Las páginas del mar

the long version

In the spring of 1519, a young man and his 15-year-old brother arrive in Seville. Behind them they leave months of wandering around Spain, getting farther and farther from their homeland in the north, swindling and scraping by along the way. In the taverns of the beautiful and vibrant southern city, the only port from which ships depart for the New World, the boys listen avidly to the rumors about the expeditions that are being prepared at that very moment. In one of these, no one wants to participate, but for them it might be the only opportunity to start a new life. The destination is the Spice Islands in the Indian Sea, the origin of the cloves and nutmeg that fetch top dollar in Europe. However, the expedition cannot travel the only known maritime route, as it is controlled by the Portuguese. There must be some alternative. On August 10, 1519, five ships under Ferdinand Magellan's command leave en route to the unknown. And on one of them, the Victoria, a young northerner begins to write his own story. Because it was in a distant village in Liébana, in a time marked by scarcity, betrayal, and argumentsbut also by dreams, desires, and love that everything began.