BajaNomad

The Catholic church at San Francisco de la Sierra

BajaBlanca - 5-16-2021 at 08:54 PM

Yesterday, May 2021, we went to San Francisco de la Sierra and in the tiny village we saw a church. Mom and I are both Catholics so we slipped into it.

We found a SAD state of affairs....the doorknob is off, the doors are all crooked, dirt and dust on the floors but the inside could be gorgeous with a little TLC. I am not sure who the priest is who is responsible for it, but I am going to ask ours what can be done.


The front with Mom posing.












Here are some of the nice parts of the church, including the incredible views out the windows.










































It is said in Brazil that every time you enter into a new church, you have the right to a wish! I still haven't made mine yet.


It was a beautiful day in a beautiful location. One can take 3 day trips with burros to ride on and a mule to carry your stuff. One provides food for all, including the guide.



I hope you enjoyed the visit.

David K - 5-17-2021 at 10:06 AM

Nice look inside, thank you!

Here is my 2017 photo:



There are the remains of another church in San Francisco de la Sierra, in 2019, I took this photo of it:

TMW - 5-17-2021 at 11:10 AM

The priest may be with a church in a town in the area and visits this church on a regular basis. Some years back I knew the priest in La Purisima and he would visit other villages for Mass. I found him doing Mass in San Juanico on one visit. Over the years we bought him a couple of Honda Trail 70 motorcycles so he could ride to all the back country places. I once got a good deal on a Honda Trail 110 but he wouldn't take it because it was too big so I kept it. He was only about 5 ft tall from Italy.

David K - 5-17-2021 at 12:41 PM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW  
The priest may be with a church in a town in the area and visits this church on a regular basis. Some years back I knew the priest in La Purisima and he would visit other villages for Mass. I found him doing Mass in San Juanico on one visit. Over the years we bought him a couple of Honda Trail 70 motorcycles so he could ride to all the back country places. I once got a good deal on a Honda Trail 110 but he wouldn't take it because it was too big so I kept it. He was only about 5 ft tall from Italy.


What a cool story!!!

BajaBlanca - 5-17-2021 at 01:35 PM

I saw the older church and did not know what it was. Your sideways shot shows the side of the newer church. Very cool. It does look like something was added to the left and right of the front door...not sure what it is.

Tom, that really is a wonderful story! If he still uses the motorcycle, I bet he could use gloves to go with and maybe even a cap!

TMW - 5-18-2021 at 10:15 AM

Hi Blanca. We bought him a helmet but he refused to use it, he said God would look out for him. A few months later I was down there and his head looked like he had been in a fist fight. He had taken a fall off the bike. I told him if he had used the helmet he wouldn't have gotten so beat up. He just said maybe.

gueribo - 5-18-2021 at 10:55 AM

Enjoyed the photos, Blanca!

BajaBlanca - 5-18-2021 at 07:59 PM

Tom, I need to have a serious chat with that priest!

Glad you enjoyed the photos gueribo.

boe4fun - 5-22-2021 at 09:40 AM

A group of 4 clinic volunteers went up there about 7 or 8 years back and booked a 3 day mule trip into Santa Teresa Canyon. We had two guides, a total of six mules, and two pack burros. Enjoyed ribeye steaks I’d put on dry ice the first night in the canyon, the guides loved them! Dr. Bob Haining had folks call out on their marine radios for an impromptu clinic to be held the afternoon we returned from the canyon. We had a bunch of supplies loaded in our vehicles for the clinic, and ended up fitting a drop foot brace and a knee brace for an old cowboy who had OA of the knee so bad he could barely walk. I still remember him doing a dance in the dirt parking lot after we fit him! Turned out one of our guides (a distant cousin of Juan Arce in Bahía Asunción) had a child with Cerebral Palsy who was living in Loreto with an uncle so he could attend school, so we stopped by and measured and casted him for below the knee braces that we’d fit/delivered on our return trip. Great memories!

jbcoug - 5-23-2021 at 01:06 AM

What a great adventure Paul! You find good work to do wherever you go! I really want to do one of those trips!

boe4fun - 5-23-2021 at 11:44 AM

Quote: Originally posted by jbcoug  
What a great adventure Paul! You find good work to do wherever you go! I really want to do one of those trips!


Trips have (or use to) to be booked out of San Ignacio in the little cavelike office between the church and museum. There’s usually a ship to shore antenna by the front door when they’re open. Several different trips are available at either San Francisco de la Sierra or Santa Marta, and must be booked in advance. Permits are required for cameras and/or video recorders as well as the trip itself. Guides are contacted via ship to shore. We booked in the morning and left on our mules that same afternoon. Great trip, including viewing 4 or 5 Cave paintings and 1 petroglyph, plus a fairly cold beer kept in an Adobe house on the way in.