In 1831, one of Charles Darwin’s Cambridge University professors, John Henslow, had been invited to sail as a naturalist aboard the HMS BEAGLE for what was to be a two-year voyage to survey the coasts of South America. He declined the offer and recommended that Captain Robert Fitzroy take Darwin, his 22-year-old protégé, instead.Darwin set sail aboard BEAGLE from Plymouth, England, in December 1831 and arrived in the waters of the Galápagos archipelago, after a three-year, eight-and-a-half-month voyage. On September 17, 1835, the ship’s crew went ashore on Chatham Island, the easternmost of the islands, now known as Isla San Cristobal. The young Darwin was not favorably impressed. In his book, The Voyage of the Beagle, he writes:
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Lovely!
Your article on Darwin was quite funny and showed a side of him that I hadn’t seen even a hint of in On the Origin of Species. On reflection, it’s entirely possible that his crankiness is there, too, but that I couldn’t see it for my amazement at both his genius and the number of words he could write about pigeons.
I enjoyed your story and especially the amazing photographs from your trip to the Galapagos. They brought back some wonderful memories for me as I was so very fortunate to have been able to go to the Galapagos in 200p. Back before this kind thing was so commonplace and everyone was able to livestream every minute of their lives from any part of the world, I managed to send back nearly daily journals during my time there including one via a rather interesting encounter near Tagus Cove.
Thank you for this article. Decades ago, my family donated annually to the research station on the Galapagos and in return received a periodical newsletter (mimeographed!) of the work they did there. One time I even applied for a job to help eradicate invasive species on the Galapagos… didn’t get it though. A visit to these isles has been on my bucket list my entire life.
Those look like Feathercraft inflatables, your thoughts on that model would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Barry
The Feathercraft inflatable sit-on-tops were a good choice for the Galapagos and for novice kayakers. There were only a few experienced kayakers in the group, so we paddled slowly and the conditions were calm, so the kayaks were never put to the test. In the equatorial heat, we had to partially deflate the kayaks whenever we landed for a long stay ashore. Pulled out of the water, they would heat up and the air in the chambers would expand, possibly to the point of bursting them.
Feathercraft made very good kayaks and were leaders in creating kayaks for paddling places accessible only by air. The company closed in 2016 but the website remains active and parts are available to keep existing kayaks in use.
Nice article, and what a special place! We took our honeymoon there in 1999, rented a room at the Red Mangrove Inn in Puerto Ayora and hired a guide to explore Santa Cruz and took day trips to the neighboring islands. Nowhere else in the world can you get up close to such unique creatures and get to swim with seals and Pingüinos.