We depart from Santa Cruz as early as possible. We cross the wide river of Rio Grande, sharing the bridge with train, and enter the Mennonite country. After driving for couple of hours we pass the town of San Ramon where we enter the countryside of gentle rolling hills so typical of Jesuits missions of Chiquitos. The first town we visit is San Javier (San Xavier); we stop here to admire the baroque styled church built back in 1752.
Thereafter we continue our journey through the lovely countryside until we arrive to our final destination for the day, to San Ignacio de Valesco, the largest town in the area, where we spend the night.
We start our day with the visit of the Jesuit church if San Ignacio, which is the largest church in the Jesuit missions. Once we have explored San Ignacio we drive to San Miguel to explore the local church there. Here the church is not so imposing but is interesting nevertheless. The next church we visit is in a sleepy town of San Rafael. This is one of the most impressive churches in the region. Our last stop for the day is the village of Santa Ana being one of the last Jesuit missions, which was founded only 12 years before their expulsion. Following our tour of in Santa Ana church we drive back to San Ignacio completing our Jesuit mission circuit.
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