This spot was one of the most beautiful I had ever seen, and could not fail of bringing to remembrance the most fanciful descriptions of poets, which it eclipsed in beauty; we had a prospect of the plain below us, and of the sea beyond it.  In the shade of trees, whose branches hung over the water, we enjoyed a pleasant gale, which softened the heat of the day; and, amidst the solemn uniform noise of the waterfall, which was but seldom interrupted by the whistling of birds, we sat down....

    We could have been well pleased to have passed the whole day in
    this retirement ... however, feasting our eyes once more with the
    romantic scenery, we returned to the plain.

It was such descriptions as these which stimulated Humboldt.  There is a breath of poetry in his writings; his Views of Nature and Cosmos give ample proof that love of Nature and knowledge of Nature can condition and deepen each other.

It is not surprising that in the flood of scientific ‘Travels’ which followed, especially in imitation of Forster, there were some that laid claim to a wonderful grade of feeling.  For example, the description of a day at the Equator by von Spix and v.  Martius in their Travels in Brazil in 1817 to 1820: 

In these seas the sun rises from the ocean with great splendour, and gilds the clouds accumulated in the horizon, which in grand and various groups seem to present to the eye of the spectator continents with high mountains and valleys, with volcanoes and seas, mythological and other strange creations of fancy.

The lamp of day gradually rises in the transparent blue sky; the damp grey fogs subside; the sea is calm or gently rises and falls, with a surface smooth as a mirror, in a regular motion.  At noon a pale, faintly shining cloud rises, the herald of a sudden tempest, which at once disturbs the tranquillity of the sea.  Thunder and lightning seem as if they would split our planet; but a heavy rain of a salt taste, pouring down in the midst of roaring whirlwinds, puts an end to the raging of the elements, and several semi-circular rainbows, extended over the ocean like gay triumphal arches, announce the peaceful termination of the great natural phenomenon.  As soon as the air and sea have recovered their equilibrium, the sky again shews its transparent azure....  As the sun gradually sinks in the clouded horizon, the sea and sky assume a new dress, which is beyond description sublime and magnificent.  The most brilliant red, yellow, violet, in infinite shades and contrasts, are poured out in profusion over the azure of the firmament, and are reflected in still gayer variety from the surface of the water.  The day departs amid continued lightning on the dusky horizon,