Mission San Javier with New Good Friends

This entry is an interruption to the "Great Household Items to have on Board" blah-blah that I've been droning on about.

First of all, our time in Puerto Escondido has been... HOT! I am eager for Jim to take care of internet business and get the heck out to the islands so that we can enjoy the island breezes and temperate water, which is what we'll be doing this afternoon... YEA!!! Therefore, we will be out of touch for a few days. Our plan loosely knit plan is to return to Escondido early next week. The plus side of being in this sweaty anchorage is that we have met some terrific people!

We briefly met Ceilydh in La Paz. They were leaving the next day so didn’t get a chance to get to know them very well. Luckily, we anchored next to them in Puerto Escondido! They have an eight-year-old on board and Carolyne is in heaven!

Evan, Diane and Maia invited Carolyne and me to accompany them in their rental car to the San Javier Mission, about 32 kilometers from Loreto. Carolyne and I were delighted since our attempts to get there last year were hampered by construction that was being done on the roads. There was still construction being done on the roads this time, but it was passable.

The views are spectacular along the way! The contrast of desert cacti and lush green date palms are fantastic. The mango trees and figs are producing wildly... we had to make a stop at Rancho La Parra for mango picking... at 8 pesos a kilo it was a no brainer! Rock paintings can be found on the side of a hill on the way to San Javier. Good signage is provided to locate the stops along the way.

San Javier is a quaint oasis located in the middle of desert mountains of the Sierra la Giganta. Cobblestone streets and stucco structures are quiet and clean. The mission, the main tourist attraction, is 250+ years old, constructed in 1744. The walls are cement and stucco with old wood doors and antique art. Paintings of St. Michael, Saint Francis and others adorn the pulpit. Offerings of corn, a cut braid of human hair and milagros are offered in prayer to heal a loved one or request help with crops. It’s beautiful and mysterious, a little spooky too I must admit.

Ceiyldh and ½ of Hotspur had a lovely picnic lunch under the mango trees.