DavidT
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I hadn't thought about holding a time share salesman by the eyes. I'll let you know if it works.
Thank you. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your blog.
David
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
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Bob H
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Wow, this is the most detailed trip report I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing this.
Bob H
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David K
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What a great report Amy... very well could become a book!
You sure covered a lot of ground in a short time... and saw so much, too.
You saw people we know as well as other 'famous' Baja Californios: Oscar and Matilda at Santa Ynez, Herman Hill at Bahia de los Angeles, Jose's son at
San Borja, an Arce who was in Bajo California... wow!
That you researched your trip so well in advance had a lot to do with seeing so much that was of interest to you.
When are you going back???
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David K
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Right... now with a fresh set of perspective and lay of the land... the books will mean much more!
I wasn't sure after reading your blog page, but did you see San Juan Bautista Londo? It is visible form Hwy. 1, north of Loreto and you can drive to
it.
Also, the Magdalena ruins you hiked through the desert to may be the Jesuit visita and not the larger Dominican one. Did you have a GPS? The Dominican
visita had an extensive water works (acequia) system, too.
Just so much Baja!!!
[Edited on 3-3-2009 by David K]
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaamy
Hi, David--
Yes, we went to Londo. There's an entry about it (look for the butchered goat photo).
Unfortunately, no GPS on this trip! There sure were moments when we wished we had it.
Amy |
I was there in December, 2001... one photo:
A GPS is great for finding these sites to appreciate them/ photograph them before they are gone forever!
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaamy
Looks good--exactly the same as we saw it. The San Jose de Magdalena visita was a different matter. It's completely fallen in since Ed Vernon took
his photo a few years ago.
Amy |
Amy, from your blog it sounds like you saw a different ruin... The Dominican visita is right next to the palm filled arroyo, across it from the town.
No desert trail... Maybe you went to the Jesuit ruin described in Dave Werschkul's book (did you get it yet?) he calls Santa Maria Magdalena?
You got a special tour for sure... maybe a brand new site unknown to Norteamericanos?
Here are some Google Earth images showning the vista (the marker pin is about 100 feet east of the visita.
Looking northward from the visita to the town... (see the visita doorway and walls standing, left of the pin)
Looking from the town across to the visita... (right of the pin)
High view showing the Jesuit ruin in the desert and the Dominican site and the town of Palo Verde on Hwy. 1 (turnoff to Punta Chivato)...
[Edited on 3-4-2009 by David K]
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Paulina
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Amy,
What a fantastic blog! I loved it. I told Dern that we should reenact your trip and use your blog as our guide book.
I'm glad that you met Herman. He's my adopted Baja Dad. He is quite the character and story teller. I could hear him speaking through your words.
"Very goooood" as Herman would say.
Thanks again for taking the time to make such a detailed report.
P<*)))>{
edit: p.s. I love your avatar too.
[Edited on 4-3-2009 by Paulina]
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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David K
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That's what Baja Nomads do...
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaamy
Oh yes . . . and one more thing! We kept road logs (landmarks at certain kms) for all the places we went. We thought it would come in handy when we
go back, for all those unmarked deviations! We'd be happy to share . . .
Amy |
We shared some ideas with you and now you have shared your trip report with us... very cool!
In one photo you added last night, I see the palms... Sad, but it looks like it finally collapsed...
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David K
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Yes, as mentioned... David Werschkul (Saints and Demons... did it arrive yet?) has a GPS waypoint for the ruins I marked above in the high view...
that Marquis McDonald photographed in 1950, and called 'Santa Maria Magdalena'... It is outside the canyon in the desert near the arroyo... Not much
there.
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David K
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Very little can be found... it would be connected to the mission at Mulege, however.
Okay, just spent some time going over my books...
Nothing from Crosby, who is the authority on the Jesuit activity in Lower California. I have books by Jesuit writers and could not find any mention.
