噗！噗！噗！我手上任天堂立體遊戲機發出陣陣叫聲，“馬里奧”已被少年鮑澤瓦杜魔法擊中五次。媽媽和我一起靜候導遊，10分鐘過得實在無聊。我們計劃從基多出發，驅車兩個鐘頭，縱穿赤道線，深入北部山區，前往奧塔瓦洛著名的星期六農貿市場趕集。 

      Pew! Pew! Pew! It went my 3DSXL as Mario got zapped by Bowser Junior's Wadoo magic for the 5th time. Mom and I were waiting for our tour guide for about 10 minutes now and were getting awfully bored. We were going to cross the equator and heading the northern Sierra for Otavalo in 2-hour drive north of the bustling Quito to see the famous market particularly on Saturday.

      Soon, a SUV parked outside our hotel's glass doors and out came our tour guide. He introduced himself as Andrew. We got along quite easily with him. As we cruised over, he talked about jokes that kept us occupied along the Pan-American Highway. We were greeted with magnificent scenery of volcanoes, sparkling lakes, patchwork-covered Andes Mountains and gorgeous valleys in green foliage, cloud tropical forest, rose plantations and multi-colored wild flowers of every shade and hue that lined the road. We could even look for the giant pig hanged out front, then headed in and took a seat at a booth. There were mouth-watering fruit for sale in hacienda country. Andrew bought us some soursop from an indigenous lady for retreat instead.

      不久，一輛越野車停靠在酒店玻璃門外，導遊終於現身我們眼前。他名叫安德魯，彼此很快就熟悉起來。汽車沿着泛美高速公路行駛，安德魯插科打諢，生怕我們路上犯困。說真的，道路兩旁火山景致宛如仙境，湖泊河流波光粼粼，安第斯山脈錯落其間，峽谷平原華麗秀美。一路上，不光熱帶雲林蔥鬱，玫瑰種植園嬌艷，野花更加五彩繽紛。超級肥豬高掛客棧門前，藉機吸引過往行人。鄉下牧區游動地攤上新鮮水果令人口水欲滴；安德魯有意從印第安大媽那裡買來刺番荔枝叫我們嘗鮮。

Calderon Countryside (卡爾德隆鄉村景象)

      To look into the Farmers' Market in Calderon, we came to visit this satellite town of Quito. It was a street with shop after shop along the colorful sides of the enormous road and everything cost less compared to the capital. I wish I watched what Mom ate for dinner last night. She seemed as if she had too much caffeine and sugar, which probably meant why she behaved as hyper as to explore every inch of every crack of every shop.

      卡爾德隆的農貿市場遠近有名，它屬於基多衛星城，街道兩旁商家店鋪數不勝數，日用百貨物美價廉。我真該留意媽媽昨天晚餐是否甜食吃得太盛，咖啡喝得過多，不然今天她為何情緒如此高亢，什麼犄角旮旯都想涉足看上幾眼。

      We went into a bread store and I thought it was kind of odd to be touring a store for bread. I hardly saw any tour guide inside grocery stores a lot. But the mystery was solved as I walked in. The bread was not for eating but for art displays of turtle, fish, etc. Even if I did take a mouth full, my dentist would be seriously striking rich. The bread felt as hard as a rock! That solved another mystery that why the bread has been baked so many times that I had to have both hands to count.

      我們被帶到一家“麵包房”，十分令人生疑，我極少看到導遊光顧這種地方。但等我進來參觀後才發現，原來這家麵包房專用麵團製作烏龜、魚類、泥娃等工藝產品。如果我膽敢張口吃下這些玩藝，牙醫肯定會大發橫財，因為麵團硬如磐石！它要放到烘箱裡反覆加溫焙燒。

      On the way back to the car, I spotted a herd of goats leashed together and hanged around the street. I pointed it out for Mom and she said that the owner tried to sell goat milk to shoppers directly. You simply came up to squeeze the boobs as much as you wanted. No wonders the owner was shouting in Spanish. He probably was saying: "100% pure fresh goat milk for sale!" Or maybe even: "drink up, people!"

      正要離開此地，我偶然巧遇幾隻山羊被拴在一起，旁若無人四處遊蕩，隨即提醒媽媽。她告訴我這純屬當地小城特色，山羊主人直接帶羊群走街串巷，誰想買奶，誰都可以直接擠奶，想買多少就擠多少。難怪山羊主人不停地用西班牙語大力叫賣，好像在說：“來呀，這裡有新鮮道地的羊奶嘍！”或者高聲吆喝：“大伙兒，快來喝羊奶吧！”

Equator (赤道)

      After continuing on the road, I felt as bored as ever. Finally we arrived at a stone globe marked the middle of the world- the equator. Andrew made us do some simple tests like trying to pull his index finger and his thumb apart. I couldn't do it when we stood away from the equator. But as Andrew asked me to do it right on equator with Mom, her fingers came apart easily. He explained that the forces caused by the North and the South Pole separated, that was why there was less air pressure on the equator. So Mom's fingers were pulled apart by my strength in addition to the forces that pushed them apart when we remained on the equator.

      繼續前行後，我一直覺得路上非常無聊。終於來到一個石標旁，上面意指世界中部──赤道。安德魯要我們先做幾個試驗，比如叫我把他的無名指跟大拇指分開。如果站到赤道線以外任何地方，我根本無力做到。可是等站在赤道線上，我很容易將媽媽的手指分開。他解釋說，由於南北兩極引起的磁力在赤道上相抵，才使手指較易分開。

      Another interesting test was to put a raw egg and balance it on the equator. It worked! We could make an egg stand on end anywhere along the equator. The centripetal force exerted by the rotation was greatest at the equator. This made the egg there resist the force of gravity and making it easier to balance.

