At Potonchan on the Tabasco coast the Spainards heard of powerful people that came from beyond the mountains to the north. But it was not until a few weeks later that the Spaniards fully grasped who these people were. They raised the anchors and headed up the coast following the route of Grijalva. The expedition reached a protected channel by the island of San Juan de Ulua where, on the dunes of the mainland shore, camp was laid out for the men and horses in Cotes' contingent. It was here and in the nearby town of Campoala that the Spanish first made direct contact with subjects of the powerful Aztec Empire.

The visitors were unlike any other people within or without the empire. They were outlandish in physical appearance, with alarming arms and armor, they showed open, and aggressive disregard for established behavior. There were also several important historical associations surrounding the strangers' arrival. The Aztecs had originally come from an unknown place far to the north, following a long migration. The saw that these strangers had also come from a distant place. The arrival of the visitors also had powerful geographical associations. They came across the ocean and traveled from the east. Finally, the date of the Spanish landing in the year I reed was also significant, a date associated not only with Quetzalcoatl's banishment, but also with the influence of the plumed serpent as a cosmological sign. Because of all these factors, Montezuma's council recommended that it would be diplomatic to honor the visitors as royal emissaries and to acknowledge their importance. Montezuma sent an embassy with three groups of gifts that were both appropriate to the status of the strangers and affirm the supremacy of Montezuma.

A short time after this meeting with the Aztecs, Cortes received instructions from Governor Velasquez to return to Cuba. Cortes disregarded these instructions due to his confidence in the fact that interior of this new kingdom was filled with riches. Instead Cortes sent a ship bearing gifts direct to Charles V of Spain. He then burned all the remaining ships to kill any thoughts of returning home. So having done all of this, Cortes and his men set off for Tenochtitlan on August 16 1519.

The Spanish expedition approached the borders of Tlaxcala, and independent nation that had fiercely and successfully resisted the invading armies of Montezuma for many years. They now attempted to ward off the Spaniards. The extraordinary military competence of the Spaniards against a much larger army was decisively demonstrated. The defeat of the Tlaxcalan force marked a turning point in the conquest. As a result of this victory, the Spaniards gained allies and the support of the Tlaxcalans warriors who would prove indispensable in the battle to come. Victorious in Tlaxcala, Cortes marched with his new allies to the city of Cholollan. The Aztecs and the Cholollans were allies and concocted a plan to trap the Spaniards. The plan was foiled and the Spanish again emerged victorious. Within a few days of their victory at Cholollan the allies were camped at a height from which they could see the spacious Valley of Mexico. The expedition descended from the mountain pass and moved in a long column across the plain and through the towns on the shore of Lake Chalco. The Spanish camped that night as Ixtapalapan,at the head of the southern causeway. Before dawn the troops prepared for the final march. They marched watchfully to the rhythm of even drumbeats and high wailing fifes. Horsemen scouted the vanguard, moving back and forth. Next came a man with the banner of Spain, followed by pikemen, crossbowmen, and arquebusiers, and then Cortes and his captains.

At the entrance to Tenochtitlan, Montezuma came out to meet Cortes on a palanquin borne by four nobles. Montezuma approached the Spaniard supported on the arms of two chiefs. Montezuma reached out and bgave Cortes a necklace of golden filament and scented with musk. In the days that followed the Spaniards were shown the sights if the imperial capital. Cortes and his party were led up the pyramid stairs to be received by Montezuma on the upper platform. From their vantagepoint on the pyramid of Tlatelolco, the Spaniards saw a city that would seem to be invulnerable. But on the long march to the capital they had already began to understand its inner tensions and weaknesses.