Lisbon, Portugal: July 18, 1497

Today 170 men, including me, will set sail on a mission to find a direct sea route to Asia. I plan on completing what Bartolomeu Dias had started almost a decade ago. A fleet of four ships will leave the port toady: the São Gabriel, the São Rafael, the Berrio, and a storage ship. We have packed enough food for our crew members to last us until we reach the Cape Verde Islands. I myself will be in charge of the São Gabriel and will follow the route shown on the map below. Our plan is to sail to the Cape Verde Islands from Lisbon. From the Cape Verde Islands we will sail southwest away from the coast of Africa, the less encounters we have with the natives, the higher our chance of survival becomes. We will sail southeast to the Cape of Good Hope and stop at ports along the west coast to gather supplies and trade goods. We will gather information on our desired location by asking the locals at the ports we stop at. We may even hire men to guide us to Asia in order to arrive there safely and at a faster pace.