Spain, 2001

Monastery of Sant Pere de Casserres

Along with Rupit, this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The only reason we heard about this place is because the Parador of Vic, where we were staying, is close to the monastery.

The day we arrived at the parador, we got settled and wanted to explore the area a bit. Just before the parador, there is a sign for the monastery, pointing up a steep concrete road. We decided to see where the road lead us. There was notice in catalan which I made out to say 'Road closes at 5:30pm'. I looked at my watch. The time was 5:20pm. Excited as we were to be there, we ignored the warning and climbed the hill.

Finally, after 15 minutes of following the concrete road, which turned into gravel, then dirt, we arrived at the monastery. And as we arrived, an older man and a younger man were leaving the parking lot. The older man stopped, honked and asked me to roll down my window. He told us in a stern but respectful way that the road was closing, and if would be so kind as to lead the way off the premises. When we got to the bottom of the hill, the man close behind, he flashed his lights to stop. The young man got out of the car--I was expecting a harsh warning--and handed us a pamphlet of the monastery. He asked us to come back the next day after 10:00am. That night we visited the nearby town of Vic, but the next day we did return and had a great experience.

Lluis Poblet, the man who cares for the monastery, greeted us warmly. He apologized for sternly asking us to leave the day before, but said that it was necessary since people are occassionaly trapped inside, or often curse him out for being asked to leave. He said he regretted how he spoke to us because we were obviously polite and well-meaning people. Lluis also told us that we were in luck that day. A tour group was there to visit the monastery and we could tag along with them to get a guided tour.

A few interesting things happened. First, at the beginning of the tour, Lluis thanked the different groups for being then, and made a special mention of the couple from New York, and thanked us for our visit. The crowd cooed approvingly when they heard we were from NY. Lluis and a few others expressed their regrets for the September 11 terrorist attacks and said they hoped we and our loved ones were well. Then Lluis asked if the group, comprised of Catalans, a people fiercely proud of their heritage and language, wouldn't mind if he conducted the tour in Spanish, rather than in Catalan. Many people agreed to do just that and exclaimed 'Spanish! Spanish!'. Then one man stepped forward, and killed the whole idea. He said that 'It is well know that intelligent people can understand Catalan if they listen carefully.' Many others gravely agreed. That settled it. The tour would be in Catalan. Being a kind man, Lluis later split and repeated parts of the tour in Spanish. And though I could follow Catalan about 50% of the time, Spanish was welcome. During the tour, many people approached us to ask about NY, see if we followed that was being said, and to tell us that they hoped we understood why they couldn't alter the language of the tour for just one person.

The monastery is beautiful. It's located on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a river and the valley it created. Off in the distance we could see the snow-capped Pyrenees, and beyond them, France.

After the tour Lluis talks to us more about the area, thanked us for visiting and told about visiting the 14th century town of Rupit. He was a very kind host, and we had a very memorable time. I emailed him copies of my pictures and he thanked up warmly. Visit their website at http://www.ccosona.es