CHAPTER I WE set sail and left the harbour of San Lucar de Barrameda. I travelled in a ship of Galicia, as I had already made preparations for my departure and had no horses and other things necessary for a land journey. That day and the night following we sailed on, and doubling Cape Trafalgar we entered the Straits, and at daylight we reached the promontory of Carnero at the entrance to Gibraltar. We anchored close to the town and saw there a great number of ships and a galley of the King, all of which had come with the Count of Niebla. We found that the Count was encamped about half a league from Gibraltar with 1200 horsemen and 5000 foot soldiers, and his son was there with him. I disembarked and went to see the Count, and he was delighted to meet me, and marvelled how I had been able to come, in view of my recent illness. He took counsel with his knights and told them the reason for his being there, which before had been kept secret. The undertaking was to be as follows. He had been told that in Gibraltar there were not ten Moors who were fighting men, whereas to defend so great a fortress not even a thousand would be sufficient, and that it could be taken by assault. He proposed to muster his horsemen at the entrance which is on land, while he with his men-at- arms launched an attack close to the dockyard, on the side of the mountain where King Alfonso entered. His son Don Juan was to march against the tower of Tuerto, which is on the mountain. This was to be from the sea. Meanwhile the Biscayans with their ships and the galley were to attack the Casal de Ginoveses which is at the very summit of the mountain. So he ordered everything, and the next day after Mass each one went to his station. We then set out and drew near to the town, and at low water we all disembarked and moved towards the wall, but that day we did not carry up our artillery, because this was only a te^t to see how many men were there to defend the place. Nevertheless, as soon as we came up to the wall, fifteen or twenty of our men were killed at once. And we were so occupied that we did not observe how the tide was rising, and we were soon up to our knees in water. As we could do nothing, not having brought our artillery, the Count gave orders to sound the retreat to the sea. The men retired to the boats, but the Count remained behind colledling the others. As he_ was making for the la^t boat, with ten or twelve knights who had remained on shore with him, it became clear to the enemy that only a small party was left, and that the others had withdrawn without any orders having been given to cover the retreat with cross-bows and artillery, and that all were taking to the water, and that the la^f boat was leaving. The Moors thereupon dashed out with horsemen to the number of twenty, with as many foot-soldiers, and as they came up at a gallop, the boat, which was small and heavily laden, capsized, and the Count and all those with him were drowned. Meanwhile the other engagements were proceeding, and the reft of the men had as much work as they could do, except the horsemen on the shore who had no one to fight with. So very sadly, with the loss of so noble a leader both on sea and land, we returned to Castile to San Lucar from which place we had set out. Gibraltar is a very strong fortress and famous all the world over. It stands at the mouth of the Straits where the Atlantic Ocean joins the Mediterranean Sea, and it is a very fruitful place. The town commands the entrance to the mainland which is very narrow, and it is about a league from there to the top of the rock. It is very well walled, with orchards, vines and excellent water, and it lies very low on the edge of the sea. Behind it ands the rock which is so high that it seems to reach to the clouds. It rises straight up, and although it looks formidable from the west, it is seen to greater advantage from the east. The harbour, which is very secure, is made by an arm of the sea which runs inland as far as Algeciras, three leagues distant, and the whole way is good anchorage. Leaving there, we sailed through the Straits in view of Cape Tarifa and past Tangier, but they passed by on their way to Cadiz. The next day we departed and came to Ceuta, where we learned from a Biscayan vessel that those two caracks belonged to the Genoese fleet, and that they came from Genoa to accompany the three of us. We anchored at Ceuta and disembarked, and hailed a sloop and sent letters to Cadiz saying that the caracks should await us there, or that at leaft they would find us at Malaga, where we had to discharge and take fresh cargoes. That day we remained at Ceuta, and I went about inspecting the city and its surroundings which appeared to me to be very excellent. It showed itself to have been a great place and, without doubt, if the King of Castile owned it and caused it to be embellished, it would, in view of its situation, be one of the moft notable places in the world. The soil is generally fruitful, although it is rugged and the country mountainous, but there is a good harbour and much land, and fruit and water are abundant. What is left of the city is sufficiently strong. There is on one side on the mountain a rocky place surrounded by a wall, called El Alminan., which would be very remarkable if it were what it ought to be. In these mountains of Ceuta there are more lions than in any other part of the world, and porcupines, apes, panthers, bears and pigs without number. They say that it is doubtful if there is any place so high and mountainous on the African side. This is said to arise from its nearness to the We^t on the side of the Straits [w]. We departed from Ceuta, and leaving Africa on the right hand, and having Europe on the left, we sailed through the Straits and entered the open sea, and continued along the coail until we anchored on the shore of Malaga, a city belonging to the King of Granada, There the merchants landed and discharged their cargoes and took others. We remained there nine days, and while we were there those caracks arrived which had passed us, and put their men on board our ships and took in merchandise, and returned to Cadiz for more to take to Flanders. During those nine days we had nothing to do but to admire the city of Malaga which impressed me favourably, both as regards its situation, though it has no port, and its soil, though there is a scarcity of bread; but what there is is good. And there is no shortage of orchards and fruit. The city is flat, for the most part walled, with a cattle on either hand and a walled passage running from one to the other which they call Gibraltar. It is full of trade, and if it belonged to us it would be better. But all kinds of merchandise would have to go in from our country, which would never be suffered in any place held by the Moors. The sea flows up to the walls, in such wise that a fleet of galleys could throw out landing stages on to fiat land. For the part towards the sea is very low-lying, although it is well defended on its landward side. There are many people there, but rather of the merchant class than skilled in war. After nine days at Malaga the Genoese collected their goods and armed the ships and set them in order, for they had to coast from headland to headland along the country of the King of Aragon. Sailing onwards, we followed the coail of Granada, past Salobrena, Almunecar, and Almeria, until we reached Cartagena which is in our country. We entered the harbour, and remained there one day, awaiting news of the Catalans. It is one of the finest harbours, in my judgment, in the world, and the town is excellent. We departed and sailed along the coast of Aragon, by Elche and Alicante, until we came near to Valencia, and there we had advices to leave the coast and take to the open sea. The next day, leaving the coast, we came close to the island of Iviça, belonging to the King of Aragon. So continuing our route, leaving Catalunia and Barcelona on the left hand, we passed the islands of Majorca and Minorca, which belong to the King of Aragon, and entered the Gulf of Lyons, which is so called as one goes out from it, but at the going in it is called the Gulf of Narbonne. One day at Vespers such a violent storm arose that we ran before it all that night, and the next day we were far away. The two large caracks were driven under bare poles towards Sardinia, and it was two months before we had news of them, but our ship, which still had its main-sail, although but little of it remained, kept close to the island of Titan, as they call it, off the coast of Provence. This day and the following night we were in constant peril and had much labour, but we ran on and the next day we came to Nice. It was Chriftmas Eve, and we anchored there and repaired our sails. We then departed and came to Savona, a pleasant city, belonging to Genoa, and remained there for Christmas Day. The following day we set sail, and keeping close inland we passed along the sea-shore, forty miles from Genoa, which is the most beautiful sight in the world. To one who does not know it, the whole coast from Savona to Genoa looks like one continuous city, so well inhabited is it, and so thickly studded with houses.