今天星期五是耶稣受难日，我们来到厄瓜多尔首都基多，碰巧与当地民众一起欢度佳节。 

      Today was Holy Friday and we stayed in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador.

       At an elevation of 9,350 feet/2,800 meters above sea level with the latitude of 0^o15"S, Quito was the highest and only capital that situated on Equator in the world.

      基多海拔9,350英尺／2,800米，南纬0度15秒，在世界上不仅算作地势最高的首都，而且还是独居赤道的国府。

      After I put on a new set of clothes, Mom and I went down for breakfast. Our hotel was called Patio Andaluz, which I wasn't surprised to see that we couldn't pronounce it in Spanish. The breakfast mostly provided toast bread with ham, aged cheddar, French Swiss, creamy Havarti, Dutch Gouda, American cereals, plantain chips, local fruits, juices of fresh soursop (guanbana)/little orange (naranjilla)/banana passion fruit (taxo) and authentic coffee. It was quite a simple meal to me.

      早起我穿好衣装，立即和妈妈一起到楼下吃早饭。我们酒店叫安达卢西亚天井，因为不会西班牙语，所以总也叫不地道它的名称。这里早餐主要供应烤面包、火腿、黄油干酪、蜂窝奶酪、哈伯弟乳酪、荷兰豪达硬酪、美式麦片、芭蕉干、应时水果、新鲜刺果荔枝／奎东茄／香蕉西番莲汁以及正宗咖啡，我简单吃些东西应付了事。

      Later, our room's phone rang and signaled us that our private tour guide had arrived. He looked very friendly and introduced himself as Juan Carlos Guerra. Juan Carlos sounded like an extremely popular name from its president to the ordinary people in Ecuador. Before I knew it, we were bumping on the streets up and down hills in the historical center of Quito.

      不一会儿，屋内电话铃声响起，事先预约的私人导游正在酒店大厅等候我们。他看上去非常和善，姓“格拉”，名“胡安•卡洛斯”，这个名字风靡厄瓜多尔全国，上至总统、下至百姓，“胡安•卡洛斯”多如牛毛。毋庸赘述，转眼间我们便出征在上坡下坡高低起伏的古城街道上。

      We drove up a small hill of El Panecillo where an enormous statue of an angel, Virgin of Quito stood on a snake that she killed. In Quito, the snake meant an evil and would tell people to do bad things. Here Mom and I could see the whole city of historic old town and modern districts with a turn of our heads. The proliferation of churches, convents, and monasteries won Quito the nickname "The Cloister of America", which prompted the declaration of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Even more amazing was that we could observe 16 active stratovolcanoes from the summit if the sky was clear enough. Today, only 2 of them showed up, i.e. Pichincha and Cotopaxi in the Andes mountains.

      我们登上面包山，眼前出现巨幅“基多女神”塑像。她面容慈祥，脚踩莽蛇，勇于为民除害。在基多人眼中，蛇代表邪恶，专做坏事。站在山顶放眼远眺，整个首都尽收眼底。厄瓜多尔印第安民族历史悠久，直至16世纪西班牙依靠宗教思想统治当地民众300年，基多经历了若干社会变革，再加上火山爆发、地震灾害等自然磨难，土著部落在彻底摈弃印加帝国影响的基础上，不断吸收兼容西方意识，结果教堂林立，歌特式、摩尔式、巴洛克式等建筑风起云涌，全方位矗立在古城各个角落。时至今日，本土传统与殖民文化交织并重，教堂、修女观、僧院几乎完好无恙，最大程度保持了历史原貌，古城遗风仍然不减当年，基多赢得了“美洲寺院”之盛誉。正因如此，早在1978年间，世界科教文组织将基多历史名城纳入《世界遗产名录》。更激动人心的是，倘若天气晴朗，基多周围安第斯山脉中16座层状活火山定将历历在目，尽管我们来的时候只看到两座著名的皮钦查和科托帕希火山。

      After we took all the panoramic view of the pictures Mom needed, we headed straight for the most fascinating Calle La Ronda. During the late 16^th and early 20^th centuries, La Ronda was home to several musicians, poets, historians and other important figures of Quito's history. This neighborhood inspired poetry and some of the most romantic traditional music. It was a very unique street for us to get a feeling of traditional life in colonial Quito. Within only 2 blocks in cobblestones, there were many small stores, bakeries, antique collection and authentic Ecuadorian restaurants. Once a while, we would run into a variety of cultural activities and play universal games on the street like hop-scotch, hula-hoops or aiming sticks.

