Darwin's wishing tree

Modern science is often disconnected from anything artistic and spiritual. No one puts science with creative arts or religion together. Science has a clinical view of things, searching for hard cold facts, keeping also with rigid frames of data. However, early scientists were much more fluid and accepting of art and religion. They were wild and also full of dreams, ideals and romantic notions of the world. 

Charles Darwin had many adventures in his life, travelling the world and seeing amazing sights. He didn't regard himself as a scientist. He viewed himself as a naturalist and philosopher. He spent a few years at sea on HMS Beagle, enthusiastic and seeking excitement. 

One of the places he visited was Patagonia in South America. This is a cool mountainous region at the bottom tip of the continent. It's where a section of the Andes mountains are that stretches for 7,000 kilometre across, from Venezuela, Chile and Argentina. Patagonia contains volcanoes and pools, submerged mountains with the peaks above water level. It's got sea lions, penguins, whales, horses, guanaco, flamingos, condor, puma, armadillo and also grey foxes. Darwin encountered all of them and more. He also collected artifacts and so on. 

Darwin visited much more places and formed ideas about natural selection. He came across animals he'd never known existed before. He studied rocks, explored the volcanic terrains, ate fruit and ducked from arrows. One of the most mystical observations he made was on a wishing tree in Argentina. It was called a "Walleechu" by the native population. The tree was an alter full of offerings placed around the branches of various gifts from food, water, clothes and even cigars, tied with colourful thread. Around the tree were bones of horses. Darwin noted all of this and being respectful of their tradition.  

For further reading about this, read the book "Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science." by Renee Bergland.  

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