Having failed to cross Malindi, they returned to Socotra, from where Afonso de Albuquerque managed to land them in Filuk, arriving in Shewa, Ethiopia.
Mateus, of Armenian origin, was sent to the Portuguese in India transporting a pious letter from Eleni to king Manuel I of Portugal and a piece of the True Cross.
[3][4] After being robbed in Zaila and detained in Bijapur, Mateus arrived at Dabul, and was received in Goa in December 1512 with great honour by Portuguese governor Afonso de Albuquerque, as a long sought "Prester John" envoy.
From Goa, a fleet departed for the Red Sea trying to land the ambassadors in February 1517, joined by Italian explorer Andrea Corsali.
There, Álvares befriended several Europeans who had gained the favor of the Emperor, which included Pêro da Covilhã and Nicolao Branceleon.