It’s a hop and a skip between Mission Espada and Mission San Juan. “Originally founded in 1716 in eastern Texas, Mission San Juan was transferred in 1731 to its present location. In 1756, the stone church, a friary, and a granary were completed. A larger church was begun, but was abandoned when half complete, the result of population decline.” https://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/sanjuan.htm
Mendy’s bike and trailer on the left, and there’s Marie, about to explore the inside of the mission.A school field trip. I listened for a while. The leader did a good job of asking questions at a level that encouraged the students to propose answers.Could not pass up a photo of blooming prickly pear. Almost makes me homesick! On the way back to the hotel.
Back in the room after a 12-mile day. Good thing I’m not concerned about getting my lipstick on straight.
We easily walked another mile just exploring the mission.
The facade reminds me of many of the small churches along the Camino Frances. Maybe the Spanish floor plan was passed on to Texas.
Priests visiting from Croatia. No. I don’t know what they were doing in San Antonio. The fellow in front was the only one who spoke English – and he spoke with a decidedly Irish accent. I’m looking a tad bedraggled. We’d walked in heavy mist and light rain all morning.
Marie reading the historical info plaque while exploring the mission grounds.
This was the first mission in Texas, founded in 1690 as San Francisco de los Tejas near present-day Weches, Texas. On March 5, 1731, the mission was transferred to the San Antonio River area and renamed Mission San Francisco de la Espada. A friary was built in 1745, and the church was completed in 1756. https://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/espada.htm
On the way to Mission Espada
The walk from the hotel to Mission Espada was about five miles. These two missions are very close together, so if you start at Mission Espada, you’ll certainly visit more than two missions in a day. I think we added about eight miles by walking to/from the hotel.
We walked in heavy mist / light rain the first part of the day. and were grateful for the overcast skies and mild temperatures.Walking along the San Antonio RiverBlooming Yucca.
Marie and I spent our childhoods together. I was ten and she was eight when I moved to the neighborhood. Mendy’s dad & his family lived two doors down from Marie. I am 76.
The walk is through “four eighteenth century Spanish Missions and the oldest functioning Cathedral in Texas. San Antonio is the only place outside Europe that you can officially begin walking the El Camino de Santiago.”El Camino de San Antonio Missions
The Path
Pay attention to the path options. Google likes to take you along high-traffic roadways and not-so-scenic byways. We paused frequently and assessed our options. Opting for neighborhoods and the Riverwalk path added a few miles, but was absolutely worth it.
Lodging
There ain’t none. If you want to walk from the hotel to the path (and back to a hotel), count on adding another 8-10 miles to the day. Our first day was about 12 miles and the second day, about 15 miles because we walked back/forth to hotels.
Breaks and food
Benches are along the riverwalk. There are no cafes or places to eat, so bring your snacks/lunch/water with you. One detour we took through a neighborhood brought us by a service station and convenience store, but that was a chance happening.
Day One. Start and finish at the hotel. The dark blue is a random auto trip. Light blue is our path.Day Two. Finished at our hotel on the Riverwalk.
If you start walking at Mission Espada and continue to Mission San Juan, then Mission San Jose, then to Mission Concepcion – the distance walking is only about 6.5 miles. Then add a mile or two at most of the missions to get to/from the trail and explore the mission That brings the total day to only about 12 miles. If you ask the Pilgrimage office, they estimate 20 miles. Not sure how they come up with that.
BUT
If you are walking from the hotel to the mission, then there are more hotel to/from miles than Camino miles. That’s fine with us. We are taking two days and enjoying our visit.
Tuesday, April 16
Hotel to Mission Espada – 4.0 miles / 6.4 Km Mission Espada to Mission San Juan – 2.0 miles / 3.2 Km Mission San Juan back to the hotel – 4.0 miles / 6.4 Km Back & forth to the trail from the missions. Exploring missions – prox 2.0 miles / 3.2 Km Total for Stage 1 about 12 miles / 19.3 Km
Wednesday, April 17
Hotel to Mission San Jose – 4.0 miles / 6.4 Km Mission San Jose to Mission Concepcion – 3.0 miles / 4.8 Km Mission Concepcion to Pilgrimage Center – .5 miles / .8 Km Back & forth to the trail from the missions. Exploring missions – prox 1.5 miles / 2.4 Km Mary & Marie to walk to another hotel for the night – 3.0 miles / 4.8 Km Total for Stage 3 about 12 miles / 19.3 Km
This whole recovery thing is moving so slowly. What the heck!? Later this week, under general anesthesia, the good doctor will perform an extensive exam and a biopsy to see what is going on with the recovery process. I still have 6 months and 17 days before my flight to Italy, so I should have time to prepare no matter what we have to do to get this show on the road.
Here it is, the end of February, and I’m still recovering from the effects of radiation.
Since my last post in November, I’ve switched Camino gears and decided to walk the portion of the Via Francigena from Lucca to Rome instead of a third (partial) Camino Francés. Airfare is booked. Lodging for all but two nights is booked. Departure date from Kansas City to Florence, Italy is September 13, 2023. That is six months and seventeen days from today, so I still have faith there will be time to recover and train.
In the spring of 2022, as I began training for my fall Camino Portuguese and Camino Ingles, I was hampered by what I thought was an outsized hemorrhoid. Off to the doctor I went – Fix this! Turned out to be cancer. A colonoscopy verified the cancer on July 22. Stage III anal cancer. Treatment was two rounds of two chemotherapy chemicals and 32 radiation treatments – every weekday for 32 treatments. On November 7, 2022, I was finally strong enough to arrive on the trail for my first recovery-from-cancer walk. One mile on the Turkey Creek trail. Follow my training log here.
