San Antonio, a beautiful city with a huge history. When you think of San Antonio, many folks “Remember the Alamo!” The Alamo sits smack dab in the middle of the city, so it is easy to visit. When you think of the Alamo it is usually as a military site. If that is the only mission you visit, then you have missed the best. When you visit the other sites you feel the religious heritage. I feel a sense of sadness when I think of the Spaniards coming to spread Catholicism to the local natives. The culture and beliefs of the native people were ignored and eventually destroyed. What happens in the name of religion is often a sad history. But, it is part of our history.
Our friend Chris, who has wintered here for a few years, volunteered to take us to the missions. Four of the missions and other structures are a UNESCO World Heritage site as of 2015. The Alamo is not part of the site and is owned by the state of Texas. We visited on a Sunday and were treated to mariachi musicians warming up before playing at a mass at Mission Concepción, the best preserved of the missions. Catholic Mass is held every Sunday. Beautiful music!
San Jose “The Queen of the Missions”
Mission San Juan
Mission Espada
Retired, not retiring 
How fortunate were you to be able to visit the missions with your friend.
Thanks for the sharing.
Kay Ostrom
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