2014-11-03
【Aiden in English】 The only thing worse than a long, boring, dreadful plane ride is a long, boring, dreadful bus ride that Mom and I took to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The Yucatan Peninsula is located in Central America where the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico meet. It is literally one flat plate. I could stare in one direction and see endless bushes and jungles for miles on and on. In fact, the highest point in the Yucatan Peninsula is probably the ramp onto the highway. So Mom and I watched the vegetation and land roll by on a coach bus for three hours straight. It was miserable for 3 hours straight. I was far too busy playing Pokémon to even study the landscape. Whatever we were going to do, it'd better be worthwhile. Mom seemed pretty excited, which was always a bad sign when it came to our tours. That meant the tour would be educational as always, tiring and memorable. Additionally, Mom's way of memorable is much different from the regular good memories. In other words, she'll be taking pictures every moment, which ruined the otherwise perfect tour.
Today's educational trip took Mom and me to Chichen Itza at the edge of the Itza's well, one of the new seven wonders on the UNESCO World Heritage list. These Mayan ruins were taken apart by the Spanish conquerors and were used to build houses. But now, thanks to technology and archeologists, the ruins were restored.
The Mayan culture seemed very complex especially when it remained few scripts and literacy writing. Unlike ancient Chinese, we learned about the Mayans' history mainly derived from interpretations and speculations. However, civilization had much more advanced science back 1,400 years ago. The geometry, astronomy, solar calendar, sound, and cosmovision are reflected in the Kukulkan Pyramid, Great Ball Court, Temple of the Jaguars, Tempe of the Warriors, Thousand Columns Market, Venus Platform, and the Observatory. Interestingly, the Mayans believed in many dimensions, and their "heavens" had 13 dimensions. To enter it, they needed to reach something called an eagle. Then if fate was with you, you may become a Feathered Serpent, the highest level of all kinds.
The Mayans' religion was intervened with science in astronomy. On the equinoxes of spring and fall, the sun shines the Kukulkan Pyramid in a perfect position for 20 minutes at sunset and sundown. During this brief period of time, the sunlight casts shadows on the northwest corner of the pyramid, forming seven triangles of light. These triangles consist of the serpent in 98 feet/30 meters coming from Heaven down to Earth as the sun moves, and this brings goodness to the Mayans.
Not only did the Mayans have knowledge of astronomy, they knew about the mechanism of sound. How did I know that? Because the tour guide showed us a huge wonder that was amazing. By clapping his hands in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid three times, the sound echoed off the pyramid, making a high-pitched noise of ku-kul-kan. This was something I had never heard of, and it was so cool.
As much as the Yucatan Peninsula is flat, there are many sinkholes or cenotes due to the collapse of limestone bedrock. One particular cenote created a gigantic well full of freshwater about 150 feet/46 meters deep in Ik Kil. Fish were darting up and down inside. As soon as the tour took Mom and me there, I was anxious to take a dip. The only thing I didn't expect was going down 93 steps into a circular area like a pool with people swimming. I thought the cenote was like a pool on the surface not underground. Nevertheless, the sight looked spectacular. The pool was a natural well of fresh water, and just as awesome as the pool was the diving platform. There were three platforms in total and each was at a different height. Knowing me, you all figure out what I was going to do. I rushed to the top platform, feeling brave and courageous. All of a sudden, when I reached the platform, the platform looked a lot higher than I thought. My courageous act evaporated as I stepped up. Doubts jammed my brain. Finally, I set my thoughts aside and took a heap of faith. The water flew at me faster than my mind could register, then kapow! I hit the water hard, but in a moment, the memory was over. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith, just like I did.
The Yucatan Peninsula has so much to explore. I am sure that we'll come back soon.
