Misión San Javier
We chose to rent a car for many of the days we have been at Marina Puerto Escondido because it seems even tougher to get into Loreto from here than it was to go back and forth from Marina Costa Baja to La Paz. Loreto itself is more walkable than La Paz but its nice to have the schedule flexibility and the marina makes it easy to rent a car from Alamo.
We chose to drive up the road to Misión San Javier on Friday. The following slide shows capture some photos of the geology and plants along the road and the town/mission itself.
You can learn more about the Mission on wikipedia.
A view of the typical plants on the drive – cacti and bushes. 
Roadside hill typical of the area. 
Interesting bush that has green bark, some closer to the marina had started adding leaves but this one was bare. 
Some views of the well-engineered and well-maintained road up into the mountains. 
Interesting view of layers of rock 
More types of hills / rock piles in the area. 
Local burros going from one part of their grazing area to another. 
Wide view of some mountains down the road. 
There was a river bed near the road, here there was actually some water remaining. The missionaries had used the labor of the indigenous folks to dam some of it for agriculture. 
Interesting little rocky mountaintops and the very common tall cactus of the area. 
Interesting erosion around the top of this hill. 
Typical of Mexico tourist spots: letters with town names. 
The misison building almost disappears into the colors of the mountains behind it. 
Cacti nearly as tall as the side of the mission. 
Detail on exterior stonework. 
Detail of exterior door and windo. 
Detail on another exterior window 
Interior detail, the ceiling was comprised of several decorated domes 
Some of these olive trees in this grove are 300 years old. 
Building originally used for housing the novices and priests. 
Noj admiring some bouganvilleas in the town square The well maintained main street of the town of San Javier. There are 2 or 3 restaurants and a few mini-marts and parking for guests.
Celine and I went to thst mission a couple of years ago. I have a picture of me pretending to climb the facade 🙂