A Journey of Dread is a visual narrative that first appeared in the South China Morning Post. It draws inspiration from the eyewitness account of Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri*, a 17th-century Italian adventurer who kept a colorful record of his galleon voyage from the Philippines to Acapulco. Just a glimpse is featured here.
This was during the height of the galleon trade, when
Marinduque was one of the earliest sites identified in Las Islas Filipinas for the construction
of galleons in local shipyards or astilleros.
“The voyage from the Philippine Islands to America, may be called the longest, and most dreadful of any in the world, because of the vast ocean to be crossed…with the wind always ahead, as for the terrible tempests that happen there, one upon the back of another, and for the desperate diseases that seize people in 7 to 8 months, lying at sea sometimes near the line… enough to destroy a man of steel, much more flesh and blood…" - Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri, 1698
Bay of Manila, Friday, June 29, 1696
"A galleon destined for Acapulco is jampacked with goods, mostly from Chinese merchants, which are loaded right up until the moment of departure. Onboard, passengers from all over the world eagerly await weighing anchor."
"The galleon sets sail before noon. A parao tows the galleon out of port and will help direct the larger ship to the Pacific Ocean.
In those days, a lack of wind meant a galleon could only
have traveled a few nautical miles from where it started the voyage, which is
Manila. Any wind that does blow could send them off course. So the vessel
could get stuck in the bay for several days.
Then the unfavorable winds will force the crew to tow the
galleon for the next three days, and if the winds blow against the ship, they go
back to where they started.
Here, for 17 days they navigate the treacherous waters we
now call the Verde Island Passage where opposing currents come together that
they have only managed to travel about 98 nautical miles.
Then the galleon sails through Tablas Strait right between Marinduque and
Mindoro.
“As soon as there is a break in the weather, some crew, and passengers, form a hunting party. They take a sampan to Marinduque island in the hope of finding some deer or buffalo. The hunters can’t find any prey along the shore either and return to the galleon empty-handed. Once on the island, the party can barely make any headway through the dense forest.”
The shore of the island is still described as being
characterized by a dense forest even though nearly a hundred years have passed since
the people engaged in the building of galleons here.
“Finally, a fresh southerly gale blows in. The galleon
weighs anchor and leaves the Marinduque and Banton islands in its wake.”
“The journey through the embocadero of San Bernardino
becomes very slow. The galleon has to cast anchor at night because there is
insufficient light from the stars for the pilot to manoeuvre through the tangle
of islets and reefs."
“At last, the galleon reaches the shores of Ticao island.
The crew and passengers become excited when a caracoa approaches.”
“The caracoa delivers fresh vegetables and fruit, as well
as livestock in the form of pigs and chickens. The goods are a gift from the
chief magistrate of Albay province.” The Bayanihan spirit came forth so naturally in those years.
“The travellers can barely believe their eyes when they
take the floating garden, abundant with fruit and vegetables, aboard their
ship.”
It is now over a month since the ship left Manila. But,
after a painful beginning, the galleon finally approaches the embocadero – the
entry point to the Pacific Ocean…
"To the great relief of all onboard, the galleon enter the open sea through the San Bernardino Strait. A long journey across the Pacific to the Americas lies ahead."
But ferocious storm, illness, cold, famine, deaths,
despair and hardships one after the other, punctuated only by seemingly
mystical events, are yet to come.
(*Embarking on the galleon San Jose in Manila Bay on June 29, 1696, Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri kept a detailed journal of his journey to Mexico. On November 21 he lost “a pair of gold buttons with emeralds” after having “laid a wager that we should see land” by that day. The ship made landfall in January 1697. The crossing was part of his tour of the world by sea and land, begun in 1693 and completed in 1698, his account of which Gemelli Careri published in six volumes in 1699 and 1700 titled A Voyage Around the World(
