The Jewel Mission of El Camino Real | San Juan Capistrano, CA

The Golden State as we know it is composed of an amalgam of cultural influences, many of which are traced back to pre-Colombian history. However the time period at which we first begin to find elements of a recognizable California stands during the era of the New World Spanish colonies. Through the late 1700's into the early 1800's a series of missions along the Californian coast were built up, from San Diego reaching as far north as the San Francisco Bay down to San Diego (this array doesn't even include those founded in today's Baja California of Mexico) Serving the primary goal of evangelizing the already local native peoples, this network of missions also happened to become focal points of trade and commerce, which ultimately generated wealth and power for Spain on the west coast, and led to the growth of the state's major cities of today. The city of San Juan Capistrano is a testament of this past preserved for modern eyes under excellent efforts. Perhaps a major 19th century earthquake, causing widespread abandonment and disinterest of the once-prosperous stop on the El Camino Real (The Royal Road), allowed for the ruins to sit peacefully for another century without developmental disruption. The area now has resurfaced as a historical tourist center and a great destination for us on the Coverage Project to finally, get introduced to the true west coast.
Location Covered: San Juan Capistrano, CA ✅
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[@rickyboy1947]

great video again.....thank you so much

[@PegsGarden]

It's really beautiful, thanks for taking the time and sharing your adventures!!

[@TheCoverageProject]

Of course, to share and immortalize the memories is one of my main reasons for creating this archive!

[@latinhellas6383]

As for the monastery grounds, its landscaping, architecture and art, recognizably Mediterranean, Roman, baroque Spanish. Outside of it, the surrounding area recognizably Anglo-American.

[@hostilesavage4299]

"Hidden Gem"...? when there's taggings all around on the rocks.... 😂

[@alejandrosanchez6683]

Man you made a small huge mistake on minute 5:48 America did not declared its independence from Britain. America was dominated by Spain. What you may be referring to was this small piece of a east coast territory, property of native Americans that was invaded by Anglo-Saxon individuals. This territory were 13 colonies of white individuals that were treated as second class citizens by British rule. Those 13 colonies declared independence from British rule. But America a big continent remained under Spanish rule. Small huge mistake to get mixed up America with the United States. Once again on minute 10:16 America had many Caminos reales not only the two you talk about that went up to northern Mexico. Dicho eso, bienvenido a Alta California, Que disfrutes tu estancia.

[@TheCoverageProject]

The fact that you are able to infer the exact historical territory from me saying “America” is a great example of colloquial semantics generally being understood by most citizens of the US to talk about history or geopolitics. Of course we’re talking about the 13 British colonies on the east coast, but when one has very limited time to introduce the historical setting for an area, let alone set forth a dialogue for one particular destination within a 25+ stop journey, I have more important and geographically relevant matters to address in my oratory delivery. Thus, I’m going to make the active decision to cater my language towards what is a widely recognized name for the purpose of simple expression. It’s not the worst idea to argue about the semantics of the name “America” and I do acknowledge the historical points you’ve brought up, but most Americans will implicitly understand that “America” refers to what the United States is or was, so I’m not going to apologize for that. If the message gets across then my use of language has done its job.

[@TheCoverageProject]

…and yes, I’ve heard there are several Camino Reals. Those were the two others I’ve heard the most about so it felt fair to include those as the most prominent. Thank you for your well wishes.