Meanwhile Alvarado had found it necessary to remove his fleet for shelter to the bay of Fonseca, whence he despatched García Holguin with two ships to Peru for the purpose of ascertaining the actual state of affairs and the nature of the country.[VII‑5] The adelantado soon learned to his cost that the bay of Fonseca was no secure haven, and after losing two of his vessels there during a heavy gale, sailed with the remainder for Puerto de la Posesion in Nicaragua, the modern Realejo.[VII‑6] While here awaiting the return of Holguin, he fell in with the pilot Juan Fernandez, one who had long been engaged in fitting out vessels for the trade between Nicaragua and Castilla del Oro. While transacting business in Panamá, Fernandez had listened to the marvellous stories of Pizarro's conquest, and journeying thence to Peru had there conversed with men who had been present at the capture and ransom of Atahualpa. No wonder that the tidings which the pilot now brought from the land of the incas fired the imagination of these gold-loving adventurers. More than 1,300,000 castellanos! Not even the treasures of Montezuma had yielded such a harvest. If Pizarro, with his diminutive force, had secured such booty, what might not Alvarado now hope for with his powerful fleet and veteran army? Neither king nor audiencia should now thwart his purpose; nevertheless he must have ready some pretext for entering Pizarro's territory, if indeed he could not obtain permission. This was soon furnished by Fernandez, who informed him that the province of Quito, believed to be the principal depository of the treasures of the incas, had never yet been visited by Spaniards. It was no difficult matter for Alvarado to persuade himself that this region lay without the domain granted to Pizarro, and the self-interest of Fernandez, now appointed pilot of the expedition, prompted him to encourage such a delusion.