Spanish navigators and the secret Eastern route in the Pacific

In the sixteenth century, a map of the winds and currents of the Pacific was a complete mystery to the Spaniards. All the first expeditions attempting to return to the coast of America were invariably unsuccessful. Only later was the "return" route discovered and mastered, running between 40 and 45 N, in an area of sustained easterly trade winds. In honour of its discoverer, it was named the "Urdaneta route".Five attempts and all failed, although these ships crossed the vast Pacific Ocean from east to west. The ships were mainly looking for the long-awaited eastern route from 100 S to 310 N.Of the more than 20 ships which took part in the crossing of the Pacific, the San Lucas (Captain Alonso Arellano covered this distance in 110 days) was considered the smallest vessel yet which covered the vast distance and was the first to return safely to Mexico.After 2 months Andrés Urdaneta took 128 days to sail back. Although this voyage went down in history as the "Way of the Urdaneta", it is fair to say that Arellano is considered the first to cross the Pacific Ocean from west to east.