Tao is the last remaining descendant of the ancient civilisation of Hiva. He lives on the island of Galapagos in a tree house built by him, his father and his grandfather. His only friend on the island is a parrot called Kukapetl.
Tao is the brains of the group, he carries an encyclopedia which has the knowledge of the Heva people. He like to plan what to do before hand and doesnt like Esteban's 'jump in and think what to do later' way of thinking, but he follows him anyway.
Tao has lived with the legend, handed down to him, that a girl with dark eyes (Zia) will lead him to the lands to the east.
Tao is also brave which is not shown as much but to save the Mayan people he destroys the Solaris (a giant ship made by the Heva people which uses the sun to power its self) from the Spanish.