Arthur North in his 1908 'Mother of California' pg. 23 describes the 'mission' of Santa Maria de la Magdalena, 16 miles northwest of Mulege... heaps
of stone mark the site... along with 8 miles of stone aqueduct to bring water here.
In North's 1910 'Camp and Camino in Lower California' he again mentions the ancient Jesuit mission chapel of Santa Maria de la Magdalena located
"where a large arroyo came forth from the sierras". North found "well constructed and stone and masonry aqueduct..."
The 1956-1970 Gerhard & Gulick 'Lower California Guidebook' clears up the (Jesuit) error by North, and describes the site as the ruined Magdalena
chapel and irrigation works built by the Dominicans in 1774... located 5.4 miles east (downstream) of the village of San Jose de Magdalena.
What is sure, there is never a shortage of Baja mysteries and mis-information to clear up! I was going by Werschkul and North in calling it a Jesuit
ruin... I will refer to it as a Dominican site... Of interest, only Werschkul locates both sites in his book (San Jose de Magdalena and Santa Maria
Magdalena). North and G&G both say nothing about the ruins across the arroyo from the town of San Jose de Magdalena, even though they mention the
rancho/ town after mentioning the ruins 5+ miles east.
[Edited on 3-4-2009 by David K]
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David K
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I was wondering because you talked about a 'desert walk'... and to my eyes on Google, you would simply walk across the palm filled oasis from the
town, on one side of the arroyo, to the ruins on the other.
Do you have any more photos of the site or the town area?
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LaTijereta
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Amy,
I enjoyed reading your latest adventure, and I know you are looking forward to more to come.
Marquis MacDonald has a brief description in his book from 1968 > Baja: Land of Lost Missions
Democracy is like two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin (1759)
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by LaTijereta
Amy,
I enjoyed reading your latest adventure, and I know you are looking forward to more to come.
Marquis MacDonald has a brief description in his book from 1968 > Baja: Land of Lost Missions |
SEE the pages from Marquis' book and photos: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=37460
[Edited on 3-6-2009 by David K]
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BAJACAT
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I have no words BAJAAMY, just an extraordinary trip report, I feel that i was on the back seat to whole trip, thanks..Jose >B^J^C^T
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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David K
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Hi Amy, I have been going through my books and at this point I have reached this conclusion:
The ruins outside the canyon on the desert are those begun by Franciscan Padre Palou of Mulege, about 1771 to increase crop prodution... the aqueduct
brought water out of the canyon to a large pila (the rectangle we see on Google Earth is at the end of the aqueduct trench)... The area was
cultivated. In more recent times, a village of Boca de Magdalena was located near these ruins, by the mouth of the canyon (boca=mouth).
The chapel across the arroyo from the town of San Jose (de Magdalena) was reported by villagers in 1950 to be 70 years old (ie. 1880)... or years
AFTER the mission period ended (by the 1840s).
The lack of reference to the San Jose site in any mission book, other than Ed Vernon's was a concern... now, I see why.
I have photos from 'Kevin in Oklahoma' of the site and pila, I will post on a new post, so as not to distract any more from your great trip report!
[Edited on 3-5-2009 by David K]
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ckiefer
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Not wanting to interrupt the flow of the conversation, but did want to say I loved your trip report. Definitely book worthy, and those photos....who
is the photographer? It wasn't just the photos but how you chose to capture the subject. You must have taken hundreds, but you chose these to
display on your blog. Very impressive! Please keep traveling and sharing with us. You have captured the hearts of all nomads here. Thank you!
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David K
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Amy,
I am going to make a new thread about the Magdalena visita site with photos from the ground, the past, and satellite images (new ones)... Once it is
done, I will 'clean up' some of the stuff on the true mission-era site outside the canyon I posted above... so to no distract from your terrific trip
report.
It will be on the Nomad Historic Interests forum... and add a link here when it is done.
Thank you!
HERE IS THE MAGDALENA VISITA POST: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=37460
[Edited on 3-6-2009 by David K]
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BornFisher
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Now that`s a blog!!! What a great read, thanks for the effort, I really enjoyed it!
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