San Ignacio
Founded in 1748, this mission was built jointly with the Chiquitanos, Guarayos and Zamucos Indians, among others.
The Chiquitano Baroque missionary church was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1808 but altars, confessionals and the pulpit were saved.
San Ignacio is best known for its artisan workshops where all kinds of wooden objects are still made, thanks to techniques inherited from the Jesuit fathers
Our circuit
Fernando, our driver for these 4 days, comes to pick us up early.
The complete tour of the missions is about 1,200 km, the villages being distant from each other, we spend a lot of time on the road.
.
Every night we change hotels that are of unequal quality and empty. We are the only visitors, there is no tourist. It’s nice for us but sad for Bolivia.
Fernando often has to get the key or the person responsible for opening the sites and museums
.
The second part of the trip is on an unpaved road, but under construction. We think about our camper and say that we have avoided these difficult roads.
Our driver proves to be perfect, discreet and competent. Despite his young age, he drives very cautiously and throughout the route looking for birds or other animals hidden in the rainforest.
Our first hotel in Concepcion has a surprise in store for Jean Pierre by wishing him a happy birthday at breakfast with a tray filled with Bolivian sweets, flowers and a nice menu ... Little moving moment!!
We loved this circuit with its majestic missions. The elements of decoration, frescoes and altarpieces, all different, bring to each one its specificity.
San Jose
This mission dates back to 1697, when Jesuit Fathers Felipe Suarez and Dionisio de Avila chose to settle a few kilometres from the original site of Santa Cruz, known as Santa Cruz la Vieja.
Its church is the only one of the Chiquitanía built in stone in 1731.
The mortuary chapel and the house of the fathers date from 1754 and the tower with a bell tower from 1748
San Raphael
This is the second mission founded in Chiquitanía in 1696. Its founders were Jesuit Fathers Juan Bautisto Zea and Francisco Hervas, assisted by a thousand Indians from various tribes.
The mission church of San Rafael was built between 1747 and 1749 by Father Martín Schmid and recently restored.
The pulpit is decorated with silver mica and the image of San Rafael. The altar also has a pink mica cover.
The roof of his church is different from other missionary churches: it is built from reeds and wood.
Santa Ana
Santa Ana de Velasco was one of the last missions built in Chiquitanía.
The Jesuit missionary P. Julián Knogler founded it in 1755, only 12 years before the expulsion of the Jesuits from the region.
Smaller than other Jesuit mission churches, its architecture is also less complex.
In this village we still see typical Indian houses with thatched roofs
San Miguel
The mission of San Miguel de Velasco was founded in 1721 by the Jesuit Fathers Francisco Hervas and Felipe Suárez, assisted by the Chiquitanos and a part of the population of the mission of San Rafael, which at that time had almost completely disappeared in a fire.
The church was built in 1748.
Its restoration is considered one of the most faithful to its original aspect.
Woodwork is once again in the spotlight, a superb statue of Saint Michel sits within the building, and the ornate frescoes on the walls are splendid.
Concepcion
The mission of Concepción was founded in 1709.
The village was created in 1722 by Father Juan de Benavente.
The Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción de María, built by Jesuit Father Martín Schmid between 1753 and 1756, is considered the jewel of the missions.
The pediment, carried by some 121 wooden columns, bears the mark of the Jesuit evangelizing mission.
Inside, a magnificent altarpiece in gilt and polychrome carved wood dedicated to the Immaculate Conception adorns the choir of the central nave. Outside sits a remarkable wooden bell tower.
San javier
San Javier, with its full name San Francisco Xavier de Los Piñocas, was founded in 1691 and was the first Jesuit mission installed in Chiquitanía.
The church was built between 1749 and 1752 and restored twice. Its architecture incorporates carved columns and wooden drawings painted with natural pigments.
The model of this one will be taken up by most other churches of the region; the mixture of styles, between the German baroque, with its wooden roof, and the imprint of the Chiquitos style, is truly admirable.
In 1730, this mission hosted the region’s first music school for community members.
The Jesuit mission
It is a group of towns built by the Jesuits in the eighteenth century, in the savannah area between the plain and the Amazon, inhabited by the Chiquitos people. Here, time has taken another measure; its isolation and its late rediscovery in the 20th century allows us to take a leap into the past.
The Jesuits came to evangelize and ‘save the souls’ of the Chiquitos Indians. For this, they standardized the local languages in one, and in 75 years all have been forgotten; all belief, practice, or conception of the world before the catechism has now disappeared; they completely disorganized the old world and then reorganized the indigenous society.
In exchange, the Jesuits taught the different peoples to improve their agricultural system with techniques from Europe; to develop their educational and craft system: the cutting of wood to make musical instruments (violin making), the making of fabrics, the work of money…
The Jesuit Missions circuit is composed mainly of impressive churches made of wood and stones, modelled on Swiss chalets. True works of art. They are all listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
We go to the travel agency in which we have booked only a car with a driver for our 4-day tour in the Jesuit missions.
Everything is clear for a departure tomorrow morning at 8:00
.
Then we go downtown for a short visit .... Yes short as there is not much to visit.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra: The city was founded on 26 February 1561 by Ñuflo de Chavez under the name of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. But in 1563 the Indians rose up and destroyed the city. Santa Cruz was moved in 1592 on the banks of the Rio Pirai.
The city was for a long time at the border between the colonized world and the lands of the Indians who had not yet been evangelized. As a result, many Jesuit expeditions left Santa Cruz in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Metropolitan Cathedral: The Basílica Menor de San Lorenzo was built in 1770 by Antonio Lombardo on the site of another church. The wooden vaults have been decorated by various local artists. Small museum without pretention.
Quiet evening before our big departure. Christophe tries the hammam!!!
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Zolando takes us back to Cochabamba airport where we fly to Santa Cruz.
We take off 1 hour 30 minutes late due to aircraft maintenance ... Christophe is scared!!!
We arrive at nightfall and we settle in our room with hammam....
Dinner in a grill restaurant and stop on the way back in a "Heladeria" (ice cream).
ROAD BOOK 159
MAVROS ODYSSEE
