Gueribo Trip Report #3: Ruins of Londó

Next we drove north from Loreto to the ruins of the mission visita Londó. We stopped at the ranch of San Juan Bautista Londó, where I met Cecilio (the ranch owner), his wife Analý, and his mother Marta. They seem to be doing well, with a healthy crew of goats. Cecilio grabbed a small downy-soft goat for a photo. He instructed the goat to look at the camera.

Our expeditions in recent years have ranged from Mulegé north, so I haven’t been to Londó in ten years. At my last visit, I met Cecilio’s father Bernabé, who was in the process of butchering a goat. Sadly, Bernabé died just three weeks ago. Now the ranch is passed to his son, and Cecilio hopes that his own young son Jonathan will stay and take up the mantle.

Cecilio invited us in and offered us deer meat and fresh tortillas. Marta, his mother, was in the process of cooking a large batch of food to deliver and sell to local agricultural workers. Marta wanted an “action” photo of tortilla-making. The food was delicious. “As long as you’re on a ranch or at a fish camp,” Cecilio said, “you’ll never go hungry.” Cecilio regularly takes his boat to San Bruno Bay for fishing—the site of the fish camp we visited the day before.

Cecilio gave us a tour of the ranch. In Baja ranching, it’s all about water. He showed us the well, full of water and pumped by a windmill. When there’s no wind, they have a generator to run the pump. These windmills are a common sight on Baja ranches. In his father’s time, there was a government matching grant program to purchase windmills so the ranches could survive. With the water, Cecilio grows alfalfa for animal feed and irrigates fruit trees. He had a little hammock under the trees by the pila. He said his father was born under the tree. We asked where he himself was born. He laughed a little. “At the clinic in Loreto,” he said.





[Edited on 1-29-2019 by gueribo]

We asked if we could pass through to the lower ranch where the ruins are located. “Of course,” he said. The chapel wall looks the same as ten years ago—still solidly standing, and adorned with moldings and details carved with care. The trim reminds me of teeth.







[Edited on 1-29-2019 by gueribo]

Some repairs have been performed at some point in the past.

Here’s a comparison of door photos. The first is from Ed Vernon’s book, Las Misiones Antiguas. If you look closely at the foundation stones that form the lower part of the doorway, you can see the stones are the same, though the doorway is now gone. You can also see that the stones have been re-mortared.



[Edited on 1-27-2019 by gueribo]

Next to the chapel there’s a cemetery with graves ancient and modern. It’s resplendent with brightly colored plastic flowers, vases, ribbons, and statuary.

On the other side of the arroyo, there’s an acequia and animal watering trough. It’s no longer used, but was constructed in modern times.

When we returned to the ranch, Cecilio had something to show me. He pointed to the hills on the other side of the highway. “These hills are full of fossils,” he said. He held out his hand and showed me a petrified sand dollar. “You can’t see this kind anymore,” he said. “It’s a gift for you. Guard it well.”

Once again, I was moved by the kindness and generosity of the Baja people. In exchange, I gave Cecilio a yellow butterfly, pressed in my notebook and carried from the Pacific Northwest. We told him we hoped to return soon, and he promised that when I come back, we’ll go exploring in the hills to find more fossils.








[Edited on 2-2-2019 by gueribo]

That night, we had a unique dining experience at Canipolé restaurant, close to the Loreto mission church. You need a reservation, as the owner Sofia cooks for her guests individually. She’s passionate about cooking in the Mexican traditional way. There’s no menu—you sit down to a multi-course meal created by Sofia. “Like music,” Sofia says, “food communicates without words.” She told us over and over how she cooks with all her heart and soul, and how each guest is now a family member in her home—which is true, because Sofia lives at the restaurant in a small room in the back.

Sofia and her nephew began the preparations. Our meal started with carrot & jicama taquitos and freshly-made guacamole. Next came a large plate of chicken mole, fresh blue corn tortillas, chicken with chile verde, chile relleno, and rice and beans. The dog and cat gathered around, hopeful for handouts. The meal finished with sweet chips covered in cinnamon and sugar.

Each table is scattered with dried beans. Sofia said it's important to know the origins of your food.

Eating at Canipolé is an immersion experience of Mexican hospitality and care. Sofia asked that we spread the word, as she doesn’t have a web presence. “Once you have that,” she said, “you’re stuck to the computer.” She asked us to sign the guestbook, and informed us that she also offers cooking classes. If we had more time, I’d definitely want to learn from Sofia.

Tomorrow . . . San Javier and the visita of La Presentación.






[Edited on 1-27-2019 by gueribo]

San Juan Londó visita ruin is just 0.4 mi west of Hwy. 1 at KM 30. You can see the structure from Hwy. 1.

Here are some 1955 photos of it from Howard Gulick of the Lower California Guidebook...

San Juan Londó was an important visita of the Loreto mission and was proposed to be a mission and was called a mission in early Jesuit letters but it was never a full mission with its own financing and its own priest. The visita was transferred to Mission San José de Comondú from the jurisdiction of Loreto. The original Comondú mission location (Comondú Viejo) was west of Londó, in the mountains until it moved in 1736.

Quote: Originally posted by gueribo

This is a ruin site easily accessed from the highway, if you're passing by. Very easy to find, and good people to visit.

Londó is shown as "San Juan" on this 1962 Howard Gulick map. The full name is San Juan Bautista Londó...