From Sian we went to S¼S.W., as far as an island called Paginsara, it is at1°⅙, and from this island to Sarangani the course is N.–S. ¼N.E. S.W. with all these islands in sight.
From Paginsara we went to S.¼S.E., until we came between two islets, which lie together, N.E. and S.W., and the one to the N.E. is named Suar, and the other is named Mean, and one is at 1° 45', and the other at 1°½.
From Mean we went S.S.E. until we sighted the Maluco Islands. Then we went East, passing between Mare and Tedori [Tidore], anchoring at the latter, and there we were very well received, and made very good peace. We made a house on shore for trading with the people, and remained many days, until we had taken in cargo.
The Maluco Islands [Maluku/Moluccas] are: Terrenate, Tidori, Mare, Motil, Maquian, Bachian, and Gilolo. All these contain cloves and, some, nutmeg, and there are also several others among them, the names and altitude of which I will mention, and the first is Terrenate [Ternate], which is on the side of the equinoctial line [Equator].
Terrenate is at altitude 1º 0’
Tidori is at altitude 0º 30’
Mare is at altitude 0º 15’
Motil is on the Equator 0°
Maquian is to the south 0° 15’
Laboan is to the south 0° 35’
Cayoan is to the south 0° 20’
Bachian is to the south1º
La Talata is to the south 1º ¼
La Talata (Lata-lata) lies N.N.E. – S.S.W of Terrenate, and the island on the equinoctial line is 190° 30' longitude from the line itself [this is incorrect, 46º 30’from the Greenwich meridian demarcation line. 190º 30’ + 46º 30’ = 237º, 360º– 237º = 123º Greenwich, with a small margin of error], and the island of Motil itself lies N.W. – S.E. of Cagayan, and N.E. – S.W.¼N.S of Tagima, which is opposite the island of Quipit. But in these courses, one should not venture to pass, for they say there are many shoals, so we took another course, coasting the said islands.
[Having loaded the ships with cloves, the Victoria 600 quintals and the Trinidad, commanded by Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa, with 1200 quintals. On the first attempted departure, the Trinidad followed the Victoria, and was escorted by numerous native canoes that came to see them off, but Elcano observed that the Trinidad was losing momentum, eventually coming to a standstill. It was leaking in several places due to the poor condition of its timber, which was further exacerbated by the weight of its cargo.
The Victoria turned to accompany the Trinidad back to shore, and with the help of the local population, once the cargo had been unloaded and the ship grounded, the repair of the hull and keel of the Trinidad commenced. It seems that once his vessel had been repaired Espinosa decided to return to Central America across the Pacific, leaving Elcano to resume his voyage west. The Trinidad’s attempted return voyage was arduous due to the inclement weather they encountered four months into their voyage and to the pitiful condition of the crew members and the ship, captured by the Portuguese when they reached the Moluccas].
