The views from the monastery were good but a few hours of hiking took us to the highest peak in the area and into the depths of some great rock formations from where the view was spectacular.
Charles and Laura are both architects from New York but Laura is originally from Peurto Rico. They were both very interesting and have an appreciation for things that allows us to see a completely different perspective from our own.
This trip also served for info gathering as our climbing guide notes close to 200 climbs in the area. The pic below shows two climbers on seperate sides of the same huge rock. Can you see them?
Back at the Monastery, the main draw is the Black Madonna aka La Moreneta, or Black Virgin, she has a baby Jesus seated on her lap. The chambers leading to the statue are adorned with marble engravings, carvings and statues. For many reaching the Madonna is very special and a huge highlight religiously. I can see why, the time and effort required to build this structure and the beautiful condition of everything shows an attention to detail that one would expect of a monk.
Exterior of cathedral is shown above, note the exterior of the stained glass.
In addition to the multiple statues on the area leading into the cathedral, everything is painted beautifully and the floor is simply too nice to eat off. Not many can say that.
Can you say "Lord have mercy...Jesus have mercy?" If so, now's the time to say it. Don't forget to cross your heart at the right nanosecond or you will spend an eternity with some not very pleasant people.
The view of a virgin. Haven't seen that for a while have you? You hopeless sinners!
Is there really something up there? Tessa seeks the answer. Stay tuned.
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