Elcano and the First Circumnavigation of the World
Copyright© 2024 by Mark West
Chapter 22
I removed all my personal effects from the Santa Maria as I did not know when I might undertake another voyage. The wolf skin from the Beothuk was taken from the door of my cabin, my clothes and those of my brothers, and the 10 kilos of dried fruit along with the sack containing the rare stones of the Maya were loaded to a small cart pulled by a porter. I had given some thought about what to do with this fruit, but I still had not reached a conclusion. So, I directed the porter to take all to my mother’s house guided by my brothers. Meanwhile, I remained at the port to talk to Sean about his plans for the future.
Sean had not made any plans for his future course of action. Instead, he informed me that he would like to stay in Getaria for some time because the voyages with me had made him realise that working for the Portuguese wine merchants was boring. The voyages were always similar – from Porto to England and return to Porto. Although he had advanced to the position of maestre or boatswain on those voyages, there was almost nothing new to interest him, but the voyage to the New World, to the west coast of North Africa and now to England had made him restless for new adventures. But first, he would stay in Getaria and learn enough of our language to allow him to find a position on a nao whose crew only spoke Euskara.
He and I went to a tavern where we drank some cups of cider to celebrate the end of a successful but eventful voyage and then I left him, promising that we would meet again soon, as he had decided to rent a room at the tavern until he could find more suitable lodgings. I wanted to see Mari and my son again before returning to my mother’s house, so that is where I directed my steps.
It was early morning when I arrived at Mari’s house, and I saw a young child sitting in the doorway. I stood for some time looking at my son and imagining what the future might hold for him. Then I called out to Mari.
“Mari, etxean al zaude?” (Mari, are you at home?)
“Bai. Nor zara zu?” (Yes. Who are you?) came the answer from inside.
“Zure haurraren aita naiz” (I’m the father of your child).
When she heard me say those words, she came to the doorway, wiping her hands on her skirts.
I thought that she might begin to shout at me or show anger in some way, but instead she smiled and invited me to come into the house. She picked up Domingo and carried him inside with her. The downstairs room looked the same as the last time I had seen it, but Mari looked more contented. We both sat on chairs at the kitchen table and she set Domingo on the floor facing me.
“Domingo, hau da zure aita” (Domingo, this is your father).
“Aita” (father) said the boy in a loud but childish voice.
I looked at my son with pride. He was a fine, strong boy and he looked to be well fed and clothed.
I asked Mari how the business of the vegetable stall in the market was, but she said that she now employed a woman to sell fruit and vegetables there because with part of the money that I had given to my mother to take care of Mari and my son she had bought a large plot of land that was used as an orchard growing apples, pears and cherries just outside Getaria. Here, she added vegetables to the produce of the land and sold both fruit and vegetables on the market stall. Her mother was at the plot making sure that the plants and fruit there had enough water and were not eaten by insects or birds. By not having to buy the produce that she grew, she was able to make enough money to provide for the daily needs of herself, her mother, and our son, and also pay for the woman who sold the fruit and vegetables she grew.
At the mention of growing vegetables, I suddenly thought of the dried fruit that had traveled from the land of the Maya to Africa and England and was now in Spain. I told Mari that I had 10 kilos of a strange kind of dried fruit from the New World and that I would give them to her to plant and see if they grew. She told me that there was land for sale beside the land where she grew the fruit and vegetables for sale, and that she thought that it would be suitable to try to grow the fruit from the New World. She asked me about the voyage I had begun on the day that Domingo was baptised, and I gave her a brief outline of all that had occurred, including our meeting with Queen Catherine. Talk of this meeting impressed her of course, and she wanted to know all the details of the Queen and the palace where she lived.