After a difficult journey during which they
were forced to eat their mules to survive, Por-
tolá and his men returned to San Diego on
January 24, 1770. Fray Serra and others, how-
ever, were disappointed because Portolá had
not found Monterey, whose discovery was
more anticipated because of Vizcaíno’s
inflated description.
RETURN TO MONTEREY
Asecond attempt set out to find Monterey in
mid-April, with Serra sailing aboard the San
Antonioand Portolá leading a few dozen sol-
diers overland. The land expedition reached
Monterey on May 24, 1770. When they discov-
ered a large cross they had planted during
their previous expedition, Portolá and his men
realized they had found Monterey six months
earlier but had not recognized it. Lack of fresh
water caused them to move their camp to
nearby Carmel Bay.
When Serra joined the group, he cele-
brated Mass near the beach on June 3, then
observed as Spanish soldiers “took posses-
sion” of the land in the name of King Charles
III—228 years after Cabrillo’s seaborne expe-
dition had claimed the same coast for Spain.
With the basic mission ordered by visitor-
general Gálvez accomplished, colonizationThe Road to California B 151