2013-03-31 Easter 
【Aiden in English】
I yawned loudly as Mom and I entered our Celebrity Xpedition cabin. For the whole morning, we were seated on a LAN Ecuador flight, traveling from Quito, the capital city, to the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, after stopping over in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands are a volcanic archipelago located approximately 500 miles/26 km west of mainland Ecuador and have become a living museum of evolutionary changes between the northern and southern hemispheres, the equator. They consisted of 19 islands and 42 islets in total. Free and fearless animals, different from those discovered elsewhere, made visitors like us wonder about their existence on our planet. In 1835, English naturalist Charles Darwin sailed on the British ship HMS Beagle and visited these islands. The living proof he found in this unique volcanic archipelago inspired his theory of the Origin of Species, which has shaken the biological world ever since. UNESCO declared Galapagos a World Natural Heritage Site in 1978 and subsequently a World Biosphere Reserve in 1985. After a tricky landing on Baltra Island in the Galapagos, we spent another hour undergoing immigration inspection and baggage claim at Baltra Airport (GPS), where the US established an Air Force Base to protect the Panama Canal during World War II. When we were perplexed about where to go, a miracle came: a tour director from Celebrity rescued us at the arrival terminal and took us straight to our ship, which had been floating in the middle of the ocean. In terms of capacity, Celebrity Xpedition was one of the most prominent luxury cruise lines to tour in the Galapagos Islands. All 96 passengers came from North America, Europe, and Oceania. There were fewer than 10 kids from Grades 4th to 8th on board. We would sail together as a big family for the next seven days. Not much time was left on the first day after check-in and the cruise safety training. What we did next was to go birdwatching. So, when the time came, I put on a cap and rubbed on some sunscreen. We were greeted by the brutal heat of the sun and the ocean breeze across the water. Soon enough, I was sweating madly on the deck! Our first bird came into view: a male Great Frigatebird with large wings and a distinctive red pouch around its neck, which it swooped down. Mom started frantically hitting the picture button on her camera. She showed me the pictures and then deleted about half of them, likely because she had taken more than she was comfortable