Last day in paradise…
On September 15, 1835, a small ship called the HMS Beagle sailed toward a cluster of islands that lie scattered across the equator in the Pacific Ocean, some 600 miles off the west coast of South America. Aboard the Beagle a young scientist named Charles Darwin eagerly awaited a glimpse of land. The first island he saw, however, was a disappointment. “Nothing could get less inviting that the first appearance,” he wrote in his journal. The landscape was a broken field of black lava, rising in rugged peaks that were gouged by deep, gaping crevasses. A few patches of leafless bushes were the only sign of life. This was Darwin’s introduction to the Galapagos Islands. Dismal and lifeless as they seemed at first, these islands were to play a vital role in Darwin’s work. Little did he know that his work would revolutionize humankind’s understanding of life on this planet.
When Darwin sailed off from the Galapagos, he was almost sorry to leave. The strange forms of life found on the islands had fascinated him. Darwin never returned to the Galapagos Islands, but in the years that followed he visited them in thought many times, seeking an explanation for the uniqueness of the plants and animals he had seen here.
Today was our guests’ last day in the Galapagos, and as in the case of Darwin, their heads were full of questions about these isolated and prehistoric-looking islands. Some of them might not come back, but their thoughts will never leave this enchanted archipelago.
On September 15, 1835, a small ship called the HMS Beagle sailed toward a cluster of islands that lie scattered across the equator in the Pacific Ocean, some 600 miles off the west coast of South America. Aboard the Beagle a young scientist named Charles Darwin eagerly awaited a glimpse of land. The first island he saw, however, was a disappointment. “Nothing could get less inviting that the first appearance,” he wrote in his journal. The landscape was a broken field of black lava, rising in rugged peaks that were gouged by deep, gaping crevasses. A few patches of leafless bushes were the only sign of life. This was Darwin’s introduction to the Galapagos Islands. Dismal and lifeless as they seemed at first, these islands were to play a vital role in Darwin’s work. Little did he know that his work would revolutionize humankind’s understanding of life on this planet.
When Darwin sailed off from the Galapagos, he was almost sorry to leave. The strange forms of life found on the islands had fascinated him. Darwin never returned to the Galapagos Islands, but in the years that followed he visited them in thought many times, seeking an explanation for the uniqueness of the plants and animals he had seen here.
Today was our guests’ last day in the Galapagos, and as in the case of Darwin, their heads were full of questions about these isolated and prehistoric-looking islands. Some of them might not come back, but their thoughts will never leave this enchanted archipelago.
