-
The Letter from John Stevens Henslow
In August of 1831, Darwin receives a letter from a mentor of his from Cambridge stating that he'd recommended him to accompany Captain Robert FitzRoy on a two year voyage as his naturalist. Darwin accepted the offer. -
Voyage Delayed
Darwin and other passengers of the Beagle are packed up, all resources are stowed away, and everything seems to be ready for the ship to set sail, but the weather is too harsh. Darwin spends an agonizing two months waiting for the waters to clear, and for the ship to leave the port of Plymouth. Between these months of October and December he grows apprehensive about the journey. -
His First Stop
Darwin's first stop for exploration was St. Jago. Here, he was overwhelmed with the new surroundings and pleased as he took in the tropical environment. The first significant discovery relating to evolution was a cliff which looked as if it was once underwater. He took note of the abundant seashells and corals, strangely, 30 feet above sea level. This site reminds him of Lyell's Principle of Geology. -
Punta Alta
Many of Darwin's famous fossils were found in Punta Alta. At night he found himself searching for bones and remains. Here he discovered skeletons of unimaginable sizes compared to the ones he was used to. He questioned why some animal bones were pygmy versions of others. He wondered if they had any relation. -
Crossing the Equator
In the beginning months of the voyage, the HMS Beagle has finally crossed the equator. Darwin has also been volunteered to be shaved while blindfolded by the constable. -
Brazilian Forest
Charles Darwin was overjoyed, venturing around a Brazilian Rainforest. He felt engulfed in all the beauty that nature provided, in awe of the colorful flowers, hummingbirds, lizards and his first seen monkey. He took with him various creatures as he explored. However, he was fearful of a predatory wasp. -
Tierra del Fuego
Camping close by a tribe of natives to Tierra del Fuego is an urgently fearful experience for Darwin, especially in the night. The villagers are seen as animalistic to those on the voyage. Darwin takes note of an experiment conducted years before in which FitzRoy temporarily captured a few Fuegians in an attempt to spread European culture once bringing them back. However, this failed as a year later the former captives returned to their native ways. -
Falkland Islands
The sights of Darwin while in the Falkland islands are dull until he comes across primitive rocks and fossils. He finds remains of animals that were once abundant on this planet; brachiopods. -
Gauchos
While in Rio Negro, Argentina, Charles Darwin explores an area called Pampas. He spends some time living with the villagers here, or Gauchos. These people relied on horses for transportation. Much enjoyment came from living the Gaucho life. -
Earthquake
While in a forest of Valdivia, Chile, Darwin is thrown offgaurd by the earth moving beneath him. He is stunned to be enduring the gentle shake. The earthquake posed no threat to him, only administering a tremble. But, when he travels into the city of Concepcion, he witnesses the damage created. -
The Galapagos
On the Galapagos Islands, Darwin makes discoveries which are hardly beneficial to evolution at the time. He notices 40+ birds from each island, all of which are similar but can be distinguished by small traits. Darwin fails to realize that these birds are all finches. -
Strange Creatues
While trekking in Australia, Darwin is taken aback by the peculiar animals that could be found; duck-billed platypi, animals with pouches. He wondered why he'd only ever found such bizzarre creatures here and nowhere else. -
Bahia & Pernambuco
Also in South Africa, Darwin found many exotic creatures here, worthy to be taken note of. -
Coco Islands
These islands were covered in coral reefs for Darwin to test and observe. -
Mauritius
On this island, Darwin observed much of the nature. Along the coast he found that the ground had been coated by a field of lava, now blackened. Over the molten lava, were grasses and bushes. -
Cape Town
One thing that Darwin found significant during his time in South Africa were the number of bullock wagons. He also saw the famous Table Mountain, a mountain standing tall at 3,500 feet with a horizontal peak just above the village. -
The End of the Journey
In October of 1836, after five years, Charles Darwin finally sets his eyes on England. The adventure was over. He was ecstatic to arrive home being that the voyage was intended to be only two years, and he spent a great deal of it with sea sickness. Regaurdless of the struggle, this trip was career defining for him. The investigations he made over the years would later make sense to him.