with. When Mom and I were both staring blankly at the camera LCD screen, more and more birds like Blue-footed boobies and Nazca boobies gathered above us. When I looked up, I was startled by their numbers and why they were circling above us. Before long, we saw an island with hundreds, possibly thousands, of birds gliding smoothly over it. The island was called Daphne Major. Daphne Major is the eroded remains of a volcanic cone formed offshore of Santa Cruz Island. It was initially derived from a parasitic cone of a once-active volcano. Its steep sides scared animals away, made for difficult climbing, and were off-limits to tourists. Still, we could see an incredible array of birds along with sea lions while circumnavigating the island. Daphne Minor was another island in the Galapagos Islands near Daphne Major. Although it was smaller than Daphne Major, abundant marine animals lived there. Sea mammals bathed in sunlight, birds looked for food, and Mom had her fill with pictures. Not until sunset did, we hop back to the Darwin Restaurant, where dinner was awaited. 【紅霞譯】
剛進入“名人·遠征”號遊輪船艙，我忍不住打了個帶響聲的大哈欠。今天整個上午，我們一直在空中飛來飛去，從厄瓜多爾“赤道”首都基多“第五”出發，途經全國最大都市瓜亞基爾，終於來到太平洋上的加拉帕戈斯“巨龜”群島。
加拉帕戈斯群島實屬厄瓜多爾“像美麗草原一樣的土地”本土以西500英里／926公里處的火山列島，被視為跨越赤道南北半球生物進化的活體博物館，由19個大小島嶼及42個岩礁組成。與世界上其它地方不同，出沒這裡的動物自由自在無所畏懼，不免讓前來參觀的遊人心生疑問，它們究竟是怎樣來到我們星球上的？1835年，英國博物學家查爾斯·達爾文“自由人·親愛的朋友”乘坐皇家海軍艦隊比格爾“小獵犬”號考察南美時曾經到訪過這裡，從置身火山列島親自觀摩生態變化中獲得靈感，進一步成就了《物種起源》，他的科學思想不僅奠定了進化理論，而且一直影響着整個生物界。加拉帕戈斯群島先後於1978年和1985年被聯合國教科文組織列為世界自然遺產和世界生物圈保護區。
我們乘坐的厄瓜多爾航空飛機重重地降落在加拉帕戈斯群島的巴爾特拉“山谷”島上，大約花了一個鐘頭才完成出關檢查；巴爾特拉島機場不大，是第二次世界大戰期間美軍為保護巴拿馬運河而建。提取到行李後，正當我們琢磨下一步該怎麼辦時奇蹟出現了，“名人·遠征”號客游部主管親臨機場迎候我們這批最後到達的乘客，並直接陪同我們登船出航。就客載量而言，這艘“名人·遠征”號可以說是游弋在加拉帕戈斯群島水域中最大的豪華遊輪之一，96名乘客全部來自北美、歐洲和大洋洲，其中未成年孩子不到十分之一，幾乎都是四至八年級的小學初中學生，今後七天航海生涯里，我們將同舟共濟，像一家人似地朝夕相處。
辦完登船手續並結束出航安全集訓之後，所剩的時間寥寥無幾，不過我們的旅程被安排得緊湊安逸，非常富有情趣，接下來就要出海觀鳥，於是我趕緊帶好遮陽帽，塗上防曬膏，儘管甲板上海風習習，但驕陽似火，眨眼功夫我大汗淋淋。
第一個進入視線的是公軍艦鳥，翅膀很大，脖上帶有紅色喉結。媽媽欣喜若狂，對準它沒完沒了按下快門，並不時在我面前評頭論足，一邊看一邊刪，她拍得實在超載，令人不敢恭維。
正當媽媽讓我欣賞她的拍攝手藝，成群結隊的海鳥從頭頂飛過，藍腳鰹鳥和橙嘴藍臉鰹鳥盤旋於我們身邊載歌載舞，毫不客氣地把大家的注意力吸引了過去。我抬頭相迎，不禁嚇了一跳，大批鰹鳥緊跟遊輪不舍，你追我趕低空翱翔，莫非“行舟逗遠樹，度鳥息危檣”？不一會兒，前方出現兩個漂亮的大島礁，只見數以百計甚至千計的海鳥集結岸邊，與我們面面對視，絲毫沒有驚異之狀。
大達芙妮“月桂樹”島實際上是聖克魯斯“十字”島海面凸起的火山錐，源自島上活火山爆發後留下的殘跡。海島懸崖絕壁，四周貧瘠荒涼，幾乎一毛不拔，自然打消了遊客駐足的決心和勇氣，許多陸地動物情願光顧天涯海角，也不會紮根這種邊陲前哨，結果反倒成全了數以百計甚至千計的海鳥海獅，它們索性把大達芙妮島當成自己休養生息的家園。 加拉帕戈斯群島中大、小達芙妮島近在咫尺，雖然面積不大，但卻同樣吸引了數目驚人的海洋生物。海獅懶散地曬着太陽，海鳥緊張地捕撈食物，媽媽瘋狂地追星捧月，直到日落西山，我們方才興致勃勃前往達爾文餐廳享用晚餐。
 LAN Ecuador from UIO to GPS via GYE
(拉美航空集團厄瓜多爾國家航空·從基多經瓜亞基爾中轉飛往巴爾特拉島 03-31-2013)  Pan-American Highway, the World's Longest "Motorable Road"
