The Mediterranean is a very blue and beautiful sea. Many orange trees and green plants grow on its shores. The air is clean and fresh. But there are also fires under the earth here. It is a place where the gods of the sea and the earth once fought.
The Nautilus moved very fast through this sea. Captain Nemo did not come to the saloon. He did not talk to Professor Aronnax. This sea was too small for Captain Nemo. He liked the big, open ocean. He wanted to leave the coast of Africa and Europe.
The boat traveled at twenty-five miles an hour. Ned Land was very angry about this speed. He could not escape because the boat was moving too fast. To jump from the Nautilus now was like jumping from a fast train. It was too dangerous.
The Nautilus only came to the surface at night. It needed to take in fresh air. During the day, it stayed deep under the water. Professor Aronnax could not see many things through the window. The boat moved like a flash of lightning.
One day, we passed between the island of Sicily and the coast of Africa. In this place, the water was not very deep. There was a large reef (a long line of rocks or sand just under the water). The Nautilus had to move very carefully over it.
Professor Aronnax showed the map to Conseil. He said that a long time ago, Africa and Europe were joined together. Conseil asked if the land would join again one day. Professor Aronnax said no because the earth is changing.
"The earth is becoming colder every century," Professor Aronnax said. "One day, it will be cold and dead like the moon. No people will live here."
"How many years will that take?" Conseil asked.
"Hundreds of thousands of years," Professor Aronnax replied.
"Then we have time to finish our journey," Conseil said.
On February 18, we reached the Straits (a narrow area of water that connects two seas) of Gibraltar. There are two currents in this place. One current brings water from the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean Sea. But there is another current deep under the water.
This deep water is a counter-current (a flow of water that moves in the opposite direction). It moves water out of the Mediterranean Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean. Captain Nemo used this deep current to move the boat.
The Nautilus moved through the narrow passage very quickly. For a short moment, Professor Aronnax saw some old ruins under the water. Then the boat entered the Atlantic Ocean. We were finally back in the great, open sea.