Vasco da Gama got off at the Azores to bury his brother at the monastery of São Francisco in Angra do Heroismo, and lingered there for a little while in mourning. Vasco da Gama and his sickly brother eventually hitched a ride with a Guinea caravel returning to Portugal, but Paulo da Gama died en route. Gabriel under Sá arrived in Lisbon sometime in late July or early August. Gama elected to stay by his side on Santiago island, and handed the São Gabriel over to his clerk, João de Sá, to take home. In the meantime, back in Cape Verde, Vasco's brother, Paulo da Gama had fallen grievously ill. The Berrio arrived in Lisbon on Jand Nicolau Coelho personally delivered the news to King Manuel I and the royal court, then assembled in Sintra. Reconstructing from other sources, it seems they continued to Cape Verde, where Nicolau Coelho's Berrio separated from Vasco da Gama's São Gabriel, and sailed on by itself. The diary record of the expedition ends abruptly here. They reached the west African coast by April 25. By early March, they had arrived in Mossel Bay, and crossed the Cape of Good Hope in the opposite direction on March 20. Not having enough crewmen left standing to manage three ships, Vasco da Gama ordered the São Rafael scuttled off the East African coast, and the crew re-distributed to the remaining two ships, the São Gabriel and the Berrio. Vasco da Gama's fleet finally arrived in Malindi on 7 January 1499, in a terrible shape - approximately half of the crew had died during the crossing, and many of the rest were afflicted with scurvy. On the outgoing journey, sailing with the summer monsoon wind, it had taken Gama's fleet only 23 days to cross the Indian Ocean now, on the return trip, sailing against the wind, it took 132 days. But with the winter monsoon yet to set in, it was a harrowing journey. They finally struck out for their Indian Ocean crossing on 3 October 1498. The fleet initially inched north along the Indian coast, and then anchored in at Anjediva island for a spell.
Eager to set sail for home, he ignored the local knowledge of monsoon wind patterns which were still blowing onshore. Vasco da Gama left Calicut on 29 August 1498.
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