位於大西洋邊、充滿英國威爾士風情的馬德林港是阿根廷輕工業基地，不僅專為澳大利亞、蘇里南和其它國家加工鋁製易拉罐，而且民用瓷磚產品行銷全國。捕魚業興旺發達，但頗具諷刺意味的是，阿根廷人更喜歡吃牛肉，因此打撈上來的魚蝦多數轉賣出口到西班牙。對我們來說，吸引我們駐足的卻是世界海洋野生動物自然保護區兩個重要景點──瓦爾德斯半島居北，通博岬坐南，驅車單程相去五個鐘頭。因為瓦爾德斯半島於1999年被列為聯合國教科文組織《世界遺產名錄》自然遺產，我們打算前去探究虛實。 

      Puerto Madryn, a Welsh town in the Atlantic Ocean was dominated by a huge smelter that produced aluminum from bauxite ore shipped in from Australia, Suriname and other countries. The production of ceramic tiles made itself as the biggest supplier in the nation. The fishing fleet moored in the harbor. Ironically, beef was the national dish of Argentina and Argentine preferred beef to fish. A majority of fish were exported to Spain from this port. To us, here it became our jumping-off point for 2 of the most spectacular wildlife natural reserve in the world: Valdes Peninsula in the north and Punta Tombo down to the south. We set foot on UNESCO Heritage Site (1999) in Valdes Peninsula.

      On New Year's Day, I left out the happiness. If only I could have the whole day asleep, my wonders would come true. I threw myself the celebration party at the mid-night countdown to 2013.

      新年伊始元旦這天，我萎靡不振。假如能美美地睡上一整天覺，才會叫我心滿意足。昨個兒除夕，為了倒計時慶祝2013年，我熬夜到很晚。

      I tried to stay awake on the 2-hour drive to Valdes Peninsula from the port of Puerto Madryn about halfway between Cape Horn and Buenos Aires along the Atlantic coast. No road in Argentina inspired solitude and introspection quite like here. Never winding seemed never ending, which made me even more sleepy. I went out cold when I punched myself to keep conscious.

      馬德林港恰好位於大西洋一側合恩角與布宜諾斯艾利斯中間，從碼頭驅車出發到瓦爾德斯半島，單程需要兩個小時。期間我竭力讓自己保持清醒，可世上沒有任何公路像阿根廷這番寂寞內秀，筆直得連個彎兒都不轉，很容易把我拉回夢鄉。我時不時捶擊一下自己，免得老打瞌睡。

      Valdes Peninsula was an acrid, low-lying, goblet-shaped peninsula attached to the Patagonian mainland by a thread of land so narrow that from many points the sea was visible on both sides of Carlos Ameghino Isthmus of only 7 miles/11 km wide. There was nothing but thorn bushes on Patagonian Pampas between the sheltered lagoon of San Jose Gulf and New Gulf. Occasionally, guanacos, rheas, Patagonian lambs, Patagonian horse, Patagonian cows and Patagonian Mara that gazing at us when we trespassed their territory. Lonely prairies were surrounded by brutally cold temperature and unrelenting winds.

      瓦爾德斯半島乾燥低洼，呈高腳杯形與巴塔哥尼亞內陸相連。7英里／11公里寬的卡洛斯•阿梅希諾地峽將海灣圍成上下兩部分瀉湖，北邊叫聖何塞灣 ，南邊稱新灣，周圍巴塔哥尼亞南美大草原荊棘叢生，視野開闊無際，任何高大的樹木都不願意到這裡紮根落戶。間或閃現南美野生羊駝、小美洲鴕、巴塔哥尼亞牛馬羊、巴塔哥尼亞野兔，除此而外，孤寂的牧場只有烈風嚴寒常年相伴。不過，“萬里莽原，千里荒漠，在我們的眼中無不變得溫和”！郭小川《春歌》之一唱出了大伙兒的心聲。

      On the way to the coast, we stopped by North Point to witness an immense colony of sea lions and elephant seals. They were fat, lazy and looked like pigs with flippers. The seals weren't exactly pleasant to watch due to the ordor. Sea lions were tanner and had another name called sea wolves by South Americans. So they stood out against the light grey elephant seals. No matter how different the skin colors were between adult sea lions and elephant seals, their babies, though, kept all in black. Hundreds of seals enjoyed lying on the gravel beach and basking under the warm sunlight. However, they had to be on guard for killer whales that crept out of the shallow waters for food.

      途中，我們經過北灣去觀賞海獅和海象，這些傢伙又胖又懶，伸開鰭蹼，看上去跟豬沒什麼兩樣，而且味道刺激鼻子。海獅皮膚比海象深，當地南美人又稱之為海狼。當兩種動物湊到一起，深棕色對淺灰色涇渭分明。值得一提的是，無論成年海獅與海象膚色有多大不同，其子女幼年一律黑色。成群結隊的海獅海象躺在碎石沙灘上享受太陽，同時聯手扼守海邊前哨，時刻提高警惕，嚴防逆戟鯨從水路突襲圍剿。

      We arrived at Gulf of San Matias where hundreds of the black and white striped Magellanic penguin or Jackass Penguin rookeries scattered. The nature scent didn't smell nice there. The first breath I took made me hacks and coughs. If I were not bothered by the odor, the place would become a friendly habitat. A constant stream of Magellanic Penguins going back and forth between the nests and the sea crossed the areas set aside for us. Some of Magellanic Penguins, I guessed, were breeding their eggs and the others looked extremely choppy with fluffy feathers. They didn't seem to be scared at all and came to us with curiosity. So we took an advantage of some VIP seats up close. As passing burrow by burrow, we only could see water and sand stretched as far as our eyes could see along the horizon.

      我們一來到聖馬提阿斯灣，立刻便淹沒在數以百計黑白相間的麥哲倫即公驢企鵝之中。第一次聞到企鵝散發出來的怪味，臭氣熏天，嗆得我咳嗽不止。如果我能置之度外，其實這裡真是人間天堂。企鵝在海邊和老窩之間往返穿梭，有的好像正在孵蛋，有的體態臃腫。它們膽大包天，一點都不怕人，好奇地走近我們。這回正中我們下懷，我們實打實跟企鵝零距離接觸。我們挨門逐戶查訪企鵝家庭，視線從無邊的沙灘轉向浩瀚的大海，慢慢消失在地平線上。

      When we all settled down at a ranch called Estancia San Lorenzo for lunch, I saw the most fascinating BBQ I had ever seen in my life. There was a whole piece of slick and oily lamb in the fire place, slowly heating and frying it to crisp. We were happily back to board the ship after a feast of lamb steak, Morcilla (blood sausage), Criolla salad, Chimichurri sauce, Provoleta cheese, Salami cheese, olives and Flan (creme caramel dessert) in Argentine flavors.

      大家於聖洛倫索農莊共進午餐。這時，我發現烤爐非常特別，以前從未見過這種燒烤壁爐。一隻油光錚亮的羊片吊掛在烤架上，先由文火處理，後經烘烤加工，直到鬆脆可口。接下來，羊排、血腸、蔬菜沙拉、大蒜香菜醬菜、煙熏普羅臥乾酪、意大利蒜味奶酪、橄欖小菜、蛋奶甜點等阿根廷全席套餐，叫我們食慾倍增，胃口頓開。玩得爽，吃得好，我們不虛此行。

(二O一三年一月一日，陽曆新年)