Alexander von Humboldt and his assistant Bonpland set out from Paris. They traveled around the Mediterranean coast to Madrid, Spain, carrying fine instruments made in Germany, including a mercury barometer.
They overcame many difficulties along the way and persisted in taking measurements. By the time they reached Madrid, they had finally produced a precise topographical map of Spain's interior highlands. Thanks to this achievement, they received the King of Spain's permission to travel through Spanish America "at their own expense."
After more than a month at sea, they finally arrived in Venezuela. After crossing towering mountains and tropical rainforests, they returned to their starting point in Venezuela, then sailed to Cuba and from Cuba to Colombia.
Since the Panama Canal had not yet opened, they sailed upstream along the Magdalena River, reaching the side of South America near the Pacific Ocean.
They traveled south along the Andes Mountains, passing Peru's desolate coast before reaching Lima, the southernmost point of their journey. After conducting a brief investigation there, he headed north across the Pacific Ocean into Mexico, where he carried out extensive research and surveys. Then he crossed the Gulf of Mexico, arrived in Philadelphia, America, returned to Europe, and entered France through the port of Bordeaux.
He looked forty, but was actually only in his early thirties. Perhaps it was because he had just finished a long journey; Bonaparte had also been tanned black when he first returned from Egypt.
Talking with him was indeed pleasant. Although Georgiana might not be able to introduce him to Napoleon, she could at least give him a more spacious residence for his more than thirty crates of specimens and materials. Her preliminary choice was the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.
At three in the afternoon, Laplace reminded her that it was time to