Prelude (序言)

      There was no place on Earth like Rio de Janeiro as the natives proudly said.

      世界上沒有任何一個地方像里約熱內盧，當地人總是這麼自豪地說。

      Founded in the early 16^th century, Rio was once the capital of Brazil up to 1960. The city remained the nation's cultural and spiritual center with an amalgam of Latin and African heritage.

      建於16世紀初葉，里約在1960年以前一直作為巴西的首都，如今仍是全國文化宗教中心，飽含拉美和非洲兩種文化淵源。

      As Brazil's Cidade Maravilhosa, the "Marvelous City", Rio throbbed with mountains, beaches, colonial cultures, museums, street arts and locals for us to capture the wild beauty and heady sensuality. Our month-long travel and vacation in South America would soon come to an end right here.

      號稱巴西“絕妙之城”的里約毫無保留地將其山川湖泊、海濱沙灘、殖民文化、地域傳統、街景藝術、風土人情展現在我們面前，使我們在欣賞自然風光的同時，充分領悟瘋狂性感的民族情操，我們長達一個月之久的旅遊度假到此即將宣告結束。

      As nice as the morning could be in Rio, my spirits were dampened because an early call interrupted the breakfast that included smoothie, juice, cookies, and corn chips. By the time, we raced down stairs, our private tour guide Madson was waiting patiently for us in the lobby of our hotel.

    早起老天總算賞臉，沒有下雨。不過我的激情很快被傳來的電話聲打斷，撇下好端端的奶昔、果汁、點心、玉米片一桌早餐，撒腿往樓下奔跑，導遊麥迪森準時在酒店大廳等候我們。

      Unlike any other places in South American, we did not take any change to challenge ourselves in exploring this part of the universe on our own. Beyond the safety issue, communication turned into our biggest hurdle. We could not stop wondering how Brazil hosted 2016 Rio Olympic Games successfully if a majority of people did not know how to speak English at all. Unless all folks from the rest of world learned Portuguese, there was no guarantee to compromise a common ground.

      不像南美其它地方，我們從一開始就沒打算自己到里約遊山玩水。排除安全第一不說，語言交流攪得我們信心全無。我們禁不住要問，如果市民不會講英文，里約2016年將如何主辦奧林匹克運動會？除非全世界其他國家的人民積極投入學習葡萄牙語的熱潮之中，否則根本沒有辦法達到共識。

      Madson was a young native who lived in an apartment just off Copacabana beach and spoke fluently in English. He had his own business not only to provide the private city tour services, but also to promote his travel book about Rio. Based upon his reputation and expertise, mom hired him directly online and paid him in US dollars at an hourly rate.

    麥迪森是本地土生土長的年輕人，家住科帕卡巴納海濱，熟諳英語。他獨挑旅遊生意，提供私人導遊業務，並推銷自己寫的有關里約旅遊書籍。根據其專長及以往遊客對他的網上評論，媽媽決定雇用他作為我們私家導遊，按小時付美元給他。

Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro (里約大都會教堂)

      Madson drove us to a large, black, backwards ice cream cone with windows down the side. It turned to be a modem church- Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro which was dedicated to Saint Sebastian. Outside it looked like a weird pyramid, but inside was something fit for Olympics! There were rows of and rows of seats surrounding Jesus in the center. Four rectilinear windows radiated light through the colorful stained glass. On each exit stood a statue in robes and holding flowers.

      麥迪森帶我們首先來到一個大而黑、宛如倒立的冰激凌蛋卷的現代式教堂──里約大都會教堂，周邊設有窗戶。該教堂為紀念聖•塞巴斯蒂安而建。儘管外表看上去像一個奇特的金字塔，但內部能做奧林匹克運動場！一排排座位圍向位於中央的耶穌基督，光線從四個直線式的窗口幅射進來，映照得彩色玻璃五顏六色，每一個出口都有一具雕像，身着長袍，手持鮮花。

  

      Today was St. Sebastian's Day. The church celebrated Rio's patron saint that was killed by the Romans in the 3^rd century. In compliant with mom's request, a squad of policemen quickly lined up with me. Soon, we were lucky enough to run into an Archbishop who showed up such annual events on site. Mom talked to him and a bishop about the holy festivity. In no time she asked for permission and took some snapshots of me with them. The Archbishop asked if mom were a reporter to come all the way from China. Frankly speaking, I did not want to be on the front page of the newspaper.