      另一個有趣的試驗便是在赤道線上巧立生雞蛋，我竟然不怎麼費力就可以讓“金雞獨立”！地球旋轉所引起的向心力在赤道上表現得最強，由此而使雞蛋平衡有度，極易站穩腳跟。

      Then, Andrew took of his gold necklace and held it above the equator. The chain swayed back and forth as if two people were pulling on both sides. When he moved the necklace to the north atmosphere across the equator, it turned counterclockwise and into the south, it turned clockwise. On the date when day and night were equal to the same length, Andrew continued to mention that there was a minute of no shadow on the equator at the vernal and autumnal equinox.

      隨之安德魯又把自己脖子上的金項鍊摘下，輕輕吊掛手指上，這時項鍊在赤道線上方南北擺動，好像兩個人左右用力。當他把項鍊移至赤道以北的北半球，只見項鍊沿逆時針旋轉；而當他把項鍊移至赤道以南的南半球，只見項鍊沿順時針旋轉。安德魯繼續說道，每年春分或秋分晝夜相等這天，赤道上會出現一分鐘完全沒有影子的景觀。

San Pablo Lake & Imbabura Volcano (聖保羅湖及因巴布拉火山)

      At the foot of the dormant Imbabura Volcano (15,190 feet/4,630 meters), Cayambe was well-known by the home-made cheese and the production of long, thin, yellowish biscuits- buttery biscuits, i.e. Bizcochos made by hand and baked in an oven. We intended to stop by Cayambe town near San Pablo Lake for breakfast. Bizcochos tasted salty, but delicious when I ate them by dipping in a milk product similar to caramel like many Ecuadorians.    

      因巴布拉休眠火山腳下(15,190英尺／4,630米)，座落着凱揚波城，該城素以自制奶酪和手制烘烤的黃色細長餅乾著稱，今天的早飯我們特意趕到這裡來吃。前方面對聖保羅湖，側面倚仗因巴布拉火山，餅乾本身雖然咸滋滋的，但蘸着當地盛產的焦糖奶制產品，味道甭提有多好吃，感覺自己跟厄瓜多爾人貼近了許多。

Otavalo Indigenous Market (奧塔瓦洛土特產市場)

      By the time we arrived at Poncho Plaza in Otavalo, the sun was already over our heads without any angle. The Saturday Market looked like a maze of stands and mainly consisted of food, clothes, weaving materials, and different colored spices. The indigenous people came from nearby villages and towns to sell their products.

      等我們抵達奧塔瓦洛雨披廣場，太陽高掛，毫無偏差地直射在我們頭頂。星期六土特產集市看上去跟迷宮似的，台面一個挨一個，食品、服裝、編織、不同顏色的調味品應有盡有，擺貨攤的土著居民全部來自附近村落，推銷的商品都是自家祖傳的罕世絕活。

      We skirted around the edge for a little to get a picture of how big it was before plunging head first into the crowd of people. It was nothing I had ever seen before! Counters were set up under tents in neat rows. Chefs were cooking up everything from guinea pig to rice. Mom tried to bargain with the stallholders for Panama Hats, hand embroidered shoulder-wraps, indigenous Ecuadorian tapestry wall hangings, thick hand-woven blankets, hand-spun shirts, and chunky hand-knitted sweaters. However, they wouldn't budge.

    我們粗略繞場一周，首先摸清基本方陣，然後才好有的放矢。我從來未曾見識過這般場景！攤販各自為政，貨位依序排開。廚子大顯工技，從豚鼠到米飯，吃的喝的全部擺到桌上。媽媽看中巴拿馬帽、手工刺繡肩套、厄瓜多爾土著掛毯壁飾、手工編織厚毯、手工紡襯衫和手工針織短毛衣，逐一跟攤販討價還價，大有血拼採購瘋狂掃貨之勢，只是他們並非輕易降價。

Cotacachi Village (科塔卡奇村莊)

      We came to Cotacachi Village known for its excellent leatherwork in Ecuador. There were a lot of choices in jackets, skirts, boots, briefcases, bags, riding equipment and wallets. This was the only place that the unemployment rate absolutely vanished for decades because of leather industry. A lot of American retirees were said to move down here and enjoyed paradise at the end of rainbow in the bend of the Andes Mountains.

    科塔卡奇村莊是厄瓜多爾全國有名的皮革製品基地，皮夾克、皮衣、皮靴、皮包、皮鞍、皮夾，無一不足。幾十年來，這裡還是全國唯一失業率為零的地方。聽說許多美國退休人士喜歡到蜿蜒崎嶇的安第斯山脈下安度晚年，來這裡享受天堂的彩虹。

      However, we did not come here for any leather product but our lunch. Mom was extremely excited to order one of the most traditional cuisines ever. I wasn't really expecting it until she said "I'll have guinea pig" to the waiter. As I swallowed my first bite of it, I immediately thought of the bathroom. The guinea pig tasted like rotten fish plus a dab of lemon sauce. Well, different people liked different things!

      當然，我們並非衝着皮革製品而來。相反，我們到此完全為吃午餐。媽媽主意已定，決定點上瓜多爾正宗菜譜──烤豚鼠。不知怎的，我一聽“豚鼠”兩字就倒胃口，嘗試第一口後更強化了這種感覺，豚鼠吃起來跟拌上了酸橙的臭魚爛蝦味道差不多。看來蘿蔔白菜各有所愛！

(二O一三年三月卅日)