For weeks before their landfall at Punta Quemada, Pizarro and his company had, both on sea and on land, steadily crawled southward along the coast of Colombia, enduring both the inhospitality of the terrain and the dangers of tropical tempests.

Famine and fatigue alike had ravaged the group, leaving several dead and many on the brink of incapacitation, and only Pizarro's personal charisma and the iron constitution of the Castilians had kept the crew from collapsing into mutiny and despair.

[1]: 96–97 Upon reaching Punta Quemada, Pizarro, leading his men inland along unusually agreeable terrain, had discovered and occupied a large native village, the residents of which, to all appearances, had fled in terror at the sight of the Europeans.

Prescott recounts that Pizarro, too bold and fiery of temper to be held inside a set of walls by enemy fire, sallied out to meet the threat, rousing his men into a charge that drove the natives back.

[1]: 101 The conquistadors realized that the village was far less defensible than they had previously assumed, and fearing subsequent hostile encounters and unable to continue south by sea, Pizarro chose to end his expedition at Punta Quemada.