The Longest Journey: The Exploration

About 500 years ago in Seville, Europe's long-awaited dream of reaching the unexplored, mythical lands of the Orient and the Spice Islands became a reality.
Ferdinand Magellan set off on his voyage in 1519, and three years later it became the longest voyage of the era: the first circumnavigation of the world was completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano, captain of the Victoria, and his crew in 1522.

With the ships at the ready and the crew on board, the Captain-General ordered the sails to be dropped, and the five ships sailed into the ocean. Magellan wanted to cross the Atlantic and reach the edge of the explored territories as soon as possible. However, he was a distrustful man and hid the details of the passage from his captains. Every change in direction made the other captains suspicious. The Atlantic, with its mix of calm and stormy conditions, brought out the Armada's strengths and weaknesses: they had good ships and good men, but a seed of discord had started to grow among those in command.
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With no speed, no command, dead sails, and the ships' bows at the mercy of the currents, they did not sail in the ocean, but rather floated there. Heat and inactivity settled over the ships, the days went by, the voyage became longer, and water and food was rationed. The inactive crew thought and whispered about the impotence of the navigators and captains. This long period of unsettled calm was a breeding ground for indiscipline and rebellion.

Finally, the fleet reached Río de la Plata and sailed along the coast of America. For every mile they traveled south, the wind became harder, colder, and more hostile—this was the most dangerous and inhospitable coastline. Exhaustion and doubt invaded the minds of the crew. How far did they have to sail until they found a way through?

In the bay of los Trabajos (possibly current-day Puerto Deseado, Argentina), the crew had to take shelter due to a terrible storm as the Trinidad was in danger."They at last petitioned their admiral, Magellan … to think about going home, to turn back to where the winter was not so harsh … and to be satisfied and content himself with having gone farther than either the boldness or rashness of mortals had ever dared to go as yet." Maximilianus Transylvanus.

Magellan decided to sail as far south as needed, but the southern fall hit them with force and the crew were exhausted and divided. They quickly decided to take shelter in a bay which they named San Julián, and the food supplies were rationed. While there they met the Patagones people, a bloody mutiny took place, and they endured a long and harsh winter that lasted five months. The men were suffering from the cold and hunger, but above all, they feared their captain's determination and silence. This fear spread throughout the crew, and a mutiny eventually broke out.

With the arrival of a southern spring, the four ships set course to the south. After only three days sailing, they found a bay, and behind it lay a maze of canals and expanses that disappeared into the mountains. Could this be the pass into the South Sea they had hoped for?

A map created by the cartographer Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla shows the labyrinth of the Strait of Magellan, made up of a maze of canals. The expedition party crossed dense, frozen waters in the daunting silence of the wilderness. Their solitude was only broken by bursts of flame in the night in the southerly lands Magellan named Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire). Battling a glacial ocean, successive explorations were undertaken in search of the open waters of the Pacific.

For over a month, and with guns raised, Magellan's fleet explored and crossed the maze of tides and winds of the strait that would one day bear his name. They finally succeeded in finding a pass on November 28 and ventured into a new sea. They had achieved their first goal, but by then only three ships remained: the Trinidad, the Victoria, and the Concepción. The San Antonio had deserted them.

Leaving the pass in their wake, the three ships entered what they knew as the South Sea. They imagined they were sailing toward India, near the Moluccas, unaware that they were crossing the largest ocean on earth. Europeans had never crossed this ocean before, and their maps were of no use to them there.

It took them 100 days to cross the Pacific Ocean. The crew suffered from hunger, disease, and confusion as they sailed. For 100 days and 100 nights, the ocean and the earth showed humans just how vast it really was. Magellan was aware of his mistake: no one would ever wish to undertake the same voyage again.

Through the night, the ships sailed in darkness. Watchmen manned the ships and followed the captain's lantern. To prevent any fires, only a small lantern was used to light the compass that was housed in the binnacle. A vigilant pageboy stood next to the lantern, looking after it and the only clock aboard the ship: an hourglass. The watchmen followed the sounds of the sheets, sails, and the bow of the flagship as it chopped through the waves. They could make do without light—they just needed silence, which was broken every half-hour by a child's voice shouting out the time as he turned the hourglass.