(泛美高速公路·世上最長的“機動車道”)  Patchwork-Covered Andes, Terraced for Agriculture or Andenes
(安第斯山脈梯田·安第斯梯田用於農業耕作)  Inter-Montane Basins, Examples of Ancient Farming Techniques
(山間盆地·古代農耕技術的典範)  Páramo Meadows (帕拉莫“高地荒蕪平原”草甸)
 White Squall as Approaching to Guayaquil Gulf
(白色風暴·接近瓜亞基爾灣)  Streching Legs for the Next Segment of Connecting Flight from GYE to GPS
(瓜亞基爾·中轉飛往巴爾特拉島時小做廣播體操 03-31-2013)
 Light House, Quayaquil (瓜亞基爾·燈塔)
 The Point in Downtown Quayaquil, the Nation Largest City
(海角大廈·位於全國最大的城市瓜亞基爾市中心)  Laguna Dorada Urbanization, Guayaquil
(瓜亞基爾·黃金湖住宅開發區)  Center Civic Park, Quayaquil (瓜亞基爾·市民公園)
 Guayaquil the Gateway to the Galapagos Islands
(瓜亞基爾·通往巨龜群島的門戶)  Yuan-Heng Buddhist Temple, the Biggest Buddhist Temple in South America
(元亨寺·南美洲最大的佛教寺廟)
 Heavy Flooding ahead of Our Arrival, Quayaquil
(瓜亞基爾洪暴·早於我們抵達之前) 
Río Guayas, Quayaquil (瓜亞基爾·瓜亞斯“鋼纜”河)  Guayaquil w/ Flooded Grasslands
(瓜亞基爾·草地被洪水淹沒)
 Aeropuerto Seymour @ Baltra w/o Direct International Flights
(巴爾特拉島西摩“深膚色人之地”機場·沒有國際直飛航班)
 Baltra Island, Barren Desert Land
(加拉帕戈斯群島的巴爾特拉島·不毛之地)  Baltra Island Once the Site of a US Military Base During World War II
(巴爾特拉島·曾是二戰期間美國軍事基地的所在地)  Daphne Minor，a Haven for a Diverse Array of Bird & Marine Life
(小達芙妮島·各種鳥類和海洋生物的避難所)  Zodiac Ride from Seymour Airport to Celebrity Xpedition
(乘坐橡皮艇從西摩機場轉運到“名人·遠征”號遊輪 03-31-2013)
 Safety on Board @ Celebrity Xpedition
(“名人·遠征”號遊輪——登船安全訓練 03-31-2013)  Daphne Minor, Composed Mainly of Volcanic Tuff
(小達芙妮島·主要由火山凝灰岩構成 03-31-2013)
 Daphne Major, Served as an Ideal Site for Evolution Research as the Finches w/ Few Predators or Competitors
(大達芙妮島·由於雀類的捕食者或競爭對手很少，因此成為進化研究的理想場所 03-31-2013 03-31-2013)  Mosquera Islet, Resembling a Large Sandbank between North Seymour & Baltra
(莫斯克拉“蒼蠅”島·形似巨大的沙洲，位於北西摩島和巴爾特拉島之間)
Compact Gym @ Celebrity Xpedition (“名人·遠征”號遊輪——袖珍健身房 03-31-2013)  Discovery Lounge @ Celebrity Xpedition
(“名人·遠征”號遊輪——探索休息室 03-31-2013)  Daphne Major for Bird Watch, a Tuff Cone Island, Characterized by Its Volcanic Ash Formation
(大達芙妮島附近觀鳥·凝灰岩錐島，以火山灰形成為特徵 03-31-2013) 
Juvenile Great Frigatebird (大軍艦幼鳥)  Great Frigatebirds w/ a Male above a Female
(大軍艦鳥·雄鳥在雌鳥的上方)  Female Great Frigatebird (雌大軍艦鳥)
 Male Great Frigatebird (雄大軍艦鳥)
 Blue-Footed Boobies in Flight (翱翔的藍腳鰹鳥)
 Blue-Footed Booby, a Symbol of Creativity & Dreaming
(藍腳鰹鳥·象徵創造力和夢想)  Male Great Frigatebird w/ Feathers on Gular Sac & a Purple Sheen on Its Shoulder Plumage
(雄大軍艦鳥·喉囊上帶有羽毛，肩部羽毛散發綠色光芒) 
Male Magnificent Frigate w/ a Purple Sheen on Its Shoulder Plumage (雄壯麗軍艦鳥·肩部羽毛有紫色光澤)
Crosslinks(相關博文): Ecuador(出遊厄瓜多爾)
South America(漂流南美洲) 小學四年級(4th Grade) |
