Christopher Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492, and arrived in the Canary Islands on August 9, 1492. As he continued, the remainder of the journey took six weeks,with him finally arriving in the Americas on October 12, 1492. He returned to Spain beginning on January 15, 1493, and arrived in Barcelona on March 15 of that year. If we count the entire time it took to arrive in the Americas, given that the incoming trip was delayed due to a break in a boat, that trip took 70 days. The return trip, which also included many stops, took 59 days, so it was shorter. Even if we discount the stop in the Canary Islands, the return trip was shorter than the initial trip.