Spanish doctor Francisco Hernández set sail in 1570 from an old world that believed in fantastic creatures, such as the unicorn and sea monsters. His paintings were so impressive that they ended up decorating the chambers of King Philip II.

All of them burned in the fire of the Monastery of El Escorial in 1671 or were lost to oblivion. Another Spanish doctor, Germán Somolinos d'Ardois, arrived at Mexico fleeing the Civil War in 1939 and stumbled upon the elusive trail of America's first scientific explorer.