![]() ![]() For the young naturalist, history was in the making. Wild with joy, he continued to explore the island's mountains with renewed vigor. But his excitement knew no bounds when he received a letter from his sisters informing him that some of his fellow scientists wished to see him take his place in the company of the top scientists of the day. The island's geology also deeply intrigued him, and especially the 'volcanic bombs', blobs of lava that had been ejected into the air and then solidified into spherical shapes. This was yet more evidence of evolution, coming after his discoveries in the Galápagos. He thought that they were descended from species that had been imported into the island and become wild, and whose characteristics had changed so as to adapt to the conditions on the island. Darwin was interested in the rats, which had different fur and were smaller than ordinary rats. On July 14, the ship headed north-west, and dropped anchor five days later at the desolate volcanic island of Ascension. In the lower parts of the island, a large number of plants imported from England had also invaded the ecosystem. He put their extinction down to the pigs and goats whose introduction into the island had destroyed the forests which was their habitat. Up in the hills, the naturalist recorded ancient species of terrestrial shells. His observations lent support to the theory that this volcanic island was geologically very old, its mountain peaks being part of a huge crater whose southern rim had been washed away by the sea. Darwin settled in near Napoleon's tomb, from where he set off to explore the surrounding countryside despite raging winds and frequent downpours. The island, lost in the middle of the South Atlantic, rose abruptly out of the ocean, like a huge black castle. ![]() On June 18, the Beagle set sail for St Helena, which it reached on July 8. Neither of them had the slightest inkling that they would one day be buried side by side in Westminster Abbey in London! However, the outskirts of Cape Town were more welcoming, and the city itself had a very British appearance.īut apparently, what Darwin enjoyed most during this stopover were his discussions with Sir John Herschel, an English astronomer and philosopher who lived in Cape Town. At the little town of Simon's Bay there were nothing but dreary houses, very few gardens and hardly any trees. On, the explorers arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, where they discovered a somewhat bleak landscape. Darwin, a naturalist's voyage around the worldĬape Town, St Helena, Ascension Island, Bahia, Falmouth ![]()
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