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My first statement after I went outside was: "It's foggy." And that was absolutely true. The fog wasn't the kind you saw every month in your front yard. It looked like a white pillow on top of everything in sight. Even in the old days, superstitious pirates would call the Galapagos Enchanted Islands because the islands would fade away into the mist and disappear for no reason.

Today we planned to visit the largest island of Isabella in the Galapagos Islands with a shape of a seahorse. The vast lava flows of six major shields and numerous minor volcanoes had uplifted and joined over millions of years to form the natural beauty. At a height of 5,600 feet/1,707 meters, Wolf Volcano was the highest peak in the Galapagos.

Off the central west coastline, Elizabeth Bay became an extremely interesting area for observing the marine life of many different species. However, we were only able to take a zodiac ride to view a wide variety of wildlife and a wonderful mangrove ecosystem in this sheltered inlet this morning.

Pretty soon, a nice tropical island came into view. Even though the mist made it fuzzy, we could tell green grass and trees apart. We didn't seem to be heading toward the island leading slightly left. Then I saw another island and I knew the Zodiac was going between them. The mist cleared and a channel was surrounded by mangrove forest came out on both sides. Here mangrove trees grew up to 90 feet/30 meters high and with spectacular tangles of roots. The mangrove ecosystem took an important role in protecting against erosion and offered a safe environment for young marine organisms.

Suddenly, our first look at marine life appeared. Beneath the water's surface was a magnificent coral with hundreds, maybe thousands of majestic tropical fish. If there were abundant fish, surely there would be a lot of birds, as I thought that it sounded perfect for natural selection and survival of the fittest. My predictions were right although most of the time turned out to be wrong. We heard a splash followed by a series of wings flapping sounds which could only indicate that some seabird found itself a delightful snack. Nearby, Sea Turtles bathed luxuriantly. Galapagos Penguins floated face down trying to find fish that looked like the dead man floating on the water. Two islets of the Marielas appeared to be different pieces of gagged rocks with a scruffy crown of Palo Santo trees good for Galapagos Penguins, Blue-footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Brown Pelicans, and Flightless Cormorants. All animals often peacefully nested in the same place.

In the afternoon, we headed north for Darwin Volcano and Darwin Lake in Tagus Cove, northwest of Isabella Island. It used to be one of the places Charles Darwin visited when he was 25 years old in 1835. Under the cliffs marked with maritime graffiti, we could see a few shelters historically provided for wayfarers, Lave Herons, Boobies, Brown Pelicans, Flightless Cormorants, Sally Light-foot Crabs, and other marine animals.

At the foot of Darwin Volcano, a sea lion rushed down the slope. It stopped in front of us and bent back with its head straight up to see what was going on. We began with 150 steps and you might be thinking Pitt! 150 steps? I called that a course for a snail! But these steps were high, slippery, and narrow. So one tiny OOPS and you would find yourself at the bottom of the stairs with bumps and bruises from head to toe. Luckily, it didn't seem to be the case for anyone. But at the moment, we had to deal with another problem, Rain. That really set the mood for the afternoon.

Our first encounter along the trail was with the mockingbird which had a black, sharp, and curved beak with brown and an array of feathers. It seemed impatient and didn't corporate with us when we tried to catch up with it. Later we heard a high-pitched chirping noise. It was a little Yellow Warbler that had a dazzling yellow neck and black stripes on its wings. In front of us, the Yellow Warbler sounded to sing something rude like: "Come any closer and you'll be my breakfast!!!" Another Yellow Warbler flew and perched itself on a branch of Palo Santo forest. In a flash, a mockingbird dashed upon it and started to peck it wildly. The naturalist explained that the mockingbirds were very territorial and wouldn't let anyone else stay close to their nests. But I didn't feel as if it behaved too aggressively.

We then started off a steep hike up the side of a volcanic tuff cone to a wondrous view of Darwin Lake. Above Tagus Cove, Darwin Lake was a mysterious crater lagoon without any holes to let seawater come through. The best hypothesis was given that a massive tsunami took place a long time ago and dumped tremendous water into the crater. Palo Santo trees covered the crater sides where erosion could easily happen. The naturalist tried to brighten us up by telling jokes, but half of them made me grumpier. After a heavy downpour of rain, we climbed to the summit of Darwin Volcano. When I looked down, I felt my jaw drop. My eyes greeted a spectacular panorama of Isabella Island: an enormous Darwin Lake in the back, wild lava field, and calderas up close, plus a light mist that sheltered the higher mountains. We even spotted our own cruise ship anchored a little off the coast.

Finally, when everyone had his or her fill with pictures, we headed back for the ship.

