Post by
Helaine Becker
For those of us who get all fluttery when we hear the words "Voyage of the Beagle," have I got a post for you!
I recently had the splendid opportunity to travel to the "End of the World" Punte Arenas, Chile and Ushuaia, Argentina. Both feature significantly in the history of Charles Darwin's famed journey of discovery.
Ushuaia bills itself as the sourthernmost city in the world. It is also the departure point for boat trips in the Beagle Channel, which was indeed named for
that Beagle.
Here's what Darwin himself had to say about the Beagle Channel:
"As we proceeded along the Beagle Channel, the scenery assumed a peculiar and very magnificent character[…] The mountains were here about three thousand feet high, and terminated in sharp and jagged points. They rose in one unbroken sweep from the water’s edge, and were covered to the height of fourteen or fifteen hundred feet by the dusky-coloured forest."
The channel is just as stunning today, as well as alive with sea lions, cormorants, albatross and penguins (the subject of a future post).
But the real thrill for Darwin fans was at Punte Arenas, the southernmost city in Chile. It lies on the Magellan Strait, through which Magellan travelled on his 'revolutionary' voyage around the world, and which, yes, the Beagle travelled.
Here's what Darwin had to say in The Voyage of the Beagle:
"June 1st.—We anchored in the fine bay of Port
Famine. It was now the beginning of winter, and I never saw a more cheerless
prospect; the dusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only seen indistinctly
through a drizzling hazy atmosphere. We were, however, lucky in getting two
fine days. On one of these, Mount Sarmiento, a distant mountain 6800 feet high,
presented a very noble spectacle. I was frequently surprised, in the scenery of
Tierra del Fuego, at the little apparent elevation of mountains really lofty. I
suspect it is owing to a cause which would not at first be imagined, namely,
that the whole mass, from the summit to the water's edge, is generally in full
view. "
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Where the Beagle anchored in the Magellan Strait.
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Darwin then went on to describe what he saw in the extremes of Patagonia:
"When the Beagle was here in the month of February, I started
one morning at four o'clock to ascend Mount Tarn, which is 2600 feet high, and
is the most elevated point in this immediate district. We went in a boat to the
foot of the mountain (but unluckily not to the best part), and then began our
ascent. The forest commences at the line of high-water mark, and during the
first two hours I gave over all hopes of reaching the summit. So thick was the
wood, that it was necessary to have constant recourse to the compass; for every
landmark, though in a mountainous country, was completely shut out. In the deep
ravines, the death-like scene of desolation exceeded all description; outside
it was blowing a gale, but in these hollows, not even a breath of wind stirred
the leaves of the tallest trees. So gloomy, cold, and wet was every part, that
not even the fungi, mosses, or ferns could flourish. In the valleys it was
scarcely possible to crawl along, they were so completely barricaded by great
mouldering trunks, which had fallen down in every direction. When passing over
these natural bridges, one's course was often arrested by sinking knee deep
into the rotten wood; at other times, when attempting to lean against a firm
tree, one was startled by finding a mass of decayed matter ready to fall at the
slightest touch.
We at last found ourselves among the stunted trees, and then
soon reached the bare ridge, which conducted us to the summit. Here was a view
characteristic of Tierra del Fuego; irregular chains of hills, mottled with
patches of snow, deep yellowish-green valleys, and arms of the sea intersecting
the land in many directions. The strong wind was piercingly cold, and the
atmosphere rather hazy, so that we did not stay long on the top of the
mountain. Our descent was not quite so laborious as our ascent; for the weight
of the body forced a passage, and all the slips and falls were in the right direction.
I have already mentioned the sombre and dull character of
the evergreen forests, in which two or three species of trees grow, to the
exclusion of all others. Above the forest land, there are many dwarf alpine
plants, which all spring from the mass of peat, and help to compose it: these
plants are very remarkable from their close alliance with the species growing
on the mountains of Europe, though so many thousand miles distant. The central
part of Tierra del Fuego, where the clay-slate formation occurs, is most
favourable to the growth of trees; on the outer coast the poorer granitic soil,
and a situation more exposed to the violent winds, do not allow of their
attaining any great size. Near Port Famine I have seen more large trees than
anywhere else: I measured a Winter's Bark which was four feet six inches in
girth, and several of the beech were as much as thirteen feet. Captain King
also mentions a beech which was seven feet in diameter seventeen feet above the
roots."
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| The Fort at which everyone died, giving the name to "Port Famine" visible in the background. |
The terrain Darwin described is exactly the same today, including the "globular bright-yellow fungus, which grows in vast numbers on the
beech-trees. When young it is elastic and turgid, with a smooth surface; but
when mature, it shrinks, becomes tougher, and has its entire surface deeply
pitted or honey-combed.In Tierra del Fuego the fungus in its tough and
mature state is collected in large quantities by the women and children, and is
eaten uncooked. It has a mucilaginous, slightly sweet taste, with a faint smell
like that of a mushroom. With the exception of a few berries, chiefly of a dwarf
arbutus, the natives eat no vegetable food besides this fungus."
The fungus was very much in evidence during our trip, and just as it was in Darwin's day, is eaten by the locals. I was told that it is called "Indian bread" and when sliced thin, is a grand addition to a salad. The berries, known as Califate, were also ubiquitous. Today they are eaten like blueberries or saskatoon berries, and are used to make an exceptional delicious version of a Pisco Sour. A town in Argentina is even named after them.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the adventure was visiting the reconstructed Beagle that is one of the main features of another
Punte Arenas museum.
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| Detailed life size reconstruction of the HMS Beagle |
You can easily imagine yourself doing exactly what Charles Darwin did for those long, long months, including visiting the toilet!
I really loved the discovery that the HMS Beagle had a figurehead that was an actual carved Beagle. The photos below shows the figurehead, one from the reconstruction, the other from a smaller model.