      今天恰逢聖•塞巴斯蒂安日，正趕上教堂慶祝這位里約守護神。據書上記載，塞巴斯蒂安是在公元3世紀基督教迫害時期被羅馬皇帝殺害的。按照媽媽提議，一隊護衛警察跟我很快排成方陣，個個笑容可掬。最振奮人心的，我們與前來參加活動的樞機大主教不期而會，媽媽來不及多想，一個箭步衝上去與他及身旁的主教攀談聖日奇遇，在贏得同意之後，媽媽眼疾手快，迅速抓拍難忘時刻。樞機大主教問媽媽是否作為記者特意從中國遠道而來？坦率地說，我可不想出現在報紙首頁。

Favela (貧民窟)

      Mom had plotted to visit a well-known slum in Rio for a long time. Particularly, she would like me to realize that as many as two thirds of children in population still struggled in deep distress up to date. That was why we hanged out in Santa Marta Favela.

      媽媽來前就有打算，要帶我到里約一處著名的貧民窟參觀，她想讓我親眼目睹何為世界上尚有三分之二的少年兒童仍然生活在水深火熱之中，這也是我們為什麼現身聖•瑪爾塔貧民窟的原因。

      Santa Marta Favela was situated right above the heart of downtown Rio opposite to the city cemetery and overlooked Leblon where an exotic high class neighborhood faced to Guanabara Bay.

      聖•瑪爾塔貧民窟地處市腹之上，與里約大墓地遙遙相望，鳥瞰瓜納巴拉灣邊的萊布隆高檔住宅樓。

      Here it seemed like a trash dump. I couldn't imagine how people lived there. All houses were built on the steepest slope. So was a miniature soccer field that looked much smaller than a tennis court. More than 8,000 residents occupied on the tiny side of the hill. Therefore, it was heavily polluted with trash and dog poops.

      聖•瑪爾塔貧民窟垃圾成災，我很難想象人們如何在這種環境裡生活。所有的民房都建造在陡峭的山坡上，包括一個比網球場地小出不少的足球場。八千人盤踞巴掌大的地盤，因此人為造成的污染和野狗排泄的屎便充斥大街小巷。

      The government was placing the armed policemen all over this area because Rio was going to host the Olympic Games in 2016. So some people moved away because the police kept watching them on drug dealers day and night. I thought that sometimes the police were too nosy and always ended up in your business. No one would want the police to come in while you were in the middle of a shower. However, the local people felt safer than ever before. Apparently, the police were doing a good job by keeping the crimes down.

    自從里約獲取奧運會申辦權，政府派警察進駐聖•瑪爾塔貧民窟，不少販賣毒品做賊心虛者不得不離開此地，另闢蹊徑。我過去一向認為，警察有時好打聽事，常常干預別人，誰願在洗澡的時候看到警察破門而入呢？不過，當地人並未抱怨警察，看來警察盡職盡責，正因如此，才使得犯罪率明顯下降。

      Michael Jackson took Santa Marta as the main setting for his controversial song of "They Don’t Care about Us". From his statue, we took a tram up and down to experience more about the Favela surroundings. I couldn't think of how children climbed 700 steps for school every day. Were they extremely athletic or was I too lazy?

