Pilgrimage to Montserrat and Santa Cova - Hermitage of the discovery of the Black Mary The monk Takahiro Ueda's round-the-world trip - Spain⑳
The most cherished presence at Montserrat Abbey.
That is the black statue of Mary.
It is now enshrined in the cathedral, where many visitors line up every day to pay their respects.
The cave where that Black Maria was discovered is Santa Cova.
A chapel is now built in that cave, which is cherished as a place of meditation to quiet the mind and offer prayers.
Normally, a cable car right next to the monastery takes you close to that cave, but unfortunately it is currently (as of May 2019) out of service.
Therefore, we decided to walk there from the monastery.
The guidebook said it would take about 40 minutes to get there.
We departed in the morning, when the sun had not yet risen.
Stairs descend along a rocky hillside.
Along the way, we came across a number of objects.
The Santa Cova path is designed for the enjoyment of these objects and sculptures by famous artists.
The road itself is demanding with its ups and downs, so it is nice to be able to take a short break and see the works.
And Santa Cova, where we are headed, is the reddish-brown building at the end of the red arrow in the photo.
When you look at it this way, you are really standing in an extraordinary place.
How could they have built it in such a place? It is almost as if it were perched on a rocky hill.
We will now detour around along the rocky mountain to the rocky mountain in front of us.
The orange arrow points to that road. If you look closely, you will see that that is the road.
It has come down quite a bit.
Originally, this cable car could be used to come down from the monastery station.
It all comes down at once from the area around the building in the upper right.
Without it, the return journey is much harder.
Be prepared to go home.
Still descending along the cliff.
Suddenly I heard a sound like pebbles falling from the rocky hillside.
I turn around and take a closer look to see what's going on.
Then, to my surprise, I saw a deer-like animal on the cliff.
Unbelievable.
From here, the deer are on an almost vertical cliff...
I watch on the edge of my seat, anxious that I won't fall off.
The deer on the bottom were apparently a bit doddery and had difficulty climbing up.
I failed to climb up a few times and almost fell.
My heart seemed to tighten each time.
After about 10 minutes they disappeared over the top of the cliff.
Oh dear, I was more nervous than I should have been watching.
Well, let's move on.
Already in front of you is a spectacular view.
We came to the area indicated by the orange arrow in the previous photo.
Now it's uphill.
This is enduring under the blazing sun.
Objects of the cross and Jesus.
Still, the sky is beautiful. The contrast of colors between the blue sky and the strange rocky mountains of Montserrat accentuates its beauty.
And at the end of the road was a statue by Gaudi.
Gaudi was also inspired by these mountains of Montserrat.
It is true that the Sagrada Familia looks a bit like the strange rocky mountain here.
Finally, we arrived at the chapel of Santa Cova.
At a quick glance, it looks as if it is wedged into a rocky hill.
This chapel seems to have been built as an integral part of the cave.
The building itself was first built in 1705 and has been restored many times since.
Legend has it that the Black Mary was discovered in a cave here in 880 A.D., and since then the area has been a place of prayer for faithful pilgrims.
Although it is now a place where ordinary worshippers like myself can come, it was once a place for monks to retreat and meditate in seclusion.
Inside the chapel.
The front is the cave section.
After all, this building was constructed to be completely integrated with the rocky hill and the cave.
A replica of the statue of the Virgin is currently enshrined here.
The real one is enshrined in the cathedral of Montserrat Abbey, as described in the previous article.
But when I actually got here, I couldn't help but think about the thousands and thousands, if not more, of pilgrims who have come to inquire about this place where the statue of Mary is enshrined.
A history of faith spun by the people.
I feel the same way when I see Buddhist statues from the Nara and Heian periods in Japan. These sacred images have been the object of human prayer for more than a thousand years.
There is a history of immeasurable people praying there.
It is a strange feeling to think that people of more than 1,000 years ago prayed to these statues just as we do.
I spent an hour or so in this quiet chapel, relaxing and calming my mind.
On the way back, enjoy the spectacular view as you walk.
But the return trip is tougher than the way there.
The return trip was more uphill than the trip downhill.
There is a big difference between having a cable car and not having a cable car.
Well, it was a good time because I could take a break and relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
be unbroken
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