【红霞译文】
乘坐飞机冗长乏味令人心烦，但世上还有比这更糟糕的，那就是我和妈妈从墨西哥坎昆(意指“蛇窝”)前往尤卡坦(意指“我不懂你说啥”)半岛的大巴旅行，尤卡坦半岛位于中美洲加勒比海与墨西哥湾交汇处，地势平坦。放眼远眺，无边无际的灌木丛林绵亘数百里，高速公路转弯处几近原始荒原的制高点，莽莽林海萋萋野草，前后足足陪伴了我们长达三个钟头之久，有点逼人抓狂，一路上我专心致志地玩《神奇宝贝》，根本没有功夫留意身外景致，在这种情况下，手头最好要有点事做，否则会白白浪费宝贵时光。 妈妈看上去情绪高昂，对我来说这可不是什么好兆头，尤其在旅途上更是如此。言外之意，本次旅游将跟往常没什么两样，仍然重在教育，教育性旅游虽记忆深刻，但奔波起来实在辛苦；美中不足的还有，妈妈始终保持其独特方式，绝不轻易放弃任何拍照机会，这样会直接影响到我游玩的心境。 今天的教育之旅将带我们去奇琴伊察(意指“彩虹小姐井口”)，它与埃及的金字塔、中国的长城、约旦的岩石古城、巴西的基督像、秘鲁的老山印加意指、意大利的古罗马竞技场、印度的皇冠胜地齐名，统称世界新七大奇迹，被联合国教科文组织列为《世界遗产名录》。西班牙殖民时期，当地玛雅遗址惨遭破坏，被拆毁修筑其它房屋，感谢现代科技和考古学家的不懈努力，目前废墟已恢复原状。 玛雅文化错综复杂，文字记录极其有限，有别于中国古代遗产，我们对玛雅的了解大多依赖于各种猜测与推断。尽管如此，早在1400年前，彩虹小姐井口玛雅人通过建筑羽蛇神金字塔、大球场、美洲虎庙、斗士庙、千柱市场、金星平台及天文台，就已经在几何、天文、日历、声音以及宇宙观方面充分表现出与众不同的聪明才智，有趣的是玛雅人笃信空间维度，认为天堂由“13”维组成，如若人命升天，必须先变成所谓的雄鹰，然后再视运气而定，运气好的可以荣升至最高级别的羽蛇。 玛雅人的宗教意识渗透着天文学思想，每年夏至和冬至昼夜均等的两天日落时，夕阳斜射筑羽蛇神金字塔，前后持续廿分钟，在如此短暂的光照时间里，建筑物西北角反射出七个三角形，这些三角形上下联成一串形成羽蛇状投影长达98英尺／30米，随着太阳的运行，投影由上而下移动，预示着羽蛇神下凡世间，为玛雅人带来福祉。 玛雅人不仅具有渊博的天文知识，而且掌握声学原理，我怎么知道的呢？导游向我们揭示其奥秘：他站在羽蛇神金字塔前，双手有节奏地连击三下，掌声回荡在金字塔四周，发出“库—库尔—坎”(意指“羽蛇”)清脆回音，我从未听说过这种奇迹，真够神的。 如前所述，尽管尤卡坦半岛地势平坦，但由石灰石构成的地质容易崩陷，因此随处形成很多深坑，当地人惯称“天坑”，风地天坑就是这样一个超级天井，地下河床的泉水流经天坑久积成池，深达150英尺/46米，五彩鱼儿游乐欢畅，当与妈妈随大队人马抵达目的地时，我恨不能一头扎入水中。通往风地天坑的石路由93级石阶组成，我原以为其圆形水池突出地面，那曾想到竟然深藏地下，自身地貌与周围景致可谓浑然天成蔚为壮观。风地天坑池源属于自然泉水，作为休闲场所非常适于游泳和跳水，其内部因高度而异共设有三个跳台，了解我的人都知道下面将要发生的事情。我急匆匆朝跳台最高处走去，一副毫无畏惧的样子，可就在踏上跳台之际内心突然发虚，方才意识到自己从未攀过这么高的跳台；离跳台越来越近，我的勇气逐渐丧失殆尽，脑袋开始发懵。这时，我努力镇定情绪，重新鼓足信心，看准水流走向顺势而下，扑通！我猛然重力击水入池，顷刻间脑袋出现一片空白，记不清眼前闪现的场景，看来有时干事容不得犹豫，就应该像我刚才那样当机立断，有一股天不怕地不怕的大无畏气概。 尤卡坦半岛还有很多地方值得探索，相信不久的将来，我们会再度踏上这片当年玛雅土著人疑惑西班牙征服者的土地。 
Great Plaza (大广场 11-03-2014)
Temple of Kukulcán (羽蛇神庙 11-03-2014) 
The Descent of the Serpent Effect during the Spring Equinox (春分落日之际蛇舞动效应) 
Osario Pyramid (猎狼者金字塔) 
Great Ballcourt (大球场 11-03-2014) 
Castle of Great Ballcourt (大球场·城堡) 
A Feathered Serpent Sculpture @ Great Ballcourt (大球场·羽蛇雕塑)
Sculpture of the Feathered Serpent (羽蛇雕塑) 
Stone Ring Located 9 m/30 ft above the Ground of the Great Ballcourt (位于大球场地面之上9米/30英尺处的石环) 
Stone Ring (石环)
