For the Galapagos tortoise, Marin is still somewhat familiar. After all, even in the 21st century, when information is developed, this giant tortoise is a very rare species and has attracted much attention.

Galapagos tortoises live in the Galapagos Islands, close to the equator, which are hot and dry due to the Peruvian cold snap. Therefore, the tortoise can adapt to the dry and hot living environment. Despite its size, the Galapagos tortoise is a gentle herbivore that feeds mainly on cacti, grasses, leaves, mosses, lichens and berries found in the Galapagos Islands. The only drawback is that it is not cold-tolerant, after all, it is an animal near the equator. Also, it seems that you have to bask in the sun every day. Because, it is a cold-blooded animal and needs to bask in the sun to absorb heat.

These are all points to pay attention to, and they must be told to the Ming Dynasty officials to avoid the tortoise being raised to death. When the time comes, the credit will be gone.

For the proud ancient Chinese feudal dynasty, it is better to offer treasures than to offer auspiciousness. Because, what they pay most attention to is face, not profit.

Soon, the fleet, led by the navigator, came to the northernmost island of the Galapagos Islands, which later seemed to be called Pinta Island. The Galapagos tortoise on Pinta Island is also a well-known branch of the Galapagos tortoise. The famous Galapagos tortoise "Lone George", which made the news in 2012, is a Pinta Galapagos tortoise.

Of course, Marin doesn't care what the difference is in the tortoise subspecies. Anyway, the Galapagos tortoises are huge, and it's enough to pretend to be a turtle. Sent to the Ming Dynasty, it is definitely auspicious.

You must know that in the palace, there are many statues similar to the green dragon, the white tiger, the vermilion bird and the Xuanwu. Even, the palace city of the Tang Dynasty had Xuanwu Gate and Suzaku Street. As long as you take it to the Forbidden City, you can see the turtle statue. Those ministers must have seen huge statues too. And the Galapagos tortoise is the size of the statue, and it is difficult not to think of it as auspicious......

……

After arriving at Pinta Island, Marin immediately took a group of thugs and went to the island to catch turtles. Soon, they met the Galapagos tortoises that were slowly "hurrying" around the island. This giant tortoise walks super slowly, and it deserves to be a tortoise. They walked at a speed of only two or three hundred meters per hour, less than a mile.

Several turtles saw Marin's group of people surrounding them from a distance, and they were so frightened that they immediately fled for their lives. However, they were too slow to flee for their lives, and Marin and his gang walked slowly, but they still caught up with the turtles who were fleeing for their lives, and easily caught them.

Then, Marin led his men to catch 15 Pintagalapagos tortoises in one go, brought them to the ship, and prepared to take them to Daming as auspicious offerings.

In fact, Marin had planned to take only nine tortoises with him. Because, the number 9 is very auspicious. Especially for the emperor, the number 9 is the most popular. The 9 turtles, meaning "Nine Heavens Turtles", are definitely auspicious in auspiciousness.

But Marin was afraid that some of the tortoises would die, so he caught a few more for backup. In the end, when "Xiangrui" is offered, Marin will still offer 9 of them. As for the extra ones, just stay on Taiwan Island.

After catching the tortoise, Marin sent the fleet back to its intended course and continued westward. January is winter, and the northern half of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are calm and stormy. Therefore, the voyage of the fleet was smooth sailing all the way.

When he approached the western boundary of the 12th East Ward after the International Date Line, Marin suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a small island called Nauru at the south-east side of the western edge of the 12th East Ward and the equator.

This small island is covered with a thick layer of struvite, which is a very good agricultural fertilizer. Because struvite is converted by the droppings of seabirds. The feces are already nitrogenous, and the addition of sea birds to eat fish makes struvite also contain phosphorus. At the same time, struvite also contains some potassium. Therefore, struvite is the only natural fertilizer in nature that contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers at the same time. However, the potassium content is slightly lower, only 23 percent, unlike nitrogen and phosphorus, which both contain more than 10 percent. Therefore, struvite is an excellent nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer.

Although he remembered the existence of Nauru, Marin did not change his course to find Nauru Island this time, but planned to send a fleet to find this small island again in the future.

Why? Because Nauru's geographical location is too bad. It is deep in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and it is very inconvenient to transport. If you dig strounce stone in Nauru and bring it back, it is better to get three kinds of fertilizer yourself. After all, even the farthest Western Saharan apatite mine is not too far from the mainland.

Moreover, even if Taiwan Island is to be developed in the future, there is no need to go to Nauru to dig struvite stones. Because, Dongsha Island near Taiwan Island is rich in struvite mines, so there is no need to go all the way to Nauru to dig struvite.

It's just that Nauru is also an important struvite reserve base in the future, and it still has to be occupied first. Even if you can't use it for the time being, you can't cheapen others. Therefore, Marin will send people to find this island and then plant a flag to show that this island is his own. As for when strounce will be mined on the island, it depends on the need. But Marin estimated that struvite from Nauru Island would not be needed for a long time.

However, Marin actually wrote about the struvite mines in Nauru into the "Traveler's Notes" left for Caesar as a reserve resource for the future. Maybe one day it will be used......

Subsequently, the flotilla entered the island-strewn islands of Micronesia. Here, too, the navigators are much more cautious. Because, if you are not careful, the ship will hit the rocks. After all, it's full of volcanic islands and coral reefs, as well as quite a few reefs. Some reefs are growing, and those that will soon emerge are the most dangerous. Because, if you are not careful, the ship will run aground on it.

Therefore, these pilots, who had participated in the exploration of previous routes, cheered up and avoided some danger zones according to the marks of their previous voyage notes, and passed through the Micronesian islands without danger.

The fleet then followed the North Pacific Current to the eastern part of the Philippine Islands, then turned north, followed the "Kuroshio" flowing north to Japan, and sailed to the eastern coast of Taiwan Island. While skimming the eastern coast of Taiwan Island, Marin also passed

The fleet then followed the North Pacific Current to the eastern part of the Philippine Islands, then turned north, followed the "Kuroshio" flowing north to Japan, and sailed to the eastern coast of Taiwan Island. While skimming the eastern coast of Taiwan Island, Marin also passed