Around this time, the news began to arrive of Francisco Pizarro's conquests in Peru and the rich plunder that his soldiers were taking there, undermining the morale of Montejo's already disenchanted band of followers. Montejo's soldiers began to abandon him to seek their fortune elsewhere; in seven years of attempted conquest in the northern provinces of the Yucatán Peninsula, very little gold had been found. Towards the end of 1534 or the beginning of the next year, Montejo the Elder and his son retreated from Campeche to Veracruz, taking their remaining soldiers with them. Montejo the Elder became embroiled in colonial infighting over the right to rule Honduras, a claim that put him in conflict with Pedro de Alvarado, captain general of Guatemala, who also claimed Honduras as part of his jurisdiction. Alvarado's claim ultimately turned out successful. In Montejo the Elder's absence, first in central Mexico, and then in Honduras, Montejo the Younger acted as lieutenant governor and captain general in Tabasco. The Franciscan friar Jacobo de Testera arrived in Champoton in 1535 to attempt the peaceful incorporation of Yucatán into the Spanish Empire. Testera had been assured by the Spanish authorities that no military activity would be undertaken in Yucatán, while he was attempting its conversion to the Roman Catholic faith, and that no soldiers would be permitted to enter the peninsula. His initial efforts were proving successful when Captain Lorenzo de Godoy arrived in Champoton at the command of soldiers despatched there by Montejo the Younger. Godoy and Testera were soon in conflict and the friar was forced to abandon Champoton and return to central Mexico. Godoy's attempt to subdue the Maya around Champoton was unsuccessful and the local Kowoj Maya resisted his attempts to assert Spanish dominance of the region. This resistance was sufficiently tenacious that Montejo the Younger sent his cousin from Tabasco to Champoton to take command. His diplomatic overtures to the Champoton Kowoj were successful and they submitted to Spanish rule. Champoton was the last Spanish outpost in the Yucatán Peninsula; it was increasingly isolated and the situation there became difficult. In 1540, Montejo the Elder, who was now in his late 60s, turned his royal rights to colonise Yucatán over to his son, Francisco de Montejo the Younger. In early 1541, Montejo the Younger joined his cousin in Champoton; he did not remain there long, and quickly moved his forces to Campeche.