After the Priory we drove through more hills to the little village which was up in the mountains as well to visit the Abbey of St. Martin which is a 1000 year old Monastery. The brochure said it was "at the foot of the Canigou, in an exceptional setting". What the brochure didnt say was that after you drove up the hills to the town which looked to us to be at the foot of the mountain (and we couldnt see any Abbey!!!) that you actually had to walk another 45 minutes up (and I mean ALL UP!!) this winding mountain path which was very steep and THEN you are at the Abbey!! Anyway the temperature was fairly low and it there a light mist of rain happening, but we (well most of us!!) decided that since we had come this far we might as well go all the way up. Well the walk up was beautiful (bloody hard work, but beautiful), very quiet, we didnt see anyone else, beautiful scenery, a waterfall and lovely bush with the misty rain. We found out when we eventually got to the top that it was quiet because the sign written in French at the bottom of the track somewhere said that the Abbey is closed on Mondays and of course it was Monday!! We were all looking forward to having a coffee at the coffee shop that was advertised as being up there when we arrived as it was about 4.00 pm and we hadnt had anything since breakfast as everything seemed to be closed in the villages for their two hour siesta, and of course the coffee shop was shut too!! Anyway there was a sign on the big thick wooden door inviting visitors to ring it to be let into the Abbey (we didnt know it was shut at this stage!). David hesitantly rang the doorbell, it was a big door and by this stage the rain was getting heavier and we could hear someone coming slowly towards the door, I thought it might be opened by Lurch, that was the kind of door it was and it creaked as it was opened!!! But no it was opened by an elderly priest that explained that the Abbey was closed as Monday was their community day, but he said we were welcome to come in and visit the Chapel as he realised what a big walk we had had!! The priests name was Fr Wally Beale and he was actually Scottish and he was there for three months trial but hoping to stay there long term, he had been a priest for 47 years! He was very welcoming and we had a big talk to him and he showed us through the chapel and we could see the inside buildings of the Abbey, amazing to think it is 1000 years old, there are still 14 people living their full time. In the garden near the big door we came through were two holes in solid stone the shape of two bodies, Fr Wally explained that these were the actual graves of the man and his wife who founded the Abbey all those years ago, the bodies had since been exhumed, the the very clearly cut out shapes in the stone remain still today. Fr Wally told us about all the snow that had fallen at the Abbey in winter and has since emailled us photos of the Abbey when it was covered in 48 inches of snow! He also is mailing to us in Australia a book about the Abbey!! We felt very fortunate to have been able to visit the Abbey and to meet Father Wally. We then walked back down to our car in the drizzle, but all agreed it was well worth the effort, a great experience. When Father Wally emailled the photos he said that it had snowed up there again the day after we visited, so we were lucky we went when we did!!
After the Priory we drove through more hills to the little village which was up in the mountains as well to visit the Abbey of St. Martin which is a 1000 year old Monastery. The brochure said it was "at the foot of the Canigou, in an exceptional setting". What the brochure didnt say was that after you drove up the hills to the town which looked to us to be at the foot of the mountain (and we couldnt see any Abbey!!!) that you actually had to walk another 45 minutes up (and I mean ALL UP!!) this winding mountain path which was very steep and THEN you are at the Abbey!! Anyway the temperature was fairly low and it there a light mist of rain happening, but we (well most of us!!) decided that since we had come this far we might as well go all the way up. Well the walk up was beautiful (bloody hard work, but beautiful), very quiet, we didnt see anyone else, beautiful scenery, a waterfall and lovely bush with the misty rain. We found out when we eventually got to the top that it was quiet because the sign written in French at the bottom of the track somewhere said that the Abbey is closed on Mondays and of course it was Monday!! We were all looking forward to having a coffee at the coffee shop that was advertised as being up there when we arrived as it was about 4.00 pm and we hadnt had anything since breakfast as everything seemed to be closed in the villages for their two hour siesta, and of course the coffee shop was shut too!! Anyway there was a sign on the big thick wooden door inviting visitors to ring it to be let into the Abbey (we didnt know it was shut at this stage!). David hesitantly rang the doorbell, it was a big door and by this stage the rain was getting heavier and we could hear someone coming slowly towards the door, I thought it might be opened by Lurch, that was the kind of door it was and it creaked as it was opened!!! But no it was opened by an elderly priest that explained that the Abbey was closed as Monday was their community day, but he said we were welcome to come in and visit the Chapel as he realised what a big walk we had had!! The priests name was Fr Wally Beale and he was actually Scottish and he was there for three months trial but hoping to stay there long term, he had been a priest for 47 years! He was very welcoming and we had a big talk to him and he showed us through the chapel and we could see the inside buildings of the Abbey, amazing to think it is 1000 years old, there are still 14 people living their full time. In the garden near the big door we came through were two holes in solid stone the shape of two bodies, Fr Wally explained that these were the actual graves of the man and his wife who founded the Abbey all those years ago, the bodies had since been exhumed, the the very clearly cut out shapes in the stone remain still today. Fr Wally told us about all the snow that had fallen at the Abbey in winter and has since emailled us photos of the Abbey when it was covered in 48 inches of snow! He also is mailing to us in Australia a book about the Abbey!! We felt very fortunate to have been able to visit the Abbey and to meet Father Wally. We then walked back down to our car in the drizzle, but all agreed it was well worth the effort, a great experience. When Father Wally emailled the photos he said that it had snowed up there again the day after we visited, so we were lucky we went when we did!!
Hello I think I would have cried when I got to the big door, good for the legs I suppose. Sounded beautiful though. Mum is still with us in Griffith heading home on Sunday angela is meeting us in Deniliquin. We had a great weekend in Sydney Travel Safe Love The Harrimans & Granny xxxx
ReplyDeleteBut did he feed you? Surely, he had something in the biscuit barrel, even some hosts with red wine would have been welcome I am sure! Marg E xx
ReplyDeleteNo Marg, no sign of anything like that, we went to McDonalds when we got back down the mountain, just to finish off our spiritual experience!!!
ReplyDelete