Dominic Sandbrook

They're absolutely fascinated by what they see.

I mean, they write these fantastic accounts, the temples, the llamas, the very well-ordered roads and bridges, the storehouses of food by the roadside.

I mean, that's a very good sign as far as they're concerned.

Because that means there is a lot of order and civilization if there are sort of well-maintained storehouses.

Do they note with surprise the lack of wheels?

I think it becomes obvious why there's no wheels, because there are no horses.

Hmm.

And whenever they go, people shy away from the horses and are absolutely astonished and horrified.

A horse is a very frightening thing, I think, if you've never seen a horse.

And we know throughout the Americas, when the Spanish turned up with horses, people were absolutely stupefied and amazed and frightened.

So they're beginning to attract attention.

At one point, a messenger hails them on the road, and he says, I have been sent by Huascar, the defeated brother, by his faction, at least.

He has heard that you have come to bring justice to Peru, and he wants to ask for your protection.

And Pizarro gives him a kind of noncommittal answer.

He says, where there's injustice, we'll put it right.

But nothing more than that.

There's also a very weird incident quite early on when the Spanish notice a kind of young man hanging around their camp and sort of lurking generally.

And he's dressed as a sort of street peddler and he has this huge shawl that he wears over his head and shoulders to protect him from the sun.

And he's always trying to get him to buy his trinkets.

And they call him Apu.