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Mom and I had a quick lunch and then began to get ready for our afternoon activity. This time we visited another island called Rabida, an uninhabited island of red sand, rocks, and dirt made of lavas rich in iron.

Rabida Island looked as if the top of an old volcanic cone bathed in crimson. The ground was hued brilliant red and sat amid coves and lagoons with clear blue water. All exotic wildlife lived in their spectacular natural habitat.

After a startling rust-red beach came the volcanic mountain with the bright and glowing hot sun beating down on us. The landscapes of Rabida Island were visually stunning and reminded me of the Savanna with the green fringe of straggling opuntias or paddle cacti with yellow flowers. I began to notice something different. The arborescent cacti in Santiago Island grew tall to get away from animals that ate their fruits. In Rabida, the shrubby cacti were short and barely any animals ate the fruit. Most of the cactus fruit was still intact, even though some of them were ripe. It seemed as if the plants were well adapted to the natural selection.

As we walked on a trail inside mangroves, I heard a lot of chirping. When I looked up, there stood a mockingbird. Another bird I recognized was the finches named by Charles Darwin, the author of the Origin of Species. Every island had finches, but all were different in texture, color, or beak. On the salt bushes which lined the shore several couples of pelicans nest even in wet season right now.

We made our way back to the beach for snorkeling. There were more tropical fish on Rabida Island compared to Santiago Island. They swam in schools, gathered in groups, and darted off together like a family, but would disburse immediately when a large fish came. Then I stopped dead. In front of me was a shark! Yes, I meant about a meter-long, white-tipped reef carnivore shark. Now you might be thinking AHHH! Or something was similar to that. This cute guy was just roaming around like any other fish. Once in a while, he would just take a snack. Ok, that would be kind of scary and definitely gross. But it could be a cool experience for me. I quickly swam to the shore and was going to tell Mom about it. As I approached, she squealed with delight like a child and guided me to a spot where some sea lions were breading their babies and others were basking or just playing on the beach. I stood behind, by the side, kneeling, and many more poses as she said. I always did what Mom would want me to do with her pictures. Bit them next? I was going to ask Mom about it. But we had to go back to the ship. So I decided to leave it as a surprise after we embarked on the ship.

Rabida Island was an admiring place to explore the natural beauty.

【红霞译文】

我和妈妈匆匆吃过午餐，立刻加入下午游览活动队列之中，这回我们要去野蛮岛，岛上无人居住，红岩、红沙、红土火山地貌富含铁质，似有“炙翻四海波，天地人烹煮”之势。

野蛮岛实为老火山锥，山上山下浑然一色，表面被太阳烘烤得红里透紫，火辣辣的色调将碧波荡漾的海湾与泻湖衬托得迤逦多姿，这里的珍禽异兽全部生活在这样风景如画的自然环境中。

血红般的海滩和火山组成一条亮丽的风景线，烈日炎炎骄阳似火，好比“火轮杲杲悬中天，下铄大地生青烟”，我们浑身上下有一种烧焦的感觉。野蛮岛景致令人震撼，我禁不住联想起热带大草原遍地生长的绿茎刺毛黄花“玉芙蓉”，娇艳傲世。我开始意识到，替代者岛上的仙人掌树状高大，这样动物才不会轻易吃到果子；而野蛮岛的仙人掌灌状低矮，因为几乎没有什么动物来吃果子，所以大部分的仙人掌果仍然完好无缺，尽管其中一些瓜熟蒂落。物竞天择适者生存，看来植物依赖本能，在自然选择中茁壮成长。

我们继续深入红树林，此刻百鸟争鸣，我循声向上望去，只见仿声鸟正在歌唱，轻而易举地辨认出达尔文雀，它们的名称归功于《物种起源》的作者查尔斯•达尔文。巨龟群岛中，雀科鸣鸟算得上相当普及的飞禽，但是各个岛上的种属不一，由于环境差异，造成达尔文雀的羽毛、颜色、喙形均有不同；成双结对的棕鹈鹕巢居岸边嗜盐灌木丛中，这种现象本来在我们到访的雨汛期间并不常见。

返程之前，我再度来到红沙滩潜水，野蛮岛水下世界要比替代者岛丰富得多，热带鱼群穿梭不止，似乎全家集体出动；如果途中碰到大鱼，那么它们马上让路，自动分散开来。眼前出现一条鲨鱼，我惊呆了，的确没错，它是条一米长的白尖食肉礁鲨，这下你该明白了呵！这个可爱的家伙跟其它鱼儿没啥两样，在水里游来游去，时不时会张口吃些茶点蚕食生灵，说起来挺吓人，而且很恶心，当然帮我增添了新鲜阅历。我很快游回岸边，正打算告知妈妈，等我刚走上前来，她滔滔不绝说个没完，反倒像小孩子掩饰不住内心的激动，原来一只母海狮正在海滩上喂养自己的宝宝，母子两位勾肩搭背亲密无间。这时妈妈抓紧拍照，一会儿指挥我站在海狮之后，一会儿命令我站到侧面，一会儿要求我屈身弯腰，刹那间导演出许多姿势，我尽量配合，因为机会难得，接下来咬它们一口？尚未来得及询问妈妈，回程的时间已到，我只好留待上船以后再说。

野蛮岛的自然之美，令我羡慕不已。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2013: James Bay of Santiago Is, Ecuador(厄瓜多尔排挤者岛替代者湾)

2012: 演讲训练(Speech Practice)

04-01-13_ Rabida Island_Rocky Cove-20001.JPG