San Miguel Chapel in Historic Santa Fe, New Mexico

On March 1, 2021March 1, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn New MexicoLeave a comment

The San Miguel Chapel is the oldest church in the continental United States and is over 400 years old. The area of Santa Fe in New Mexico has been populated for thousands of years, first as an ancient Pueblo settlement, then by the Spanish as part of their imperial conquests, next by the people of Mexico, and finally by the United States. There are many things that make the chapel unique, first from its history as a Franciscan missionary to a Catholic church as well as its architecture being built in the traditional adobe style of the region. The church is dedicated to the Archangel Michael and today it is privately owned and is open to the public to tour.

Construction of the chapel began in 1610 and the walls of the adobe building are the original walls, which requires constant upkeep to ensure they endure in the future. The ceiling of the church is held up by wooden beams, one of which is dated back to 1710. The San Miguel Chapel is located in the El Barrio de Analco National Register Historic District in Santa Fe, which also has the oldest house in the United States. There is a large oil painting of the Archangel Michael inside of the church as well as the nine panel wooden artwork that sits behind the altar. In addition to the artwork, there is the mission bell which was brought from Spain in the 17th century.

Nine Panel Artwork Behind the Altar with Archangel Michael Top Center

Although visiting the San Miguel Chapel will only take about thirty minutes, it is certainly worthwhile to do when visiting Santa Fe in New Mexico. The history of the chapel that was built by the Tlaxcalan Indians under direction of the Franciscan Padres is certainly quite fascinating. It is source of pride for the people of Santa Fe to this very day.

The Breckenridge Troll – Whimsical Artwork

On February 26, 2021February 26, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado, Photo Challenge5 Comments

We have seen many different pieces of artwork made from wood throughout our travels, but the Breckenridge Troll was certainly one of the most interesting. Although it is a troll, it is not a scary troll, but rather a more whimsical character. One could almost imagine him getting up and walking away when no one was looking. Instead of a typical carving where the artist creates the image by carving into a large piece of wood, it is actually made up of many small planks of wood that are put together to create the statue. The hair is made up of twigs, which almost gives the quality of motion to the statue. It is quite common to find wooden statues in Colorado and if you drive through the mountain towns you will likely see many different stores selling wooden bears carved from tree stumps and logs. Breckenridge in Colorado seems to really like whimsical or mythical creatures as there is a large sasquatch or big foot statue in the center of town that has also been carved from wood.

The Importance of Dragons in Vietnamese Mythology

On February 5, 2021February 5, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge, Vietnam10 Comments

Dragons have been an important part of Vietnam’s mythology literally going all the way back to their origin story. It was believed that all of the Vietnamese people were descendants of a dragon and a fairy. Whether it was in Hanoi, Halong Bay, or the Ninh Binh province, we came across dragon mythology everywhere we visited. Dragons are considered to bring rain, which provides agricultural wealth and prosperity. As with other Asian cultures, they are also a symbol of power and were often used by their rulers throughout history. Throughout the years, the style of the dragon changed throughout the years in a combination of being snake-like to being cat-like with the latter being the one that we saw the most.

Depiction of the Legend of Hoan Kiem Lake

Our first encounter with the legend of dragons in Vietnam was when we went to Ngoc Son Temple that is on an island in Hoan Kiem Lake. The lake gets its name from the legend of Emperor Lợi who received a magical sword from the king of the dragons in order to defeat the Chinese. After defeating the Chinese armies, a Golden Turtle God, Kim Qui, came to surface of the lake and asked Emperor Lợi to return the sword to the Dragon King, Long Vương, who had given it to him. So Emperor Lợi gave Kim Qui the sword and renamed the lake Ho Hoan Kiem, which means Lake of the Restored Sword or Lake of the Returned Sword.

Colorful Dragon Statue in Perfume Pagoda

When we visited Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam dating back to the 10th century before it moved to Hanoi, we learned about how the images of dragons featured twelve humps to match the twelve months of the year. We saw an ancient tablet at one of the two temples that featured an ancient dragon. We saw dragons of various styles throughout the temples, especially on the temple roofs like we saw at many temples throughout the region.

Probably one of the most well known legends is that of Halong Bay. According to the legend, shortly after becoming a country, the people of Vietnam had to fight back an army of invaders coming from the sea. Fearing that would be defeated, the Jade Emperor called upon Mother Dragon and her children to help them beat back the invaders. Mother Dragon and her children stopped the invasion and then after burning them with their firery breath, they left their teeth behind as emeralds that have become the islands that we see today in order to protect them from future invasions. Some people even say that the islands look like the humps of dragons.

There are many other Vietnamese myths, but clearly being the descendants of dragons is certainly one of the most important. We really enjoyed seeing these various images carved and painted in the various places we visited. In fact, it was such a dominant feature of our trip, we even purchased a couple of small dragon statues to bring home with us.