Guadalquivir to the sea, in the
first days of the year 1514.[2] His departure took place under evil
auspices, for such a furious storm broke over the fleet that two
vessels were shattered to pieces, and the others were obliged to
lighten themselves by throwing overboard some of their stores. The
crews which survived returned to the coast of Spain, where the King's
agents promptly came to their assistance and they were enabled again
to set forth. The pilot of the flagship appointed by the King was
Giovanni Vespucci, a Florentine, nephew of Amerigo Vespucci, who had
inherited his uncle's great ability in the art of navigation and
taking reckonings. We recently learned from Hispaniola that the
crossing had been favourable, and a merchant ship, returning from the
neighbouring islands, had encountered the fleet.

[Note 2: The expedition sailed on April 14, 1514.]

As Galeazzo Butrigario and Giovanni Accursi who, to please Your
Holiness, constantly urge me on, are sending a courier who will
deliver my ocean Nereids, however imperfect they may be, to Your
Beatitude, I shall save time by leaving out many particulars and shall
only mention what, in my opinion, is worthy to be recorded and which I
have not reported at the time it happened.

The wife of the captain Pedro Arias, by name Elizabeth Bobadilla, is
the grandniece on the father's side of the Marchioness Bobadilla de
Moia, who opened the gates of Segovia to the friends of Isabella when
the Portuguese were invading Castile, thus enabling them to hold out
and later to take the offensive against the Portuguese; and still
later to defeat them. King Henry, brother of Queen Isabella, had in
fact taken possession of the treasures of that town. During her entire
life, whether in time of war or in time of peace, the Marchioness de
Moia displayed virile resolution, and it was due to her counsels that
many great deeds were done in Castile. The wife of Pedro Arias, being
niece of this marchioness, and inspired by courage equal to that of
her aunt, spoke to her husband on his departure for those unknown
lands, where he would encounter real perils, both on sea and on land,
in the following terms:

"My dear husband, we have been united from our youth, as I think, for
the purpose of living together and never being separated. Wherever
destiny may lead you, be it on the tempestuous ocean or be it among
the hardships that await you on land, I should be your companion.
There is nothing