The Ship That Launched Them All

Marco Polo's contributions to Cabo San Lucas's history is not met without drama.  His life story is filled with adventure both on land and at sea.  And what's even more surprising is that hardly anyone believed his recorded testimonies.  

Marco Polo (1300)

His stories were considered fairytales, doubts that Marco Polo actually sailed to China,  "Many people took his accounts with a grain of salt and some skeptics question the authenticity of his account. Many of his stories have been considered as fairytales: the strange oil in Baku and the monstrous birds which dropped elephants from a height and devoured their broken carcasses. 

His Travels made no mention about the Great Wall. While traveled extensively in China, Marco Polo never learned the Chinese language nor mentioned a number of articles which are part of everyday life, such as women's foot-binding, calligraphy, or tea. In additional, Marco Polo's name was never occurred in the Annals of the Empire (Yuan Shih), which recorded the names of foreign visitors far less important and illustrious than the three Venetians. So did Marco Polo ever go to China?" (source: http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml)

Christopher Columbus (1492)

But that did not hinder Christopher Columbus who was inspired by the writings of Marco Polo decades later.  He first sailed to the Canary Islands and eventually met landfall in Haiti.  Upon sailing back home a storm pushed Columbus to Barcelona, Spain.  And soon the rumor mill ran wild with Columbus's adventures in paradise, inspiring Spanish writer's such as Garci Rodriquez de Montalvo.  

Hernan Cortez (1534)

It was the writings of Montalvo that inspired Hernan Cortez.  And it was Cortez who sailed to Mexico, dominating the territory and conquering the land for Spain.        

Imagine where we would be if it wasn't for writing?