Day One: Mission San Juan – On the Way

Rivers, Bridges, Snails

Mendy waiting patiently. She rode ahead and waited at intersections. Marie rode slowly behind me. My trail angels.

Just look. I had no idea the Riverwalk trail was so beautiful. San Antonio when all out.

Snails! I scooted quite a few to the side of the trail to escape the perils of speeding cyclists.

Day One: Mission Espada – On the Way

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.

Walking along the San Antonio River
Blooming Yucca.

Tres Peregrinas

El Camino de San Antonio Missions

Mendy Smith (L) Me and Marie Scott Marks

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.