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Plymouth, England
Charles Darwin, at the age of 22, embarked on the HMS Beagle voyage as the ship captain's personal assisstant.
'The misery I endured from seasickness is far beyond what I ever guessed at' -
Cape Verde Islands
Darwin was exhilerated by his first observations.
' It dawned on me that I midht peraps write a book on geology of the various countries visited, and this made me thrill with delight.' -
Crossing the Equator
'We have crosses the equator, and I have undergone the disagreeable operation of being shaved... the constable blindfolded me and thus lead me along, buckets of water were thunderes all around; I was then placed on a plan, which could easily be tilted up into a large bath of water... The whole ship was a shower bath. -
Darwin explores Brazilian rainforests for the first time
Darwin explores Brazilian rainforests for the first time. ' Here I first saw a tropical forest in all its sublime grandeur... I never experiences such intense delight.' He is enraptured by the experience: ' I have multitude, it is hard to say what set of objects are most striking; the general luxuriance of vegetation bears the victory, the elegance of the grasses, the novielty of parasital plants, the beauty of flowers.' -
Punta Alta, Argentitna
DArwin is intrigued by the giat fossils he sees, ' I have been wonderfully lucky with fossil bones. Some of the animals must have been great dimensions! I am almost sure that many of them are quite new' -
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Captain Robert FitzRot repatriates three native people he had brough to England on a previous voyage. FitzRoy attempts to start a Christian mission, which failed disastrously -
Falkland Islands
Darwin finds he barre, windswept Falkland Islands 'desolate and wretched.' But he perks up when he cracks open some 'primitive rocks', and finds fossils. The Falklands were full of brachiopods- two shelled animals once among the most abundant organisms on Earth. -
Rio Negro, Argentina
Darwin explores the fertile lowland areas, known as Pampas, with the locals or 'gauchos'. 'There is high enjoyment in the independence of the gaucho life - to be able at any moment to pull up [your] horse.' -
Chiloe islands, Chile
Darwin sees Mnt. Osorno erupt while on the island of Chiloe and experiences the earthquake in the woods near Valdivia. Seeing the aftermath of the earthquake affected him tremendously. 'I believe this earthquake has done more in degrading or lessening the size of the island, than 100 years of ordinary wear and tear.' -
Chiloe Island (Continued)
Darwin sees Mnt. Osorno erupt while on the island of Chiloe and experiences the earthquake in the woods near Valdivia. Seeing the aftermath of the earthquake affected him tremendously. 'I believe this earthquake has done more in degrading or lessening the size of the island, than 100 years of ordinary wear and tear.' -
Galapagos Islands
Darwin finds many species of plants, birds, and tortoises unique to the Galapagos Islands, but they seem mysteriously related to mainland species. He is particulary fascinated by the 'immense' Galapagos tortoises. They were large enough, that he couldn't resist hopping on for a ride. Then there were the marine iguanas on the Galapagos. No other iguanas swim or feed in the ocean, but when he open the stomachs of severl he found nothing but seaweed,. -
Galapagos Island (Continued)
Many Galapagos animals were as strange as their surroundings, and their colour pften blended with the lava around them. For example, the blue-footed booby, and Sally lightfoot crabs. DArwin also learned that the group of Galapagos specimens he had studied once back in Londond , though they were very different, the birds were all actually finches. -
Sydney, Australia
On arrival in Sydney Cove, Darwin first feelin was 'to congratulate myself that I was born an Englishmen.... It is a fine town.'
Marveling at marsupials he wondered why there were completley different sets of mammals in Australia. -
Cocos Islands (Keling Islands)
Darwin studies coral reefs growing around islands to test his theory of atoll formation. 'I am glad we have visited these islands; such formations surely rank high amongst the wonderful objects of this world.' -
Mauritius
'I took a quiet walk along the sea coasts to the north of th town; the plain is there quite uncultivated, consisting of a field of black lava smoother over with coarse grass and bushes, the greater part part of which are mimosas,' observes Darwin. -
Cape Town, South Africa
'THe first object in CApe Town which strikes the eye of a stranger, is the number of bullock wagons... I have as yet not mentiones the well known Table Mountains; this great mass of horizontally stratifies sandstone rises quite close behind the town to a height of 3,500 feet.' -
Bahia and Pernambuco, South America
In the jungles of South America, DArwin discovers many incredible creatures. Both homesick and seasick, he is dismayed when the Beagle makes an unscheduled detour. 'This zig-zag manner of proceeding is very grievous... I loather, abhor the sea, and all ships which sail on it.' -
Falmouth, England
'I reached home late last night. My head quite confused with so much delight.'
The Beagle ship was only 27m (90 feet) long and carries 74 people, and 22 clocks, in very close quarters!
