Spanish accents still flavor the Monterey Coast

Although they were led by the Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo, the first Europeans to set eyes on Monterey back in 1542 were sailing under the Spanish flag. Spain also became the first to colonize this home of Ohlone and other tribes, with the establishment of the Presidio and Carmel Mission nearly 230 years later.

Now, nearly two centuries after Spain lost control of "Alta California," the Monterey Peninsula still reflects the influences of the Iberian Peninsula. It's worth mounting your own expedition to explore the region's Spanish Colonial, Spanish Revival and modern Spanish style, as well as its rich history.

SPANISH COLONIAL

Any exploration of Monterey County's Spanish roots has to begin at San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission, more widely known as the Carmel Mission. Founded in 1771 by Father Junipero Serra, the historic complex includes the Basilica Church, with its intriguingly ornate interior and indigenous and Catholic imagery; several outbuildings used as museums, including the spartan room where Father Serra lived until his death in 1784; a sprawling courtyard with arched walkways reminiscent of southern Spain; and tranquil gardens that are also home to the graves of Spaniards and Native Americans, poignantly decorated with simple wooden crosses and abalone shells.

Because Carmel Mission is still an active parish, there's more time to linger in the sanctuary on Saturdays than on Sundays, and visitors should be aware that it's also a popular site for field trips during the school year. Yet even when tour groups are on site, it's fairly easy to find a quiet corner for reflection — the five-foot-thick walls might have something to do with that.

The secular side of the Spanish Colonial era shows itself in Monterey State Historic Park, a collection of significant adobe homes and structures that includes the Custom House, the oldest government building in California. Monterey was the capital of both Spanish and Mexican Alta California. Spaniards built the first version of the Custom House in 1814 to collect duties from those ships trading along the California coast, and after "New Spain" (Mexico) won its independence in the early 1820s, the Mexicans rebuilt it and continued to require merchant ships to register their cargo there. Today its prominent location at the foot of modern Fishermans Wharf makes its wide surrounding plaza a frequent host for festivals and other large gatherings.

Although it was built in 1847, when U.S. forces were already occupying California, the Spanish Colonial-style Pacific House on the Custom House Plaza is another key place to delve into the area's ties to Spain, as well as the history of Monterey's Native Americans, whose numbers drastically diminished under Spanish rule but who never fully disappeared. It's strange to think that bullfights used to take place on the site of the serene Memory Garden; today the building is the headquarters for the state historic park, the site of of the Monterey Museum of the American Indian and the start of 45-minute guided walking tours at 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays ($5, maximum 18 guests per tour.)

SPANISH REVIVAL

Of course, Monterey and Carmel boast plenty of adobe-style buildings with red-tiled roofs, white walls and Mediterranean details that aren't historic — they're just charming. That's thanks to the Spanish Revival architectural movement that began in the early 20th century and evolved into the Monterey Spanish Revival style, which lasted well into the 1950s.