| Pages:
1
2 |
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
A look at MISION SAN BORJA in 1949 to '60 and 2001 to 2017
One of the most impressive sites in northern Baja California is to come upon the grand stone mission of San Borja after countless dusty miles of
desert!
Founded in 1762 by Jesuit Father Wenceslao Linck as Mision San Francisco de Borja Adac, three years after Father Jorge Retz of Santa Gertrudis built a
chapel here, as a visita for Mision Santa Gertrudis. The site was known as 'Adac' by the Indians. The Jesuits built adobe rooms with thatched palm and
tule roofs as well as an irrigation system.
The Jesuits were expelled from the New World in 1768... The Franciscans were responsible for most of the adobe construction that is seen today. The
adobe ruins are the most extensive in Baja, yet rarely get mentioned due to the impressive stone church that replaced them.
The stone church was built by the Dominicans, who took over the Baja missions from the Franciscans in 1773... Stone construction began in 1776 and
lasted for 25 years. Only the bell tower was not finished in 1801.
The native population once as high as 3,000 had dropped to under 400 when the mission was abandoned, in 1818. In 1862 a census listed the Indian
population at 8.
Today, only one family lives at San Borja headed by Jose Gerardo who with his children act as guides to the local sites.
SAN FRANCISCO DE BORJA ADAC
IN 1949 (Marquis McDonald)
IN 1952 (Howard Gulick)
IN 1954 (Howard Gulick)
IN 1960 (Howard Gulick)
IN 2001:
Jose Gerardo on the roof:
The adobe ruins with a recently built awning to offer some weather protection:
[Edited on 2-6-2009 by David K]
[Edited on 3-15-2019 by David K]
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
2002, 2003, 2004
Bedman took these first four photos when we all went in April, 2002:
Here's a photo of the road I took on that day... supper fast!:
=======================================================
April, 2003:
Jose and family:
Gerardo kids with Sarah K and Andee (Bo's daughter):
http://www.vivabaja.com/703/mailedD18.jpg
For a couple of years, the Gerardo family was locked out of the mission because they are not Catholic! Theodoro was doing mission-ground tours then:
A fence was added...
Jose's oldest daughter 'Brisa' and Sarah:
Andee, Sarah and I continued south and west to the visita sites of Santa Ana and San Regis... but a gate prevented a visit up to San Regis.
[Edited on 2-6-2009 by David K]
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
Jan., 2004
The kids and I along with the Humfreville's, and GeoRock family went to San Borja over the New Year's holiday:
|
|
|
Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy!
|
|
Looks like they were trying to grow a couple shade trees at the entrance to the church way back when...probably got torn out when they found out they
weren't native! 
The adobe seems to have really deteriorated... what beautiful country out there....
|
|
|
flyfishinPam
Super Nomad
Posts: 1727
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Loreto, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: gone fishin'
|
|
Nice photos David. I have some photos of San Luis de Gonzaga which is South of Ciudad Constitucion that I'll have to dig up. Taken in the days
before digital cameras. For some reason these remind me of that place.
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by flyfishinPam
Nice photos David. I have some photos of San Luis de Gonzaga which is South of Ciudad Constitucion that I'll have to dig up. Taken in the days
before digital cameras. For some reason these remind me of that place. |
Until you find yours, here is one from Jack Swords of Mision San Luis Gonzaga taken in 2000 (from our Baja Missions web page at http://vivabaja.com/bajamissions ):
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
HUGO LOPEZ ART
Here's a photo of Hugo's San Borja painting at Tacos Mision, El Rosario in May, 2005:
|
|
|
shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13033
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
|
|
LOve the pics of Jose's young family...those were the days eh! For any of you who know them...Brisa now has a young daughter! Her smile is something
else!
|
|
|
baja-spirit
Junior Nomad
Posts: 82
Registered: 1-11-2008
Member Is Offline
|
|
Thanks for the pictures, really enjoyed them...
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
2009 Photos
El gusto es mio!
[Edited on 3-15-2019 by David K]
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
Sept. 2016, during the Baja Extreme Tour
The hot spring pool
[Edited on 3-15-2019 by David K]
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
2017 San Borja Photos
From my February 2017 research trip:
|
|
|
fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
Seriously facinating. Thanks
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
It even had an airport! I say had because it would have been ditched in the years after the pilot's book 'Air Baja!' was published.
|
|
|
fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
Oh yeah!
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
|
|
|
basautter
Senior Nomad
Posts: 862
Registered: 7-1-2013
Member Is Offline
|
|
Great pics! I visited there for the first time last year. Well worth the time. 
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
José and his family make the place very welcoming and interesting.
In past years, his children would show off the mission. Kids grow up and move on. In 2016, his daughter and wife (Analisia?) took us to the hot
spring... They do this for tips. In 2017, José's brother moved to San Borja to help him build more to serve visitors, such as a café. I think I
heard the wife moved to (Nuevo) Rosarito to be closer to daughter/grandchildren?
Here is a card (below), from José's son and it (did once) provide a way to reach José if you would like to arrange a guide into the mountains to see
petroglyphs or mines. Neal Johns and friends rented mules and José many years ago to see some Indian ruins along El Camino Real in 2002: http://www.vivabaja.com/neal/index.html
When Genaro was much younger, he was on a magazine cover:
[Edited on 3-16-2019 by David K]
|
|
|
gueribo
Nomad
Posts: 458
Registered: 10-16-2014
Member Is Offline
|
|
José's wife is Alicia. Genaro now works with INAH. "Es muy padre la arqueología," he says. ("Archaeology is really cool.")
If you have time, José will hike with you up the hill, along the Camino Real (south toward Santa Gertrudis). Looking back toward Mission San Borja:
At the top of the hill, you'll pass the historic stone cross (from the Jesuit era):
But watch out for . . .
[Edited on 3-16-2019 by gueribo]
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
Did you drive to the base of the grade, if you can get a car to there, or to where ECR leaves the auto road to Santa Ana?
Thanks for the photos... A red diamondback is not one to mess with! Erle Stanley Gardner wrote very colorfully about the effects of its venom in
Hovering Over Baja!
So, NEVER play with them like Steve Irwin would (or my daughter did... even though I said NO! After this photo, the snake was left to go on its own
away from the road):
|
|
|
gueribo
Nomad
Posts: 458
Registered: 10-16-2014
Member Is Offline
|
|
One more note about Genaro. In September, he presented a conference paper: "Indian Trails and the Camino Real in the Central Desert of Baja
California." He's doing some great research.
|
|
|
| Pages:
1
2 |
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
