Tuesday 10 of said month, I measured the Sun at 75o, with a declination of 20o, our elevation being 35o and we were aligned with Cape St. Mary. From here, the coast runs East-West and the earth is sandy, and along the cape is a mountain like a hat, which we named Monte Vidi [Montevideo] (improperly called now Santovidio), and in the middle between it and Cape St. Mary is a river called River de los Patos, and from there onward we travelled through fresh water, and the coast runs East-Southeast West-Northwest 10 leagues, then runs Northeast Southwest to 34o 1/3, with a depth of 5, 4 and 3 fathoms, and there we appeared and sent the ship Santiago along the coast to see if there was a passage [strait], and the river 33o 1⁄2 to the Northeast. There, they found islets and a large river mouth (it was the Solís River) [La Plata River] and went North. Thus, they went to meet the ships, and said vessel was far from us, 25 leagues, and they took 25 days to arrive, and during that time, another two ships went to the South, to see if there was a passage [to the Southern Sea], and they took two days, and there the General Captain and they found land to the South-Southwest, 20 leagues from us, and they took 4 days to arrive, and while doing so, we took on water and firewood, and from there, we zig-zagged against contrary winds, (…)
Francisco Albo
Botswain and navigator from the island of Rhodes. Originally botswain of the Trinidad in Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, he then became pilot of the Victoria under the command of Sebastian de Elcano.
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