Our mission today was to visit Spanish Missions. The first was San Diego de Alcala, near the port town of Lorreto, on the western shore of the California peninsula. (Mexican California, of course). This was a quick stop. You see the original church (circa 1650) with a new bell tower. (The original bell tower was damaged in an earthquake). I can personally vouch for the bells correctly clanging out the time.

Here’s an interior pick. Mexicans worship in and love these old churches. They don’t have a lot of money. We wouldn’t call the churches pristine. But the structures and decorations are all in good shape. The circle of blue light is a modern addition. LED lights appear to encircle Jesus.

The highlight was the Javier Vigge Biaumdo mission. This was located due east, near the east coast of California. To get there, we took a 45-minute bus ride through some fairly extreme mountains. The road was paved, but narrow with plenty of switchbacks, tight turns, and drop-offs — many of which had no guard rail. This mission is about 100 years newer than San Diego de Alcala. It’s located at one of the largest oasis in California.

Once a year, they have a huge celebration at this mission. People come from all around the area, mostly riding horses. Some folks are so distant that it takes 2 weeks to complete their horse ride. The road connecting the two missions is 700 years old. Back in the day, it took two days to ride between these two missions. The Jesuits built a “half way” house. It’s nothing but a small building. We didn’t stop there, but the door was open. I saw many decorations, flowers, etc, all in good shape. The building is obviously visited frequently. Here’s the inside of the mission church.

This mission was the first to plant grapes in America. They original grape tree is still there. This provided the first wine made in America. They still produce wine today.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.