【红霞译文】

“晓雾忽无还忽有，春山如近复如遥。”我出门后第一感觉便是“雾气遮天”，一点没错，外面雾大得非同寻常，与偶尔出现在家门口的那种完全不一样，“白雾鱼龙气，黑云牛马形”，难怪从前连信奉迷信的海盗们都把巨龟群岛称为梦幻之岛，因为大大小小的岛屿常常神不知鬼不觉消失得无影无踪，好像“满城烟霭忽然合，隔水人家恰似无”。

今天我们打算登陆巨龟群岛中最大的岛屿──献身上帝岛，该岛形如海马，由六座盾状大火山和无数个小火山喷发出的熔岩堆积而成，经过数百万年演绎，其自然奇观举世无双。岛上狼火山海拔5,600英尺／1,707米，号称巨龟群岛最高峰。

献身上帝岛西部海岸线中央的上帝宣言湾格外引入注目，这里是观察各种海洋生物的最佳去处。不过今天上午，我们只能乘坐小型机动快艇，水上观看丰富多样的野生动物以及由红树林为主要生物群落所形成特有的海陆边缘生态系统。

不久身边出现一个热带岛屿，虽然雾气朦朦，但岛上的青草绿树仍然依稀可辨。我们从左侧绕过小岛，迎面又碰上另外一个，快艇从中间穿行，随着大雾渐渐离去，水道两旁的红树林逐渐把地平线勾勒出来，红树林枝叶繁茂，树根盘绕，木节交错，有的高达90英尺／30米，整个植被不仅有效地控制海岸侵蚀，而且还为年幼海洋生物提供了安全成长环境。

“瓦沼晨朝水自清，小虫无数不知名，忽然分散无踪影，惟有鱼儿作队行。”瑰丽壮观的海底珊瑚最先闯入我们的视线，金牛鼻鳐带领热带彩鱼随后一波接一波蜂拥而来。我敢打赌，如果水下乐园鱼产丰富，那么水上世界必将鸟声鼎沸！物竞天择，适者生存。事实果真如此，一向缺乏先见之明的我，这回竟料事如神，“荒田寂寂无人声，水边跳鱼翻水响。”只听扑通一声，顷刻之间水花飞溅，说不准哪只海鸟好运当头，正在享用刚刚捕捞的海鲜大餐，不远处海龟忽而潜入水底，忽而露出水面，独享安逸生活。巨龟岛企鹅脸部朝下背顶青天，好像死人一般漂浮水面；它有意将双目浸入水中，密切注视过往鱼群。前方海之星大小岛突出海面，铁梨木树蓬乱地葡匐在参差不齐的礁石表面，巨龟岛企鹅、蓝脚鲣鸟、纳斯卡鲣鸟、棕鹈鹕和弱翅鸬鹚劳作之余，喜欢驻扎这块无人青睐的荒郊野外，充分彰显各“种族”大团结的和睦景象。

当天下午，我们北上直取献身上帝岛西北部塔霍湾，要去高山湖泊追随查尔斯•达尔文足迹，1835年廿五岁的达尔文曾亲临此地现场考察，登山前辈们与熔岩鹭、鲣鸟、棕鹈鹕、弱翅鸬鹚以及莎莉轻脚蟹等海洋动物驻足的驿站礁石上留下不少海事涂鸦。

达尔文火山脚下，一只海狮匆匆从山坡上走来，看见大队人马蜂拥而至，索性停住脚步，昂头挺胸静观动向。我们由此向上攀登150蹬阶梯，你可能不屑一顾，哼哈！150？对蜗牛来说，也许难于上青天；对咱这个大小伙子来说，岂不小菜一碟？可是偏偏这些阶梯既高又滑还窄，只要稍不留神，定叫你连滚带爬摔回起点原处，浑身上下不是青一块就得紫一块，幸好这种事情没发生在我们中间，否则真得吃不了兜着走。实际上，我们真正需要应对的却是下雨天气，“雨”的确影响到我们的情绪。

正当我们徒步行走在火山石径时，仿声鸟拦腰挡着了去路，献身上帝岛上的仿声鸟黑嘴巴尖而弯，羽毛带有棕色花斑，性子急，尤其在给它拍照的瞬间表现得极不耐烦。稍后林间又传来吊嗓子声，原来一只颈部羽毛透亮的黄莺扑闪着黑条纹翅膀，正振振有词地警告我们：“谁敢靠近我，我将把他(她)变成早餐！！！”另一只黄莺闻讯赶来助威，没想到刚落在铁梨木树杈上，气势汹汹的仿声鸟就追了过去，吓得黄莺惊慌逃窜。据导游解释，仿声鸟地域概念极强，绝不容许任何动物接近自己的巢穴，其实我倒觉得仿声鸟出于本能，反应并未过激。

随即我们又开始爬坡，凝灰岩山路指引我们走近风景秀丽的达尔文湖。“水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇”，眼前的湖光山色令人禁不住想起西湖之美，高于塔霍湾的达尔文湖说来非常蹊跷，周边没有任何缺口，里面却盛满了海水，海水是怎么进来的？最合乎常情的科学假设推测，从前这里曾发生过海啸，海水倒灌才成为今天这个样子。火山壁陡峭，铁梨木树防护林屏障了悬崖泥土流失，一路上导游边走边讲笑话，试图焕发我们登山激情，可我觉得其中一半听起来并非搞笑。大雨过后，我们成功登上达尔文火山之巅。“斜影风前合，圆纹水上开”。远望达尔文湖，近观熔岩荒野和凝灰岩锥口，周围群山环抱，四处云雾缭绕，游轮停靠塔霍湾边，眼前这幅“雨添山翠重，舟压浪花分” 的景色令人陶醉。

末了，我们满载充实的记忆凯旋而归。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2011: 埃及亚历山大(Alexandria—Pearl of the Mediterranean, EGY)