St Ignacio to Dos Amigos RV Park on Sea of Cortez
San
Ignacio is small Mexican town built around an oasis in the middle of the desert, with a population of around 1000 people.
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| We arrived around 10am and people were sweeping the sidewalks and cleaning the street. |
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| The main streets were paved, but very narrow, but the side streets were dirt. |
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| Typical side street, no pavement but clean. The houses were poor by out standards but people were happy and very friendly |
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| In the center of town was a town square with benches where you could sit and relax. Shops lined the street on 3 sides with the old mission on the other. |
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| This sign was posted in the town square. Every place we go almost all of the people are wearing masks, every one wears them indoors. |
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| A small chapel was built on this site in 1716 by the Jesuits who had arrived to convert the Indians. In 1728 a permanent mission that would hold 100 worshipers was built to serve the 1249 local Indians. Construction of the stone church that exists today was started in 1733, but by 1768 the Indians rebelled and the Jesuits were expelled from the peninsula. The Franciscan missionaries took it over until 1773 when they turned it over to the Dominican missionaries who completed the construction. It is interesting how the different groups from with in the Catholic church were all competing for control of the region and its wealth. |
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| The pulpit is about a quarter of the way back in the church. The people who sat at the front of the church would not be able to see the missionary as he was preaching |
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The view of the interior facing the back of the church
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| The church was built with elaborate wings on both sides which housed the missionaries plus their solders to protect them. |
After visiting St Ignacio we traveled to the Sea of Cortez
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| The Dois Amigos Campsite |
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| A couple of dozen locals were digging for clams while the tide was out |
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| After a bit of coaching I figured it out. You walk along and compress the sand with your feet about a foot apart. If there is a clam buried near the surface the pressure of your weight makes them squirt a bit of water, when you see the water squirt to the surface you did them up. |
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| a snack of fresh clams |
3 comments:
Nice to see your photos.
Interesting to learn about new places - and how to dig clams!
We've had rain, a day of ice and are now getting snow. Many roads are still icy. No buses - and no snowshoeing - again today. That makes your pictures even more appealing!
Now that I know how to steam clams, they will be even better next time.
I ate them raw , just like the locals
Raw clams?? Yikes! I should try them cooked once more; maybe my taste buds will have changed!
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