Dominic Sandbrook

They are here really for money.

Some of them are there for adventure.

Some of them may be there for crusading zeal.

The Dominicans, for example, there are five or six Dominicans who are with them.

Yes, of course.

Dr. Valverde among them.

Exactly.

But there's a transactional element.

When they've got their gold, they either settle down with a farm in Peru, or a lot of them will go back to Spain.

That's the plan.

So anyway, they set off 24th of September.

It's a gruelling, gruelling trudge.

So as one account puts it, there was much sun, little shade, much sand, and no water.

Because this part of Peru is a kind of coastal desert plain.

So they're making good time, about 14 miles a day.

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?