Timeline According to the Episodes

Episode One: Esteban, Child of the Sun (~12PM to ~6AM)

This episode appears to start around midday with Esteban running off to the tavern. He dodges those hunting him for a while, but is eventually hoisted up on the cross/mast on the docks. After being told Father Rodriguez is worse, the Child of the Sun runs off to the cathedral. Mendoza follows him and arrives at around sunset. The navigator and the boy meet at the Esperanza early in the morning, but Esteban falls asleep in the hold until dawn when he meets Zia.

Episode Two: Crossing the Atlantic (~3.5 months)

At the beginning of this episode Gaspar says that the journey to Peru would take five months. This seems to fit with sailing records from the days of sail although I have no proof of this. It is hard to find records of direct sailings.

Episode Three: Heroes Again (4 days in the Strait plus ~1 month after that)

Episode Three is rare in that we are given an exact figure for a period of time. Mendoza says that it would take four days to sail through the Straits. Magellan took about a month to do the same, but he was exploring as he went.

After this, timing becomes a matter of guesswork again. I suspect, but have no way to prove, that the Esperanza was close to Lima when she ran into that nasty waterspout. So my guess is that she had about two weeks tops to sail before they reached the port.

Episode Four: Adrift on the Endless Sea (~14 days)

Esteban and company seem to have been stranded on the remains of the Esperanza for at least a couple of days and on the raft for even longer. Zia says that they floated North of Lima and, of course, that is confirmed by their arrival on the Galapagos. These islands are much farther north than the port and it would have taken some time to get there by half-ship or raft. This seems to be confirmed by Esteban wondering how long his father could have lasted adrift on the ocean.

Episode Five: The Abduction of Zia (~1 day)

The group arrives during the day on an island among the Galapagos. They spend the day wandering around, turning giant tortoises or, in Sancho and Pedro's case, running from marine iguanas. Tao shows up that night, carries off Zia, and is pursued by Esteban. He swims/floats to Tao's island, arrives in day, and has lunch with Tao and Zia.

Episode Six: The Ship Solaris (~3-6 hours)

Mendoza, Pedro, and Sancho arrive on the island about the same time as the three kids are finishing their fruit. From there it only seems to take a couple of hours to run across the island, wander through the labyrinth, and destroy their first temple (finding the Solaris in the process).

Episode Seven: Secret of the Solaris (~4-6 days)

This is an episode that is impossible to guess the amount of time that has passed since the last one. It could only be a few hours or it might be a couple of days. I would hope that they would have taken the time to gather some food for the trip, but who knows. I am putting their departure at around 1-3 days after finding the Solaris. Then from Esteban we hear that it has taken three days to sail across the ocean to South America. Then they meet Gomez's galleon, discover the secret of the Solaris, and sight land by sunset.

Episode Eight: The New Continent (~ 12 hours)

Esteban and company really don't have much luck once they reach land and are captured almost immediately by Spanish soldiers under the command of Francisco Pizarro. They are taken to his fort, Zia reads another quipu, every one but her and Mendoza are tossed into prison, and Esteban is called a god by Pasha. Whew! Another busy night for the six, but Mendoza manages to rescue them all and destroys another temple. Esteban and Tao, however get all the credit and the episode ends at dawn on the next day.

Episode Nine: The End of the Solaris (~ 6 hours)

At sunrise the group barely manages to escape from Pizarro's men once again, but decide to help Tohawka and his village. Unfortunately, Gomez shows up, acts very naughty, and Zia and Tao are forced to destroy the Solaris to save their friends. (You know, this is close call number two for Gomez and Gaspar. They must have nine lives!) Episode ends around midday.

Episode Ten: The End of the Solaris (~6 hours)

Esteban and his friends aren't finished yet, however, for even though they have just watched the Solaris sink, they still need to escape from Pizarro. Apo suggests they talk to Pasha so the heroes must sneak back into the fort in order to find him. Gaspar discovers them and the group heads into the underground temple only to destroy it along with Pizarro's fort, which was built on top of it. (Temple #2 for those of you who are counting. ^_^) The kids decide to take off without Mendoza and kind of shrug saying "Too bad" when they realize the adults were still in the collapsing temple. So much for loyalty! Sun sets and we see the end of a very long day. I feel sleep deprived just watching the episodes! (Oh, wait, I am sleep deprived!! *sigh* School.)

Episode Eleven: Messengers of the Region. (~1 month + 8 hours)

Here is yet another gap that is impossible to fill without guess work. Zia is guiding Tao and Esteban to her village which is to the South of Pizarro's Fort. The episode itself gives no concrete information on how much time has passed since they left that region. It could be a day or a month. Gaspar and Gomez look very tired when we see them, suggesting a long trip. Or they they might have merely been dejected after the tongue lashing they received from Pizarro. I am going for realism at this point and estimate that the Esteban and his friends have been walking for about a month. To understand why, see the mini essay to the right. The episode itself appears to span a day and ends during the night. (This also happens to be the only episode that doesn't have even a glimpse of Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho in it.)

How long does it take to get to Zia's village?

20 miles a day in mountains. Tumbes to Machu Picchu

The best we can do in estimate the distance the kids would have traveled. Lima to Tumbes (1310 km. / 808 miles)

Episode Twelve: Secret of the Medallions (~1 day + 12 hours)

The next morning finds Gaspar and Gomez preparing to chase the kids, Wayna and Ketcha into the forbidden region. Happily for all of us Mendoza fans, he and his two lackeys show up to guide them. The kids spend a night helping the Inca fight Gomez's men at the Fort of the Black Eagle, and next day they make their way to Machu Picchu.