    邁克爾•傑克遜主唱的一首極有爭議的電影歌曲“他們不在乎我們”便以聖•瑪爾塔貧民窟為背景錄製而成，他的銅像及壁畫成為當地有名的歷史地標。我們從這裡乘坐電車上下穿梭，試圖從不同角度審視貧民窟特殊實體。我甚至無法想象，適齡少兒如何面對700級台階，每天爬上爬下上學談何容易！難道他們具有運動天賦，還是我過於懶惰？

 

 

 

Corcovado (耶穌山)

       Located in downtown Rio, Tijuca National Park engulfed the largest urban forest in the world. Abundant jackfruit trees competed for space with native tree species. But what really made us here was the summit of the Corcovado (Hunchback) which offered stunning views. The mountain stood 2,300 ft/701 m above the sea level and became Rio's highest peak. In order to seize it at the right time in mid-summer, we were asked to come over before 8:00 am in the morning. Or the clouds would cover it completely.

      座落在里約市區的迪居甲國家公園是世界上森林覆蓋面積最大的城市國家公園，公園內過於豐茂的波羅蜜樹給當地生態平衡帶來威脅。最吸引我們的則是海拔2,300英尺／701米高的科爾科瓦多(駝背)山，登高遠望，大有“會當凌絕頂，一覽眾山小”之勢。仲夏觀看科爾科瓦多山有竅門，一定要趕在早上八點之前，不然雲霧從海岸線騰空而起繚繞山巔，很難叫人識別“廬山真面目”。

 

      We took a minivan ride all the way to an elevator that lifted us up to the top. The 360-degree panorama put Rio's beauty at our feet. The iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer dazed us with its 125-ft/38-m tall concrete and soapstone figure. The sculpture was so immense that its head immersed in the clouds. A strong blast of wind blew the clouds away and almost carried me with it.

      我們先搭公園提供的麵包車來到山腳，然後再改乘電梯直達山巔，360度全方位，整個裡約盡收眼底。用石灰和滑石混合製作的耶穌雕像高達125英尺／38米，堪稱里約象徵。因為雕像魁偉，經常深居雲霧之中。山頂風力很大，恨不能把我一起捲走。

Selaron Artistic Staircase (塞拉榮藝術階梯)

     The famous staircase of Escadaria Selaron was made by Chilean-born artist Jorge Selaron. He used to travel internationally to paint pictures for friends and fans. 30 years ago, he settled down in Rio and started to decorate 250 steps with over 2,000 colorful tiles that he collected from all over the world. Selaron not only addicted to portray a pregnant African woman, but loved to depict him with a bulged belly like a cartoon figure.

      著名的藝術階梯由一位名叫喬治•塞拉榮巴西籍智利人之創，年輕時喜好周遊列國，為友人及粉絲作畫；卅年前，終於定居里約，開始為250級台階裝點兩千多塊來自世界各地彩畫瓷磚。塞拉榮不僅熱衷繪製一位懷有身孕的非洲女子，而且還極度渲染自己懷胎英姿，極富動漫色彩。

      In general, tourists would hand him the painted tile or tiles which he placed the tile or tiles in his magnificent staircase. There were a few tiles originated from Philadelphia, USA. Some terra-cotta and Cloisonné Chinese tiles dangled from Wall of China. Probably, mom and I were the only ones who were in capable of reading and understood the inscribed words. There was a block of painting tiles patriotically to support Brazilian soccer team which was going to compete for 2014 FIFA World Soccer Cup and Rio 2016 Olympic Games hosted in this country. Jorge died possibly of suicide only one day before we visited. Mom seemed deeply depressed about his death.

    一般地，遊客把繪有各種圖案的彩色瓷磚交給塞拉榮，由他裝貼到藝術階梯。其中少數作品來自美國費城；一些赤褐色和景泰藍樣的中國瓷磚分門別類地貼在“中國牆”上，大概只有媽媽和我可以讀懂上面的字跡。有一組愛國瓷磚大張旗鼓地宣揚支持巴西足球隊，該隊將要在本土分別爭奪2014世界足聯世界盃足球賽和2016年國際奧林匹克運動會。

Santa Teresa Street Art (聖•黛麗莎街區藝術)

      Street art popularly incorporated a lot of natural elements into the design in Rio. Santa Teresa, in particular, became such favorite spot for artists and tourists. Its winding, narrow, and steep streets flanked with gorgeous colonial mansions resembled the place where mom grew up in her childhood back to China. As I was cruising along in the SUV, she set on foot to stride across block by block and revived her memories of the past. 

