Gueribo Trip Report #2: San Bruno Ruins

Next we sought the ruins of San Bruno, a mission-era fort near the Bay of San Bruno.

In Baja, one connection leads to another. We began by contacting Necky, a guide with a particular interest in mission history. He was very excited about the idea of going to San Bruno, as he’d never been there before. His dream is to visit all the Baja missions, and hopefully the missions in the U.S.

The ruins of San Bruno are on private property, and are a protected historic site. Necky suggested we stop by the Loreto Mission Museum and ask who we should contact about getting permission. After a few phone calls, we had our permissions and were all set to go. Necky recommended that we ask Rodolfo, another guide and mission historian, to accompany us, as he had been to the site before.

We headed north, turning off at the now-abandoned military checkpoint. Rodolfo said it’s been a fruitless effort, so the checkpoint is no longer manned. We continued toward the coast to first visit the Bay of San Bruno. It’s a stunning little bay, well-worth visiting. We spent some time enjoying the beauty and combing the vacant fish camp. There’s also a very pretty estuary nearby, with mangroves. The bay itself was the landing site of the Atondo-Kino expedition in the late 1600s, following a failed attempt at a settlement in La Paz.








[Edited on 1-29-2019 by gueribo]

The estuary:

In order to reach the ruins of the fort, we needed to cross the arroyo of San Juan Londó. This is the same arroyo that leads to the ruins of the Londó visita. We weren’t the only ones making the crossing.

On the other side we followed the dirt road, winding among the bufa (bunchgrass), matacora, torote, copal, frutilla, mesquite, and pino salado (salt cedar, an invasive species). As we neared the site, a distinctive whitish hill loomed closer. The soil here is marine sediment—full of shells, and ideal for burning to make “cal” for mortaring stones together to build a structure.

The fort is reduced to a mere foundation now. Rodolfo said that in the 1940s, a guy from town came and hauled off all the square worked stones to build his house. Today, all that’s left is the rubble of the foundation.

From the ruins looking southwest, you can see the landmark hill El Pilón de Las Parras (the conical hill visible from Loreto and the road to Mission San Javier). Looking southeast, you can see Isla Coronados, one of the islands off the coast of Loreto. The photo below is looking northwest. Here’s Necky at the ruins:




[Edited on 1-27-2019 by gueribo]

The original plan included a fort, soldiers’ quarters, and a chapel. The chapel and soldiers’ quarters were never built; Rodolfo said he visited the site with a team of archaeologists who never found any additional ruins. This was a short-lived venture, and it’s likely that the fort became storage or an overnight camp. Clearly visible, though, are the three lookout piles that form the points of the triangular structure in the plan below (copied from Ed Vernon’s book, Las Misiones Antiguas):

Below the site, I found what Rodolfo suspected might be a grave. It was a small pile of stones, two of them worked into squares. He said he would inquire of the archaeologists to see if they found it too, and what they thought. The ground around the site is littered with small glazed ceramic shards, likely from plates and cups. Rodolfo said it’s a particular kind of pottery called Mayolica, made by the Mayo family in Puebla.

Once there was a grand development scheme at San Bruno Bay. Developers were planning a community bigger than Loreto, with hopes of selling hundreds of expensive homes—until the U.S. economy crashed and funding was lost.

Now, the gobernadora bushes are re-taking the space. According to one legend, a native woman presented some Spanish ladies with a large tortoise shell filled with tuna fruits (from cholla), garnished with bunches of this local plant. Because of this gift, the Spaniards called the native woman “la gobernadora,” and the plant was known ever after as “la hierba de la gobernadora.”

Back in town, Rodolfo presented me with a copy of a book, “La Giganta y Guadalupe,” a compilation of stunning photography and essays promoting the preservation and conservation of these beautiful mountains. I was humbled by his lovely gift. I’ve been deeply blessed by the generous people of Baja, who open their homes and hearts to travelers, sojourners, and strangers.

Later I met Graham Mackintosh in town for coffee, and he spoke of his memories of El Bule and Rancho Viejo. He’s working on a new writing project—a kayak journey. Can’t wait to read it.

Tomorrow—the ruins of Londó.

One more photo of San Bruno Bay and the fish camp:



[Edited on 1-27-2019 by gueribo]

And the view from the ruins toward the gulf:

The photo of San Bruno I have in my book was given to me by Ed Vernon (2002 author of Las Misiones Antiguas The Spanish Missions of Baja California)...


Photo from Ed Vernon ca1999:



Photo from Gueribo January 2019:


San Bruno was established October 6, 1683, and abandoned May 8, 1685.


Photo from David K in May 2019

[Edited on 5-31-2019 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by David K

I love comparing photos of the same place from several years apart.

San Bruno is on this 1962 map, as a geographic feature, an arroyo. It is where the 1683-1685 colony was located. Gerhard & Gulick describe Londó as the 1705 chapel and a ranch of the Kino-Atondo colony but San Bruno is not mentioned.