 In 1520 he joined the Spanish army of Charles I and fought in Flanders in 1521 and Italy between 1522 and 1525, participating in the battle of Pavia as part of the troops of the Marquis of Pescara.He reached America in 1535, spent an uneventful year in Venezuela, and then moved on to Peru in 1537.There he took part on the side of Hernando Pizarro in his struggle against Diego de Almagro and fought in the battle of Las Salinas in 1538, which saw Almagro defeated and captured.