In the year of our Lord 1502, Christopher Columbus stepped foot on dry land as the ocean sprays tattered the side of the boat. The sand surrendered under his foot and escaped into the ocean. He turned glancing toward the horizon. The ship floated on the waves sitting as if waiting for his return. His crew scurried around readying for the expedition. Christopher wiped the sweat from his brow then led the way. This was his fourth voyage to the America’s and the heat in August was brutal. His thoughts traveled over his consciousness of what encounters lay ahead. This land held plenty of adventures and he looked forward to each one.
After what seemed an eternity, Christopher glanced upward the thick leaves let sunlight through sparingly. They must have traveled several hours. A noise up ahead stopped him. He could hear the ocean waves just beyond the greenery but there was something else entwined with the surf. He motioned to the man behind him to quietly move forward and explore the sound. They peered through the thick vegetation. A few natives stood around a large wooden canoe. The canoe was the largest native vessel the Spaniards had ever seen. They gazed at the large ship that was as long as a galley and filled with local goods. Columbus and his men circled the inhabitants retaining the skipper as their guide. The crew rummaged through the bounty finding an interesting shaped bean.
At first, Christopher neglected the almond looking bean until he drank the concoction. Despite the bitterness of the drink produced, he observed the blend was a divine drink which built up resistance and fought fatigue. A couple of days later, he detected that a cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food.
Columbus watched as the last of the cargo was loaded on the vast ship. He would travel back home then sail for the India’s. He wasn’t sure how he felt about taking the native’s back with him and his crew but it was his mission to bring back his new discoveries.
Ferdinand, Columbus’ son was amazed at the value the Native Americans placed on these beans they called caco. He watched their reaction as one of the beans fell to the plank floor. He grabbed an inkwell and wrote down what he saw for his records. “They seemed to hold these almonds, the caco at a great price; for when they were bought on board ship together with their goods, I observed that when any of these almonds fell, they all stooped to pick it up, as if an eye had fallen.”
Columbus secured the group and ordered the captain to set sail for their journey home. He glance back at the American’s as it faded out of sight and wondered if he would visit this land again.
I hope you enjoyed my short but basically true story(taken from facts) of when Christopher Columbus discovered caco aka chocolate.
Brenda Scruggs
Author 
One thought on “Columbus discovery of Chocolate”