      街區藝術因為其設計融入了自然風格而在里約非常流行，聖•黛麗莎街區藝術就是其中典型代表，同時為藝術家和觀光客提供了交流空間。聖•黛麗莎街區道路素以蜿蜒、狹窄、坡陡出名，兩旁的殖民建築讓媽媽觸景生情，使她想起童年時代自己在國內生活的地方。我坐在車裡，媽媽則情願徒步漫步，一條街一個馬路走下來，試圖追憶舊日的足跡。

Confeitaria Colombo Cafe House (科倫坡咖啡廳)

      Much as I wanted to stay on track, I was hungry as a stray dog. We stopped at a grandiose Confeitaria Colombo in French Art Nouveau we had never dined in before. There was so much to choose from the menu. So Madson tried to make our life easy and gave us some of his recommendation. But I was keen on others. Something spicy would whet my appetite. However, everything looked absolutely tempting. My favorite was the chicken turnover. As I took my first bite, I felt warm and yummy inside. The bread tasted really crispy and crunchy. After I devoured my share, we were already on the road.

      儘管我想堅持到底，但實在拗不過嗷嗷待哺的腸胃。為此，我們特意停在一家豪華氣派前所未見的具有法式新藝術建築風格的高級餐館──科倫坡咖啡廳。食譜五花八門，看後令人眼花繚亂。導遊建議我們幾樣經典小吃，而我偏偏喜歡其它花樣，略帶小辣味道的東西尤其讓我垂涎欲滴。不過說句實話，這裡每一種食品都非常誘人。我挑選的雞肉餡餅，剛嚼一下，暖和和香噴噴的味道脫口而出，麵包皮脆脆的嘎嘎的，燒烤得外焦里嫩。我狼吞虎咽，不遺餘力消滅殘渣碎片，這才發現我們已經上路。

Cityscape (城市風光)

      As Tango to Buenos Aires, Samba symbolized the "Feast of Flesh" to Rio. Its saturnalian revel invited us to experience the sights and sounds of such marvelous city.

      一提起探戈舞，人們自然而然地聯想到布宜諾斯艾利斯。一說到桑巴舞，人們下意識地聯想起里約，“絕妙之城”火辣狂熱的情緒無不感染我們每一位來訪者。

      We traveled through downtown Rio and glanced around its mix of dazzling high-rise buildings and colonial architecture. Carioca Aqueduct was a 18th-century colonial structure to bring the fresh water from Carioca River to the city. Nearby, some landmark buildings stood like ruins and torn down piece by piece over the time.

      我們驅車橫亙里約市區，眼前現代摩登廣廈和昔日殖民建築交織並存，本土傳統與泊來文化碰撞融合，變奏出一幕幕特有的里約景觀。卡里奧卡渡槽是一座18世紀殖民結構的引水橋，當年淡水從卡里奧卡河定向流入里約，可供全城人飲用。附近另有一些上了年頭老掉牙的殘垣斷壁，修繕起來費用太大，只好交給歲月順其自然。

      Tiradentes Palace on Rio Branco Avenue came in sight. It used to house the Brazilian Congress before moved to Brasilia in 1960. Now Rio Legislative Assembly occupied this eclectic-style palace.

      白河大道上的革命英雄宮別具一格，曾是巴西國會所在地，直至1960年遷入巴西利亞為止，如今里約議會取而代之。

      The historical Candelaria Church (1822) mingled a Baroque facade with a Neoclassical and Neo-Renaissance interior elements. I took a chance to sit inside and listened to the praises of holy love.

