On 11 March 1537, Pinto left Lisbon for India via Portuguese Mozambique.
On 5 September that year, he arrived in Diu, a fortified island and town northwest of Bombay (Portuguese since 1535 but under siege by Suleiman the Magnificent).

Pinto joined a Portuguese reconnaissance mission to the Red Sea via Ethiopia.
The mission was to deliver a message to Portuguese soldiers guarding Eleni of Ethiopia, the mother of "Prester John" (Emperor Dawit II of Ethiopia) in a mountain fortress.
After leaving Massawa, the mission engaged three Turkish galleys in battle.
The Portuguese ships were defeated and their crews taken to Mocha to be sold as slaves.

Pinto was sold to a Greek Muslim who was a cruel master.
 Pinto threatened suicide and was sold to a Jewish merchant for about thirty ducats' worth of dates.
With the Jewish merchant, Pinto travelled the caravan route to Hormuz, a leading market town in the Persian Gulf.
There, Pinto was freed by way of payment of three hundred ducats from the Portuguese crown.
He was made captain of the Fortress of Hormuz and the Portuguese king's special magistrate for Indian affairs.
On 11 March 1537, Pinto left Lisbon for India via Portuguese Mozambique. On 5 September that year, he arrived in Diu, a fortified island and town northwest of Bombay (Portuguese since 1535 but under siege by Suleiman the Magnificent).
Pinto joined a Portuguese reconnaissance mission to the Red Sea via Ethiopia. The mission was to deliver a message to Portuguese soldiers guarding Eleni of Ethiopia, the mother of "Prester John" (Emperor Dawit II of Ethiopia) in a mountain fortress. After leaving Massawa, the mission engaged three Turkish galleys in battle. The Portuguese ships were defeated and their crews taken to Mocha to be sold as slaves.
Pinto was sold to a Greek Muslim who was a cruel master.  Pinto threatened suicide and was sold to a Jewish merchant for about thirty ducats' worth of dates. With the Jewish merchant, Pinto travelled the caravan route to Hormuz, a leading market town in the Persian Gulf. There, Pinto was freed by way of payment of three hundred ducats from the Portuguese crown. He was made captain of the Fortress of Hormuz and the Portuguese king's special magistrate for Indian affairs.
Fernão Mendes Pinto