Fresco @ the Great Ballcourt (位于大球场·浮雕) 
Temples of Jaguar & A Castle of the Great Ballcourt (美洲豹神庙与大球场其中一个城堡 11-03-2014) 
Façade @ Temples of Jaguar (美洲豹神庙·正立面) 
Back @ Temple of Jaguars (美洲豹神庙·背面) 
The Upper Temple of the Jaguar overlooks the ball court and has an entrance guarded by two, large columns carved in the familiar feathered serpent motif. (美洲豹上寺俯瞰球场并由两个刻有羽蛇特征的柱子把守入口处) 
Jaguar Throne @ Lower Temple of the Jaguar (美洲豹上寺·美洲豹宝座) 
The Platform of the Eagles & the Jaguars (老鹰和美洲豹平台 11-03-2014) 
The Platform of the Eagles & the Jaguars (老鹰和美洲豹平台) 
The Platform of Venus (金星平台) 
The Platform of Venus (金星平台) 
Skull Platform (头骨平台) 
Skull Platform (头骨平台) 
Sculpture of Skulls @ Skull Platform (头骨平台·头骨雕像) 
Tempe of the Warriors (武士神庙 11-03-2014) 
A Large Stepped Pyramid Fronted & Flanked by Rows of Carved Columns Depicting Warriors (大型阶梯式金字塔正面和侧面带有武士雕刻柱) 
Statue of Chacmool @ Tempe of the Warriors (武士神庙·雨神雕像) 
The Nunnery in the Puuc Architectural Style (女修道院·山岭建筑风格) 
The Observatory Temple (天文台 11-03-2014) 
Doors & Windows Aligned to Astronomical Events @ El Caracol (天文台·门窗与天文事件对齐)
House of Deer (鹿屋)
The Stand of Ceramics (陶瓷地摊) 
Souvenir Stand (纪念品地摊 11-03-2014) 
The Stand of Skulls (头骨地摊) 
Street Performers (街头艺人) 
Mexican Buffet Restaurant (墨西哥自助餐饭店) 
Lunch @ Mexican Buffet Restaurant (墨西哥自助餐饭店·午餐 11-03-2014) 
Mexican Weaving (墨西哥编织 11-03-2014) 
Sombrero (墨西哥帽 11-03-2014) 
Traditional Mexican Courtyard (传统墨西哥庭院 11-03-2014) 
Mexican Jungle Hammock (墨西哥丛林吊床11-03-2014) 
Ik Kil Cenote (风地天坑)
Jump down about 26m/85ft below Ground Level (水位低于地面26米85英尺 11-03-2014) 
Mayan Sacred Place (玛雅人圣地) 
The Beloved Playa Mujeres (女人海滩丽城度假村 11-03-2014) 
Tropical Beach Hut @ the Beloved Playa Mujeres (女人海滩丽城度假村·热带海滩草棚 11-03-2014) 
Lupita Mexican Restaurant @ the Beloved Playa Mujeres (女人海滩丽城度假村·狼河墨西哥餐厅 11-03-2014) 
Iglesia de San Gervasio in Valladolid (水谷城·长矛猎人教堂) 
Lighthouse (灯塔)
Iguana (鬣蜥) 
Ziricote (十二雄蕊破布木) Crosslinks(相关博文):
Mexico(出游墨西哥) 航游加勒比海(Caribbean) 6th Grade(初中一年级) |
