Chapter 4: A Sharp Woman

It was a miraculous feat by Luis Nuñes to navigate the ships right to their first destination, Mauritius Island. It held only a small fort and a small settlement at its large natural harbour, but they were granted permission to take water. They also bought whatever fresh foods they could get, to ward off the dreaded sailor’s soreness¹, but they weighed anchor again after only three days.

They had water now for two and a half months, not enough to reach Genoa, but Nuñes knew of three places near the Cape of Good Hope where fresh water could be found, to extend their range. After four weeks of sailing hard to the wind, they found a sheltered bay at the southern tip of Africa, where a landing force indeed found a small river emptying into the sea. If they waited for the low tide, the water was not brackish at all, and they could fill their water casks whilst the ships’ soldiers guarded the landing site.

The final 70 leagues to the Cape of Good Hope and until they could change course to North, was a bitter battle against adverse winds and wicked waves. Ships and crews suffered badly, losing four sailors outright, with another seven badly injured by falls in the wildly tossing ships. Sleep was hard to find for anybody, since they constantly had to brace themselves against the tilted decks. The pumps had to be worked for three full days, and the merchants, too, fearing for their precious spices to get waterlogged, threw their weights against the pump levers.

After rounding the cape, things became gradually better, with wind and seas abating slowly, but every man on board the ships was emaciated and exhausted when the sea finally calmed to a gentle swell. At least, an inspection of the hold assured Joseph that his precious spices had not suffered, and that did a lot to aid in his recovery. Poor Arno, having suffered a fall down a hatchway, had his left leg in splints, but the medicus in the Dom Pedro was upbeat about the healing chances. Two sailors, suffering open bone breaks, had their limbs amputated, and their terrible screams echoed for days in Joseph’s ears.

At least, whilst crossing the equator once again, the ships were not becalmed in the doldrums and made decent headway in weak but steady winds. After a month of northward sailing, they encountered adverse winds again, the northeastern trade winds, and changed their courses to northwest, passing the Cape Verde Islands on their western side, until they reached the west wind zone and were able to head for Madeira Island. Here, at the Port of Funchal, they took water and provisions for the last time, and, after three days, set course for the Columns of Hercules, also known as Gibraltar Strait.

Is was autumn in the Mediterranean Sea, but calm weather, and a steady, southeastern wind propelled them on their final leg to Genoa, where they arrived on All Saints Day. Nothing could be accomplished on that holiday, of course, and they all remained on board the Dom Pedro for another night, but in the next morning, Joseph set out to find storage for his goods. Knowing the city and befriending many of the merchants from his time as cargo master for the Welsers, he was able to lease a solidly built and dry granary near the harbour which also offered upstairs room for himself and his helpers. The latter was a stroke of luck, for they would have to stay over the winter, likely until April, when the passes across the Alps would be snow-free again.This would give him ample time to organise a wagon train, and seeing that his goods were lightweight, he could opt for mules instead of oxen and thus make the crossing much faster.