Chapter 1, pt2: Tenerife

Mount Teide (known to Darwin as the Peak of Teneriffe) rising above the clouds. Photo by darksidex - flickr. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. 

On the 6th of January we reached Teneriffe, but were prevented landing, by fears of our bringing the cholera: the next morning we saw the sun rise behind the rugged outline of the Grand Canary Island, and suddenly illumine the Peak of Teneriffe, whilst the lower parts were veiled in fleecy clouds. This was the first of many delightful days never to be forgotten.

Chapter 1, pt1: Departure

A modern-day view of Devonport and Plymouth from Google Earth.

After having been twice driven back by heavy south-western gales, Her Majesty's ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., sailed from Devonport on the 27th of December, 1831. The object of the expedition was to complete the survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, commenced under Captain King in 1826 to 1830--to survey the shores of Chile, Peru, and of some islands in the Pacific--and to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round the World.

Introduction

As a student of geology and biology, I've been meaning for a long time to read Charles Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle. It's been recommended to me left and right. In fact, I've started reading it several times. And the problem isn't that I don't find it interesting — the problem is that I can barely go a sentence without wanting to look something up, find a picture, or a map, or figure out what he means by "infusoria."

I wondered if maybe there was a book in existence that presented the text along with images and maps and explanations of the scientific phenomena Darwin notes — but if there is, I haven't found it. So I thought, why not try something along those lines myself, in the form of a blog?

While I have a degree in Geology and Biology, I am by no means an expert on, well, anything, so please use the comments to point out anything I've missed or misunderstood, or just cool stuff you want to add.

Thanks!
Maria