Though the Portuguese sailors had their maps and other
navigational instruments with them, they encountered some problems and
difficulties that they were not able to avoid. One was, they did not know what
was the shape and how big Africa was. They did not know the routes yet and were
unfamiliar with the trail.
Another is, though they did not have much trouble in sailing
down the coast, getting back along the trail was a different story. They had a
hard time sailing against the wind.
