2013-01-03

【Aiden in English】

        As I came to my senses from waking out of deep sleep, the smell of muffins wafted toward me. With an unappetizing breakfast, I hurried down to meet our group. I headed for Uruguay- the second smallest country in South America and its oldest town- the Historic Quarter of Colonia del Sacramento, declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1995.

       We left the harbor, an oil refinery, a moored fishing fleet, the Navy Museum, and even the Uruguayan capital city Montevideo behind. The lush countryside displayed a vast grass prairie interrupted only by scattered patches of scrubby woodland along the horizon like the Pampas in neighboring Argentina.

        Although the trip took about three hours of scenic drives on the bus, I spent most of my time recovering and missed precious sleep. While half the time I was asleep sweet and sound, the rest of the time was pathetic. Mom enjoyed sipping Yerma mate from a hollow gourd with a bomba (drinking metal straw), which our tour guide brewed for the demo. Like Chinese tea, the tea was made of potent herbs steeped in hot water. In Uruguay, drinking mate with friends from a shared hollow gourd and with a shared metal straw became an extremely social practice among people of all ages. I didn't try it because herbal tea was too strong to drink, and I felt uncomfortable sharing the same straw with others.

        Colonia del Sacramento was located just opposite the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, the largest city in South America. Skyscrapers appeared vague across the murky waters of the Rio de la Plata, or River of Silver, the world's widest river, with a maximum width of about 140 miles/220 kilometers from the east to the west.

        We returned to the late 16th century when Colonia del Sacramento became the only Portuguese settlement along with the Rio de la Plata. 

        La Plaza de Toros (Bullring) was built in Moorish style in 1910 and could accommodate 10,000 spectators. Now, it is fit for a haunted house and left to rot in pieces due to the government's prohibition of the sport. The bull ring was not only magnificent but also creepy. I wished that I could take a glimpse at the inside.

        We processed on foot for a while and walked around the small town built on cobblestones. Once crossing a drawbridge and entering the Porton de Campo (Town Gate) via San Miguel Bastion to the old walled part of the city that dated back to 1745, we were suddenly walking along winding streets lined with vibrantly colored colonial houses reminiscent of old Lisbon, the Portuguese capital city. It stood out against the modern world. In Calle de San Pedro (Street of San Peter), we faced a big stone house with a city map in Portuguese blue-white ceramic tiles and were welcomed by Rio de la Plata. The river looked like a sea and behaved like an estuary where freshwater and seawater mingled.

        We continued to follow the old town's border and stroll the famous Calle de Los Suspiros (Street of Sighs), named for beauty so profound that it evoked a "sigh" when viewed for the first time. It was striking that the Portuguese built their cobblestoned passageways so the rainwater would drain along the middle instead of next to the sidewalks. Casa de Nacarello, an 18th-century Portuguese house, glorified its simplicity and loveliness.

        Once or twice, we would stop, and the tour guide would explain a little about the place's culture. Most of the history was related to the Spanish and Portuguese wars. The battles continued for several decades, and both focused on the struggles at the Rio de la Plata bank. Eventually, the Portuguese overcame the immigrating Spanish and signed a treaty to control the town. I wondered why the two large European nations would want natural resources from a tiny village like Colonia del Sacramento in South America. Near Uruguay's oldest church, Iglesia Matriz (Basilica of the Sacred Sacrament), dating from 1695, we were dining in a nice restaurant that served Uruguayan cuisine: veggie salad, Asado (barbecue) chicken, and fish with a stash of ice cream.

        Before I left the Historic Quarter for good, Mom and I bought tickets to El Faro, or Lighthouse (1857), and the ruins of Convent of San Francisco (1683) located in the Plaza Mayor (Main Square). The view was spectacular from the Portuguese irregular and terrain-fitting street layout, Spanish orthogonal and wide area, and colonial decorations in variety at the top. When I saw people running down the ground, I thought they were rainbow-colored ants with two legs. The descent down was almost taking forever. A girl no more than five years old hopped down the steps one by one carefully in front of me. When a beam of sunlight squeezed in, I thought I made it. But my intentions were wrong, and it was only a window. Just as I gave up hope, I reached the bottom and raced to catch the group on the bus, which took us back to the cruise ship.

【红霞译】

        清晨自然醒来，松饼飘香，简单吃过早点，我便匆匆上路。今天要去乌拉圭──南美洲第二小国及其最古老的萨克拉门托“圣礼”殖民古城。早在1995年，联合国教科文组织就将此地列为《世界遗产名录》。

        我们离开码头，很快将炼油厂、停泊的渔船、海军博物馆、甚至首都蒙特维多“眼见大山”甩在身后。迎面而来的草原牧场广袤无际，茂密的树林灌木丛间或把守地平线尽端，好像我们重新置身邻国阿根廷平原。

        沿途共有三个钟头车程，虽说风景如画，但我闭目养神，一半的功夫用来补觉解乏，不困的时间打发得无聊。妈妈不管三七二十一，对品尝马黛茶心血来潮。导游先将马黛茶碎末放入葫芦罐里，然后倒进热水浸泡，流程近似中国人沏茶。在乌拉圭不分大人小孩，与朋友共饮马黛茶是社交场合中不可缺少的环节。我没有兴趣试喝，不仅由于茶浓草药味道重，味觉受不了；而且由于大家为拉关系套近乎表忠心必须合用同一个金属吸管，感觉受不了。

        话说我们将要登门走访的圣礼殖民镇，地理上恰好位于阿根廷首都对面，中间以世界上最宽的银河为界，东西跨度140英里／220公里。从圣礼殖民镇古城向南美最繁华的阿根廷大都会望去，依稀可见高楼广厦。

