Journey to the Center of the Earth
"WHERE YOUR THOUGHTS GO, YOUR STEPS GO"
This Basque proverb could summarize the figure of Alexander Von Humboldt (Berlin, 1769), geographer, astronomer, humanist and explorer. In 1802 he arrived in Quito, Ecuador, after investing his family inheritance in the company that would mark his life.
There he began to organize the expedition and associated himself with high society. ad, moment in which he entered someone crucial in this story: Carlos de Montúfar y Larrea (Quito, 1780), nobleman and military man, considered one of the liberators of Ecuador together with Simón Bolívar.
The conditions that the climber faces sometimes prevent reaching the summit, as happened to Humboldt in Chimborazo.
In the days prior to the beginning of their journeys, they both enjoyed the city of Quito, earning a reputation for "obscene and dissolute" and for visiting places "where impure love rules."
Their friendship was forged in fire turning Montúfar into the right hand of the geographer and the in charge of keeping the diary of the expedition that led them to crown several summits of Ecuador, such as the Pichincha, Cayambe or Chimborazo volcanoes.
ALTITUDE: 3.768 M S 0o 27.1257 ́ W 78o 27.2647 ́
Humboldt was able to travel and climb a large part of the volcanoes that make up the geography of Ecuador, As the Cayambe (5,790 m), the third highest volcano in the country and the highest summit in the Andes north of the equator. He too Pichincha (4,784 m), in Quito, surrounded by legends, and the Chimborazo (6,268 m), the furthest point from the center of the Earth unseating Everest.
The conditions that the climber faces sometimes prevent reaching the summit, as happened to Humboldt in Chimborazo.
During the trip, Humboldt was compiling information on flora, fauna, geography and topography that he summarized in works What Journey to the equinoctial regions of the New Continent and on artistic maps.
The trip lasted two years, until arriving in Philadelphia -where it ends-, and return to Europe accompanied by Montúfar. Already in Paris they lived the coronation of Napoleon and they surrounded themselves with the cream of Parisian society, coinciding with characters like Bolívar.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
In 1805, Montúfar traveled to Spain , taking with him several letters of recommendation from Humboldt. For a time he received financial aid from the German , to whom he wrote a letter calling him "dear friend". Before parting ways in Paris, the explorer gave him some forty-nine current euros for his expenses and then made several money orders from Berlin.
A letter found in the Humboldt archive shows Montúfar's requests for help, but it is unknown if he was able to repay the loans. Later data reveals that Carlos had a copy of the manuscript of the trip, being able to sell it in Paris to cover the hardships he suffered.
Photograph of the original map Voyage vers la cime du Chimborazo, courtesy of the Library of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain.
Montúfar died unmarried in 1816. In 1847 Jules Verne began his studies of Law in Paris, where he obtained a law degree. His father allowed him to stay there and continue writing as long as he devoted himself to his career, but he stopped financing him when he saw that his son did not meet that requirement.
Verne spent all his savings on books, he spent hours in libraries and led a life of extreme poverty. Years later, in 1864 see the light Journey to the Center of the Earth , the expedition of a teacher and his grandson to the bowels of our planet. Did Verne read the manuscript? Chance? You judge.
Original copies of Humboldt's works. Photograph taken courtesy of the Library of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain.
_*This article and the attached gallery were published in the number 118 of the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (June). Subscribe to the print edition (11 printed issues and digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website ) and enjoy free access to the digital version of Condé Nast Traveler for iPad. The June issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available at its digital version to enjoy it on your favorite device. _
Climbing boots of the time used in high mountain ascents.
Some of the volcanoes have large lakes in their craters.
Culcitium nivale, covered with hair, are characteristic of high elevations of the páramo
Feather of Caracara Cheriway, scavenging bird of prey that lurks in the heights
Journey to the Center of the Earth