行進在熱帶叢林之中，我們腳下的岩石有節律地發出嘎嘎響聲，“鶴立花邊玉，鶯啼樹杪弦”，仿聲鳥高調歡唱，昆蟲們竊竊私語。今天上午我們首次出遊科隆群島，登陸中央腹地聖地亞哥島西部海岸。 

      The rocks crunched beneath our feet as we walked through tropical forests with singing mockingbirds and buzzing insects. This morning was our first shore excursion to take place on the west bank of Santiago Island in the center of the Galapagos archipelago.

      Puerto Egas was one of the most popular sites in James Bay of Santiago Island, where a salt mining operated until the 1960s. After a wet landing in the icy water on a dark sand of Espumilla Beach at James Bay, we started a hike in a steadily growing heat.

      埃加斯港實為上個世紀六十年代被遺棄的鹽礦，如今可謂聖地亞哥島詹姆斯灣最知名的旅遊勝地之一，艾斯布米亞海濱黑色沙灘宛若詹姆斯灣晶瑩閃亮的珍珠，十分誘人。我們涉水上岸，沿羊腸小道深入內陸，這時氣溫開始逐漸回升。

      The first animal that would dare approach was a Lava Lizard. It ate insects and gained its popularity by crawling in every part of the island. I did think that lava lizards had pretty easy life compared to how many bug bites I already got.

      迎候我們的第一隻動物是熔岩蜥蜴，素以昆蟲為食，走街串巷，無所不至。熔岩蜥蜴生活安逸，從來沒有內憂外患；而我卻不同，現已被蚊蟲折磨得焦頭爛額。

      We soon visited Buccaneer Cove where had been cooled from lava and made a perfect ecosystem for marine animals to live. Life tended to be extremely abundant near the seashore. The morning glories covered volcanic rocks like blankets. A Large Ground-Finches perched on giant prickly pear. Marine Iguanas often shared the same playground with the brilliant Sally Light-foot Crabs. Sea Lions, Galapagos Doves, American Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, and brown pelicans were also present along with the more unusual green turtles, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and Lava Heron. Fortunately, Iguanas had no predators here. But for most baby Sally Light-foot Crabs, they had to be aware of many types of seabirds that enjoyed juvenile crabs for breakfast.

      “百囀千聲隨意移，山花紅紫樹高低”。海盜灣別有洞天，由火山熔岩冷卻後形成的海灘沙丘為海洋生物提供了優質的生態環境，因此招來了眾多海洋生物駐足。牽牛花風華正茂，給黑色礁石表面鋪上了厚厚的毯子；大嘴地雀自由自在，遊刃於布滿荊棘的巨型仙人掌莖葉之間；海洋鬣蜥出沒的地方，必定有莎莉輕腳蟹矯健的身影；海獅、加島哀鴿、黃頂夜鷺、美洲蠣鷸、中杓鷸、褐鵜鶘優哉游哉，刻意堅守固有的地盤；綠海龜、熔岩鷗和熔岩鷺雖然難得露面，不過我們還是有幸目睹其颯爽英姿。值得一提的是，海洋鬣蜥沒有自然天敵，因此能夠隨心所欲，想怎麼生活就過什麼日子；而莎莉輕腳蟹的年幼子女卻要為如何生存煞費苦心，作為各種海鳥蠶食的對象，它們隨時都會面對生與死嚴酷挑戰。如果說弱肉強食符合生存競爭規律，那麼適者生存在很大程度上成全了自然選擇。

      We continued to walk down a trail along the rocky coast led to the extraordinary grottos, home to Galapagos fur seals. At the moment, green turtle came to visit them and both buddies performed a talent show for their underwater acrobatics in perfect synchronization.

      我們沿海岸線繼續前進，小徑的盡端便是有名的石窟，海浪長期衝擊礁石，磨蝕了中央岩層，結果形成很大窟窿，加島毛皮海獅索性把它當成嘻水打鬧的池塘。綠龜常常不請自來，相約毛皮海獅盡展才藝，有節奏地表演水下雜技。

      We talked about vegetation in the interior of the island that had unfortunately been decimated by at least 50,000 feral goats. It was said that goats had inhabited Santiago Island since 1813, when Captain Porter of the USS Essex allowed four of them to escape. Overpopulated goats resulted in unexpected loss of food sources that threatened not only the native vegetation, but the native animals such as the giant tortoise and land iguana as well.

      科隆群島的植被環保是我們關心的話題之一。聽說早在1813年，美國“埃塞克斯”號艦波特船長途經此地曾有意留下四隻山羊，結果其列子列孫超生超育，羊口一躍成為當今科隆群島首當其衝的老大難問題。以聖地亞哥島為例，野山羊泛濫成災，當地仙人掌產量因此急劇下降，不但破壞了大自然食物鏈，而且還直接威脅着賴以生存的巨龜和陸鬣蜥性命。

      I didn't see many fish onshore until I went snorkeling. As soon as I put on my gear, I started to doubt. However, I pushed the bad question away and took a deep breath to dunk under water. The coral appeared bigger than I thought! Hundreds of fish darted around a large rock covered with sea urchins and algae. Some fish swam in circles as if they were on a highway while others fed on seaweed. A Giant Hawkfish looked like a cat. It had blue and brown spots from head to tail with a giant eye. Then a large Bicolor Parrotfish moved beneath a rock. When I went closer, it had joined another fish that looked like the exactly the same. Probably it was its baby. They were small but never afraid of me. Both acted as I was some kind of new species of marine life. I broke to the surface just in time and saw the tour guide waving his hand to come off.

      隨大家信步漫遊岸邊，我並沒有察覺魚翔淺底。可是，一旦等我全副武裝潛入水下，才發現海底世界五彩繽紛。珊瑚比我想象的還要大！海膽喜歡棲息在海藻豐富的礁石周圍，數以百計的魚群競相飛舞，有的熱衷兜圈子，好像行駛在高速公路；有的愛好吃東西，沒完沒了。大飛鷹魚外表像只貓，全身上下間或有藍褐色斑點，一隻賊大的眼睛直掛腦門中央。雙色鸚哥嘴魚在岩石下游動，當我湊上前來，它跑去找跟自己模樣相仿的同伴，也許這是它的寶寶。魚小膽不小，它們在我面前毫不畏懼，保不準兒，我被當成它們的同類。這時我浮出水面，正好看到導遊招手示意返航。

      The black volcanic sand beach looked perfect for snorkeling. I would like to extend my stay and soak up the sun in this paradise.

      黑色熔岩細沙特別適合潛水，我真希望能多呆些時候，好好地在世外桃源里沐浴陽光。

(二O一三年四月一日，愚人節)