Passing Punta De La Concepcion, Which He Named[5], Vizcaino Sailed Up The Coast In A Thick Fog, Which Lifting On December 14th, Revealed To The Voyagers The Lofty Coast Range Usually Sighted By The Ships Coming From The Philippines.

Four leagues beyond they saw a river flowing from high hills through a beautiful valley to the sea.

To the mountains he gave the name of Sierra de la Santa Lucia, in honor of the Saint whose day (December 13th) they had just celebrated, and the stream he named Rio del Carmelo, in honor of the Carmelite friars. Rounding a high wooded point, which he named Punta de los Pinos, he dropped anchor in Monterey bay, December 16th, 1602. Here Vizcaino found the much desired harbor of refuge, and he named it for his patron, the Conde de Monterey. Vizcaino made the most of his discovery, and in a letter to the king, written in Monterey Bay, December 28, 1602[6], he gives a most glowing description of the bay, which is, at best, but an open roadstead. The Indians, as usual, told him of large cities in the interior, which they invited him to visit, but Vizcaino could not tarry. His provisions were almost gone, his men were sick with scurvy, of which many had died, and putting the most helpless on board the Santo Tomas, he sent her to Acapulco for aid, and sailed, January 3, 1603, with the flagship and fragata, for the north. A storm soon separated the vessels and they did not see each other again until they met in the harbor of Acapulco.

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