South of Tucson we stopped at Mission San Xavier del Bac which was founded by the Jesuit missionary, Fr. Eusebio Kino in 1692.

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The present church was built under the direction of the Franciscans. Construction began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. As you can see, the interior of the church is just magnificent.

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The church continues to serve as the parish for the Tohono O'odham and a shrine church for many visitors. The church courtyard was serene and made one try to imagine what life was like back in the late 1700's when the Franciscans first built it.

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The local Indians were making and selling tortillas in front of the mission. Sergio, our wonderful guide bought one for everyone to try. This gave us a laugh since tortillas are a normal part of our diet but most of the people on our tour were not from this area so tortillas were new for them.

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We stopped in Hermosillo, the capital of the State of Sonora. Here at Plaza Zaragosa we got to see Cathedral of the Asuncion outside and...

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...the altar inside.

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Across the plaza from the cathedral was the Governor's Palace, a Neo-classic building containing murals that depict the history of Sonora.

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In the center of the plaza was an ornate gazebo. Since this was Saturday, we were lucky enough to see a bride and groom having their wedding photos taken. Interestingly enough, in Mexico, weddings tend to take place in the early evening but the wedding photos are taken in the afternoon. I guess in Mexico it is ok for the groom to see the bride prior to the wedding.

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After a very long day on the bus, we arrived in San Carlos, a planned resort, in time to enjoy a beautiful sunset from our balcony. Our hotel for the night was located at Algodones Beach, the setting for the movies Catch-22 and Lucky Lady.

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