Some say that Orellana and his companions deserted Pizarro without his knowledge, and others that they continued the voyage with their commander's permission, in a barque which they had built, and some canoes. Voyaging, as they say, with the design of returning to Gonzalo Pizarro, with provisions, they found themselves, after going over two hundred leagues, unable to return, and, therefore, continued to sail on until they came out into the ocean.

The second day, after they parted from Gonzalo Pizarro, they expected to have been lost in the midst of the river, as the barque struck upon a floating tree, and stove in a plank; but being near the land, they ran her on shore, repaired her, and continued the voyage. They made twenty or twenty-five leagues a-day, assisted by the current. Passing the mouths of many rivers on the south side, they continued their course for three days, without seeing any habitation. Finding that the provisions they brought with them were exhausted, and that they were so distant from Gonzalo Pizarro, they thought it best to pass on with the current, commending themselves to God by means of a mass, which was performed by a Dominican monk named Carbajal.