Climb Montserrat – A day trip with a funny end

It was the time when my cousin Sandeep came to Barcelona to visit me from Sweden for 4 days. We initially explored the city center plaza Catalunya, and pubs around Barcelonetta. One morning we decided to visit Montserrat as part of the trip as Sandeep is quite interested in outdoor activities.

We planned to go there in the morning, have a nice trek, have good food, and come back in the evening. As planned we went to Montserrat around 11 am on a local train and started our trek to reach one of the main peaks of the mountain called Sant Jeroni which is at an elevation of 1237 meters which would generally take 1 hour 45 mins to reach.

We climbed the mountain for almost an hour or so to see a few landmarks as well. On our way, we met a few tourists and greeted each other. We then stopped at the sideway to have some time being lunch as we bought with us a few fruits, olives, bread, cheese, and snacks. Later we continued our journey to reach the and we have managed to reach the peak 45 minutes post-lunch. And the feeling was awesome, it was quite windy and fun. The view from the top was great as well.

There was a small monument kind of thing with a compass sculptured on it depicting the 4  directions. We spent some time thereby taking pictures and playing some games forgetting the time. We then thought we need to get back fast as the light was going down and we have to travel about 90 mins to go back from the bottom of the mountain.

We reached the entrance place around 19:00 to take the train back home just to know that there are no trains to go back to the city post 18:00. We were stuck there. We understood there is a reason why people generally go there by their means of transport. We then asked the concerned authorities to know whether there are any taxis or something that could be arranged to go back and they told us they would try for something. One hour passed and no response. We were getting a bit tensed by the situation. We then asked if we could stay at the hotel nearby. We understood there is one hotel around. When we checked for the price they said it would be too expensive and suggested to search some other option. I still insisted to ask the price. Then they have told us 95 euros per person. Which would come for us as 190 euros for that night which was expensive. On one side we were scared about the situation and on the other side we were laughing among ourselves for no reason, probably just to calm ourselves down.

We then started to explore all around the place to check if some people are going back to the city and might take us along with them. After 30 mins we luckily found 2 local guys with a bit of unusual attire who are waiting to have an appointment for a person and then planning to go back to their home. 

We explained our situation to them and asked if they could help us. They told us not to worry. After their appointment with the person, they could for sure help us not completely taking us to the city but to take us to the next available open train station as they stay somewhere outside the city. We told them its fine for us and so we too waited for the other person to arrive.

That person took a while to show up and later they had some discussion for some 20 mins and then he left. After that as agreed we 4 of us started in their car to reach the next available train station. On our way, they asked about where are we from and all. When we responded to India, their immediate response was by the chant “Hare Krishna”. We immediately responded with some talks about Indian Gods and so on.

They told me they are also interested in Indian culture and their wish to travel to India. At that moment our inner minds were getting stable as we were sensing a bit of safe feeling.

After some time, they suddenly changed the discussion by telling us they are homosexual and they like drinking blood. That’s it, we didn’t even know how to respond. Then they continued to ask our opinions on it. We were nervous. We were also checking the google maps as well in parallel and verified that we were going towards the city itself. They then started scaring us a bit more by telling us they won’t be going towards the city and  all. After 45 mins of scary drive they not just brought us to the next station but in fact, they brought us close to the city from where we could go back home walking. Then they just told us they were just joking with us and it was all fun and giggles. We too smiled thanked them and headed our way back home and reached back around midnight. 

So guys this was an unforgettable trip, it ended well, and made us learn to be careful while planning the trip. Do not do half plans and always have considerations about worst-case scenarios. People are generally good but we should be extra cautious while trusting anyone to avoid unforeseen dangers.