Chapter I, Land of Many Lands Summary

Ten-year-old Garcilaco loads his mules with supplies from the ships at Vera Cruz and begins the journey to Mexico City in 1535. There is to be an auto-de-fe along with some public executions. The boy's master says they must deliver their goods to Guadalajara. A vendor tells the boy that he should run away. He and his master make the journey to deliver the supplies to the army and finally reach the Pacific Coast. At Cutiacan, he meets four men who travel back to Mexico City with them. Garcilaco likes listening to their stories.

The men tell the boy about their wanderings around the globe. One of the men, named Cabeza, tells of his own days as a slave, held by Indians. Esteban worked as a doctor even when he was a slave. Listening...