Miami, Fl..........



They continued down the coast hugging the shore to avoid the strong head current. By May 4 the fleet reached and named Biscayne Bay and took on water at an island they named Santa Marta (now Key Biscayne) and explored the Tequesta Miami mound town at the mouth of the Miami River. The Tequesta did not engage the Spanish,they evacuated into the coastal woodlands. On May 15 they left Biscayne Bay and sailed along the Florida Keys, looking for a passage to head north and explore the west coast of the Florida peninsula. From a distance the Keys reminded Ponce de León of men who were suffering, so he named them Los Martires (the Martyrs).^[43][44] Eventually they found a gap in the reefs and sailed "to the north and other times to the northeast" until they reached the Florida mainland on May 23. Encountering the Calusa who refused to trade and drove off the Spanish ships by surrounding them with warriors in sea canoes armed with long bows.^[45][46]