to enter.  True to what the guard reported, the huge auditorium was jam-packed, and we barely found room inside the doors.

Over time, however, some sardines apparently had enough of the elegantly decorated can, and we gradually found ourselves pushed forward toward a clear view near the back pews.

The white-robed choir and their soaring vocals were highlights of a short Catholic service in a language we didn't understand at all but nonetheless made us feel blessed to be there.  Soon the service ended, and we all filtered outside.

With bodegas and cafeterias serving delicious food, most were ready for lunch, and the thought of a loaf of artisan bread and a Benjamin --- a single-sized bottle of Cava sparkling wine that Marta had lauded on the ride up the mountain --- sounded promising, but we decided to check out the line for a funicular tram to the park at the summit.

The wait was a bit longer than we hoped, and the price was considerably higher, but we didn't want to miss what might be a highlight.

On this particular day, the vistas of the surrounding areas were not as crystal clear as they might be, but it was still beautiful.  By the time we factored in time to get back down to join our group, we didn't have time to explore all of the paths, but we made it to several viewpoints.

On our way back, we had time to pick out wine and a baguette, which we shared while walking to our meeting point.

As we began the return drive into Barcelona, someone asked about being dropped off at La Rambla rather than going to the ship, and it turned out everyone on our tour wanted to do the same.

Julie and I had in mind an afternoon stroll punctuated by stops for tapas or hot chocolate and churros.

Before that eventuality, however, we had a long drive followed by a short stop at Parc de Montjuic to take in a panoramic view of the city.

Oceania furnished free shuttle service back to the ship from downtown, but when Marta pointed out where to catch it, we realized we were ready to return to the comforts of the ship instead.

Every single person on our excursion did the same.

In thinking about taking a cruise to Europe, many travelers worry they will not have enough time to experience any given port.

"Can you really see all of London, Rome or Barcelona in one day?"

No, you can't.

If you have a plan in which you pick out one or two highlights important to you, however, you can experience more of a destination than many tourists who settle in one place for spend several days.

Interestingly, when experienced cruisers have the opportunity to return to Europe, an itinerary that returns to a port they visited previously also creates concern, sometimes among the same people who worried about not seeing enough in a port call.

"I've already been to Barcelona, remember?"

The major cities of the world have plenty to see and do.  In addition, you can be sure that on each visit you will find some favorite activities you want to experience at least one more time.  That's an open invitation to return.