        一走进圣礼殖民镇，展现在我们眼前的是16世纪唯一建立在银河畔边葡萄牙殖民地的历史画面。

        斗牛场实为一处1910年间完成的露天圆拱马蹄型摩尔式建筑，最多可容纳一万人。由于政府严禁斗牛体育运动而造成常年失修，现在它形如鬼楼阴宅，破烂得不堪入目。实际上，这个建筑本身非常雄伟，同时令人毛骨悚然。不过，我真希望自己能进去看上一眼。

        在圣礼殖民镇古城区，我们全部要靠双脚徒步行走鹅卵石铺就的马路。经吊桥穿过老城门，进入天使城堡，时空一下子把我们带回1745年。石阶石道曲径通幽，殖民式小屋色彩绚丽，使人恍若现身葡萄牙首都里斯本。我们站在磐石大街，一边正对石房老屋，其上悬挂一幅用葡萄牙蓝、白瓷砖拼成的城市地图；另一边则面朝银河，宽大无比的河流看上去跟海没什么两样，入海口处海水与河水交汇。

        我们继续游逛，漫步走在著名的“叹息街”上，第一次倘佯葡萄牙人精心打造的鹅卵石街区，心中禁不住发出赞美之声。有趣的是，道路两旁地势偏高，并呈坡度向中央倾斜。这样每当下雨的时候，雨水便会自动集中在马路中央，不会朝两旁流去而影响人行过道。叹息街角一间18世纪葡萄牙式民居以其质朴典雅的特点，极大地丰富这条马路的历史底蕴。

        我们一边走一边看景致，一边停一边听解说。每每讲到历史，总免不了跟战争挂上钩，几十年来，西班牙与葡萄牙之间打来打去，无非为了争夺地盘。最后葡萄牙制服西班牙，圣礼城沦为葡萄牙殖民属地。我真不明白，为什么两个欧洲大国为掠夺当地自然资源而不惜在南美这个水路交通要塞大动干戈？距离1695年修建的乌拉圭全国最古老的圣礼大教堂不远，我们在一家口碑不错的餐馆就餐，蔬菜沙拉、鸡肉鱼片地炉烧烤、冰激凌，使我们在瞻仰异国他乡历史的同时，不失时机地享受到本土饮食文化。

        离开古城区之前，妈妈和我买了门票，从位于城中心的圣礼修道院(1683年)遗址爬到航标灯塔(1857年)顶层。放眼全城，葡萄牙式狭窄起伏的马路、西班牙式规整宽敞的街区、殖民式“光闪闪贝阙珠宫，齐臻臻碧瓦朱甍，宽绰绰罗帏绣成栊，郁巍巍画梁雕栋”，桃源美景；俯瞰脚下，路上行人个个像身着五颜六色、体架两条腿的蚂蚁一样来回蠕动，生气盎然。我循台阶下塔时并非顺畅，前面有一位不到五岁的小女孩慢慢腾腾挡住去路。起先见到一丝光明，我以为胜利在望，结果满不是那么回事，原来不过是一扇窗户。我心灰意冷，最终好不容易着了地。这时，我乐不颠颠一路小跑，飞速踏上归程之路。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2011: 算命先生(Fortune Teller)

2009: 祝愿孩子(Wish)

Montevideo Oil Refinery (山城炼油厂)

Scrubby Pastureland (灌木丛牧区)

Plaza de Toros Real de San Carlos (自由人皇家广场)

Porton de Campo @ Colonia del Sacramento (圣礼·城门)

San Miguel Bastion (天使堡垒 01-03-2013)

Basilica of the Holy Sacrament (圣礼大教堂 01-03-2013)

Bell Towers @ Basilica of the Holy Sacrament 

(圣礼大教堂·钟楼)

The Nave @ Basilica of the Holy Sacrament

(圣礼大教堂·主殿 01-03-2013)

Map of the Old Town in Ceramic Tiles (老城瓷砖地图)

Remains of Portuguese Azulejo (葡萄牙精美石头画遗迹)

Souvenir Shop (礼品店)

Wrought-Iron Lamp (锻铁灯)

Street of Sighs (叹息街 01-03-2013)

Casa de Nacarello, A Tiny Portuguese House

(小型葡萄牙式建筑 01-03-2013)

Old Stone House on Calle San Pedro

 (磐石街·老石屋 01-03-2013)

Lighthouse & Convent Ruins (灯塔与修道院遗址)

The Old Town Restaurant (老城餐厅)

Monumento al Almirante Brown (坚毅海军上将纪念碑)

Municipal Museum (市政博物馆)

The Old Bridge Caballada (士兵老桥)

Buquebus Ferry on Río de la Plata (白银河上巴士渡船)

Río de la Plata (白银河)

Fishing on Río de la Plata (白银河钓鱼)

Argentina in Distance across Río de la Plata 

(白银河对岸阿根廷)

Montevideo Telecomunication Tower in Montevideo

(首都电信大楼)

Escollera Sarandíof Montevideo (首都·萨兰迪防波堤)

Ciudad Vieja of Montevideo (首都老城区)

Parish Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Montevideo 

(首都·方济各教区教堂)

Palacio Salvo & Artigas Mausoleum in Montevideo

(首都·奇袭宫与阿蒂加斯陵墓)

Palacio Salvo in Montevideo (首都·奇袭宫)

Montevideo Nave Port (首都·军港)

Fishing Fleet in Montevideo (首都·渔船)

Sunset in Montevideo (首都·日落)

Crosslinks(相关博文):

South America(漂流南美洲)

小学四年级(4th Grade)