Daily Archives: October 25, 2014

October 25, 2014 San Juan Capistrano

We left Huntington Beach and drove the short distance inland to Caspers Wilderness Regional Park in San Juan Capistrano.  It is hard to find a campground with available space on the weekend, so we settled on this campground for a three night weekend stay.  It turned out to be a great campground at a reasonable price with spacious sites where we could hear coyotes howling at night.

On Saturday we drove into town to the Mission San Juan Capstistrano.  This mission was founded on All Saints Day, November 1, 1776 by Spanish Catholics. IMG_2685  It is a beautiful mission and is the oldest building in California, the site of the oldest ironworks in the state, the oldest winery in the state. IMG_2697  In 1812 a massive earthquake destroyed the Great Stone Church and the ruins of the church are visible today.  Ruins such as these are usually only seen in Europe and these are the only such ruins in the United States. Because of the Great Stone Church’s decay the walls and ceiling were not rebuilt. Today there is a new chapel and school next door.

A close-up view of the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano's "Great Stone Church," destroyed by earthquake in 1812

A close-up view of the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano’s “Great Stone Church,” destroyed by earthquake in 1812

A view of the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano's "Great Stone Church," destroyed by earthquake in 1812. These bells are located where the bell tower stood.

A view of the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano’s “Great Stone Church,” destroyed by earthquake in 1812. These bells are located where the bell tower stood.

IMG_2688

The two original small bells and copies of the large bells from the destroyed bell tower

The two original small bells and copies of the large bells from the destroyed bell tower

The two original small bells and copies of the large bells from the destroyed bell tower

The two original small bells and copies of the large bells from the destroyed bell tower

Located in the Serra Chapel is its spectacular retablo, a masterpiece of Baroque art, the altarpiece was hand-carved of 396 individual pieces of cherry wood and overlaid in gold leaf in Barcelona and is estimated to be 400 years old. It was originally imported from Barcelona in 1806 for the Los Angeles cathedral but was never used and was installed in the Serra Chapel around 1924. This chapel is still being used today.

The centerpiece of the chapel is its spectacular retablo which serves as the backdrop for the altar

The centerpiece of the chapel is its spectacular retablo which serves as the backdrop for the altar

The centerpiece of the chapel is its spectacular retablo which serves as the backdrop for the altar

The mission is most famous for the return of the swallows each spring on March 19th, Saint Joseph’s Day.  Swallows always return to their nest and they return to the town from March until October when they fly south to Argentina for the winter.  Each spring the entire town celebrates the return of the swallows with a parade and celebration.  One problem the mission and town are encountering is that during efforts to preserve the mission ruins, some of the swallow nests were destroyed and many swallows stopped coming to Capistrano.  The mission has tried various ways to persuade the birds return, including building fake nests, creating mud puddles to provide nesting materials, and throwing ladybug, their favorite food, on the ground to entice them to come back.  Nothing has worked.  Some swallows do return to the town each spring but are choosing to build their nests in the eaves of downtown buildings, under freeway overpasses and along creek beds.  Experts say Southern California is seeing a sharp decline in swallows due to urban sprawl.

In 1939 songwriter Leon Rene wrote a love ballad called “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano” which was later recorded by The Ink Spots, Pat Boone, Glenn Miller and Gene Autry.

San Juan Capistrano was a lovely, quaint town and we enjoyed lunch on a balcony overlooking the town after taking a guided tour of the mission.  We had a really nice weekend stay in the area.