ABSTRACT
Upon the 22 day of August, we sailed so pleasantly that we soon left the sight of the islands. The Indians’ uproar had weaved for us a thread of long discourse. It made some hate their calling to teach and convert Indians. But Calvo he encouraged us, telling us many stories of the good and gentle nature of the Indians of the Philippines, to whom we were going, and that most of them were Christians already, who esteemed their priests as gods upon the earth; and that those that were not as yet converted to Christianity were kept in awe by the power of the Spaniards. Our chief care the first two or three days was to look to our plantains which we got from the Indians. This fruit pleased us all exceedingly, judging it to be as good or better than any fruit in Spain. It is not gathered ripe from the tree; but being gathered green, it is hung up some days, and so ripens and grows yellow and mellow, and every bit as sweet as honey. Our sugar-canes were no less pleasing unto us, whilst chewing the pith, we refreshed and sweetened our mouths with the juice. We fed for the first week almost upon nothing but tortoise; which seemed like-wise to us, that had never before seen it, one of the sea monsters, the shell being so hard as to bear any cart-wheel, and in some above two yards broad; when first they were opened, we were amazed to see the number or eggs that were in them, a thousand being the least that we judged to be in some of them. Our Spaniards made with them an excellent broth with all sorts of spices. The meat seemed rather flesh than sea fish, which being corned with salt, and hung up two or three days in the air, tasted like veal. Thus our hens, our sheep, our powdered beef, and gammons of bacon, which we brought from Spain, were some days slighted, while with greedy stomachs we fell hard to our sea veal.