      坎德拉里亞教堂於1822年修建完畢，見證了里約過去將近200年歷史變遷。近觀外貌，巴洛克式建築風格予人一種宏大莊重的感覺；靜坐其中，我讚美的不僅是新古典和新文藝復興元素合二為一的建築思想，更是主耶穌神聖的愛。

      Mom loved to stroll the archway Arco de Teles to the quaint two-story colonial townhouses and picturesque narrow cobblestone street Travessa do Comrcio. Restaurants and drinking spots opened onto the streets directly. It transformed us into a different time in Rio.

      媽媽特別欣賞特萊斯拱門，弄堂由此向內延伸，古雅的兩層樓連棟房舍，狹長的鵝卵石巷，店鋪飯莊一個挨着一個，生活氣息濃厚貼切，讓我們感受到不同的里約。

 

      Monument to the dead of World War II made of concrete similarly to an art work in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.

      遠觀“二戰死難烈士紀念碑”，令我們想起首都巴西利亞同樣用石灰製作的藝術作品。

      National Museum of Fine Art exhibited its permanent collection of over 10,000 artworks including paintings, illustrations and sculptures by the eminent artists from Brazil. It was free of charge as many other museums in Rio. We would love to indulge ourselves into Brazilian cultures if we stayed longer.

      國家美術館展出的繪畫、插圖、雕塑作品超過一萬幅，很多出自巴西著名的藝術大師之手。與里約它博物館一樣，這裡提供免費參觀，如果不是時間有限，我們真想多多接受異域文化的薰陶。

Ipanema & Copacabana White Sand Beaches (依帕內瑪和科帕卡巴納白沙灘)

      Last night, we googled on YouTube and listened to the song "The Girl from Ipanema". As jogging on the most sophisticated beach, it was not difficult for us to catch up with the never-ending rhythm of life lived with passion.

      昨晚我們特意上網查詢紅遍全球的歌曲“來自依帕內瑪的女郎”，今天立刻步其後塵來到里約最標緻、令人愛得死去活來的海濱。的確，只要身臨其境，我們不難感受飽含激情永無止息的浪漫節奏。

      Adjacent to its curved coastline, hectic Copacabana famed for its bewildering art deco promenade and dazzling views of the cityscape. When cool breeze blended in rainy summer, no one like us dared to jump into the frigid Atlantic Ocean and frolicked in the wave. We hopped on and off the vehicle and stopped by sand sculptures. In the meanwhile, we got local hedonistic attitudes to spare.

      隨海岸扭動的線條，我們進駐另一千人迷萬人戀的科帕卡巴納沙灘，行走在充滿藝術情調的海濱大道上，里約風光璀燦奪目。仲夏里，海風陣陣，陰雨綿綿，幾乎無人願在冰涼的大西洋面披波斬浪。我們竄上跳下，主要去沿岸觀賞街頭藝人塑造的沙雕作品，幸福在即，及時行樂，這是里約人恪守的生活理念。

      Right off the beach, the most famous and luxurious Copacabana Palace Hotel prided itself as a culture patrimony. Mom paid a visit to a flea market where an assortment of fresh fruits left our mouths salivating.

      正門面對海灘，作為巴西文化遺產的科帕卡巴納宮享譽全球，堪稱巴西最高檔次的豪華賓館。媽媽跑去後面的農貿市場溜達，琳琅滿目的新鮮水果饞得我們直流口水。

Sugarloaf Mountain (麵包山)

      We were supposed to take a sky lift up to the 1,300 ft/396 m Sugarloaf Mountain. But the clouds sat on it. As always if a cloud left, another would replace immediately. So we decided to skip it this time. I wish I could see the sun in Rio when we might come back for the Olympics in August, 2016. At least, it would be winter in dry season by then.

      麵包山1,300英尺／396米，是里約的重要地標之一。按原計劃，我們本打算乘電纜車權作告別之游。但是天公不作美，濃雲密布，久久不肯離去，我們只好善罷甘休，留待2016年8月奧運之行再說。至少到那時，正值里約冬時乾燥季節，期待雨訊不再興風作浪。

(二O一三年一月十一日)