Friday we decided to go into San Antonio to scope out the town. As we entered SA - we realized after we drove by it - that we missed the Alamo - it's located between two high 
rises. So, we drove the mission trail to the visitor's center of the National Park Service's Missions of San Antonio. What amazing missions! There are four of them, the Alamo is not part of the Park, Mission Concepcion - pictured on the left here, Mission San Juan, Mission Espada, and Mission San Jose. Each mission is about 2.8 miles from each other, located on the San Antonio River, and were settled by the Fransciscan monks for the Spanish Empire about the 1720's. These missions only lasted about 80 years or so however, the churches in each mission are run by the Catholic Diocese of SA
and are active parishes - holding mass every Sunday. What incredible architecture, frescos, iron work, the Spanish influence on all buildings. Our intent was to only visit the visitor center and get info, but we decided to go to the four that day. Our last mission, San Juan - pictured below, we met and talked with a volunteer, Manual Guerra age 70, who found out a year ago that he was a direct decendant of the Tejas Indians (no - he is not a Tejano who are Texans of 
Mexican descent), but the Tejas Indian tribe who were living in the area of San Antonio hundreds of years prior to the Spanish coming. Manual has records of his great-great-great grandparents being born, marrying, and their death certificates while living inside the mission, and he wants to spread the word of the Tejas's point of view - how they lived, their customs, what it was like from a real Tejas. Why they smelled (Spaniards called them stinking Indians - they wore animal grease to ward off mosquitos) why their teeth were black (they ate a certain tree bark which aided their stomach digestion) and why they ate frijolles - beans - which gave medicinal purposes similar to aspirin. We could have stayed with him all day listening to him, and we will never forget Mauel.
rises. So, we drove the mission trail to the visitor's center of the National Park Service's Missions of San Antonio. What amazing missions! There are four of them, the Alamo is not part of the Park, Mission Concepcion - pictured on the left here, Mission San Juan, Mission Espada, and Mission San Jose. Each mission is about 2.8 miles from each other, located on the San Antonio River, and were settled by the Fransciscan monks for the Spanish Empire about the 1720's. These missions only lasted about 80 years or so however, the churches in each mission are run by the Catholic Diocese of SA
and are active parishes - holding mass every Sunday. What incredible architecture, frescos, iron work, the Spanish influence on all buildings. Our intent was to only visit the visitor center and get info, but we decided to go to the four that day. Our last mission, San Juan - pictured below, we met and talked with a volunteer, Manual Guerra age 70, who found out a year ago that he was a direct decendant of the Tejas Indians (no - he is not a Tejano who are Texans of 
Mexican descent), but the Tejas Indian tribe who were living in the area of San Antonio hundreds of years prior to the Spanish coming. Manual has records of his great-great-great grandparents being born, marrying, and their death certificates while living inside the mission, and he wants to spread the word of the Tejas's point of view - how they lived, their customs, what it was like from a real Tejas. Why they smelled (Spaniards called them stinking Indians - they wore animal grease to ward off mosquitos) why their teeth were black (they ate a certain tree bark which aided their stomach digestion) and why they ate frijolles - beans - which gave medicinal purposes similar to aspirin. We could have stayed with him all day listening to him, and we will never forget Mauel.Amazing that so many people who come to see the Alamo don't take the time to see these four missions and learn 'the rest of the story'. We were able to go inside three of the missions, the fourth was under repairs, and the beauty and serenity we felt inside was amazing. To see how they water system they built is still in use today irrigating neighborhoods. Another amazing fact is that when these missions were built, they knew to place a window opposite the sanctuary so that on Easter the sunlight shown directly on the alter. Wow - to know how to do this!
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