      等妈妈拍完所需全景相片之后，我们下山直取古城最浪漫的“圆街”。自16世纪晚期至20世纪初期，基多地区不少志趣相投的音乐家、诗人、史学家以及其他重要人物喜欢聚集圆街抒发情怀激扬文字，因此成就了许多诗歌作品和民族音乐。这条弄堂鹅卵石铺就的马路，总长不过两段街口，但它却以邻家客居特有的方式向游客展示不同风格的本土文化。杂货铺、糕点房、古董店和小吃餐馆一个挨着一个，我们走东家串西家，逛得不亦乐乎。每隔几步路远，我们都会停下脚步玩一玩全球流行的跳房子、转呼拉圈、瞄准套圈等街头游艺项目。

      Mom looked desperate for some reason. When I asked, she said she wanted to see the Catholic Procession that happened only on Good Friday every year. Thousands of Catholics participated in the traditional Easter ceremony before Jesus got reborn. As we arrived at the Carondelet Palace in Independence Square, a large crowd of residents gathered around the streets after we met Juan Carlos's wife, 8-year-old daughter, 10-year-old nephew and 6-year-old niece. It seemed as if we caught up for the huge religious parade. Trumpets were blaring and drums were being hit. Most people dressed in purple or blue with long sleeves and covered their faces with high hoods and some carried crosses while others chanted as they marched from Church and Convent of San Francisco. The hooded penitents were seeking purification. The procession ran through the main streets of Quito in 3-4 hours and ended with the reading of the liturgy in the convent. Church and Convent of San Francisco was the oldest in Quito (1536-1580) and biggest religious architecture complex in America. It was said that the facade had a style similar to that of the Escorial in Spain.

      此刻，妈妈看上去有点焦虑，我问她缘由，得知她想去观看一年一度的天主教信徒为纪念耶稣受难而举行的盛大传统游行活动。我们抓紧时间赶到位于独立广场上的总统府，不但正好与游行队伍会合，而且还巧遇导游的太太、8岁女儿、10岁外甥和6岁外甥女。喇叭吹，鼓声起，有的身着紫色或蓝色长袍，头戴圆筒高帽，脸面遮挡得严严实实，还有的肩扛“耶稣神力无限”十字架，深表虔诚信主之心，尽展悔改罪过之意。他们从圣弗朗西斯科教堂出发，围绕古城一周，历时3～4个钟头，最后再回到圣弗朗西斯科修道院念经唱诗。圣弗朗西斯科教堂及修道院建于1536─1580年，既是基多最古老，同时又是美洲最大的宗教建筑群，据说其正门效仿西班牙圣罗伦佐修道院设计而成。

      Quito's ice cream, Ecuadorian water ice made in a copper paila, and plantain chips looked so tempting in the street. We pushed along with the people on Garcia Moreno Street and flowed through the Cathedral of Quito that characterized its late Gothic in the arches, Moorish in the ceilings and Baroque in the main altar. Soon we found ourselves at the doorway of our hotel toward the Basilica of the National Vow (1892-1988) symbolized the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas. Mom paid cash and thanked Juan Carlos for being such a good tour guide.

      我们与路边贩卖基多冰激凌、厄瓜多尔刨冰、南美芭蕉片的小摊小吃擦肩而过，沿加西亚•莫雷诺街紧随人流进入基多大教堂参观，晚期歌特式拱门、摩尔式房顶、巴洛克式主祭坛横贯建筑主体。由此出门朝全美洲最大的全国誓言大教堂方向走去，不知不觉来到酒店下榻，妈妈付完现金，衷心感谢胡安•卡洛斯周到服务。

      By the time I was ready for lunch, my stomach rumbled like a distant thunder which I didn't realize it could make. I had a local appetizer of Mini Corn Tamalitos stuffed with chicken and vegetables on a bed of leaves served with special Ecuadorian hot sauce "Aji" and an entree of Fritada Quitena made with pork sirloin, potato patty, avocado, toasted kernel corn and fried sweet banana. Pork sirloin cooked as hard as the toasted kernel corn. Mom ordered the Easter special Ecuadorian Lenten chowder Fanesca, a stew made of 12 different kinds of tender grains and beans as well as dry cod fish. The number of grains and beans symbolized the 12 apostles and the 12 tribes of Israel. Cod fish represented Christ and the way his message nourished the Christian community. The soup tasted absolutely delicious, no wonder that Ecuador was a soup country! People put all sorts of soups on their tables every single day.

      午餐时分，我肚子叫得咕咕惨烈，犹如雷声轰鸣，自己从来未意识到肠胃竟会鬼哭狼嚎。我头台点的“玉米粽子”，鸡肉蔬菜馅，通常蘸土著辣酱；主餐上了“炒猪腩”配土豆饼、鳄梨片、烤老玉米粒和油炸芭蕉块，猪腩硬得实在嚼不烂，可以PK拼盘上的老玉米豆。妈妈则根据厄瓜多尔复活节正宗食谱要来“斋汤”凡奶斯卡，由12种不同谷物和鳕鱼干煮成的杂烩。12种谷物代表耶稣12门徒和以色列12支派；鳕鱼代表圣主耶稣以及由他栽培的基督信徒。凡奶斯卡喝起来味道不错，难怪厄瓜多尔是一个翡声国际誉满全球的泱泱“汤”国，本土居民每天都要喝汤。

      As Mom decided to explore the local Mass late afternoon, we set off to see the most beautiful church in Latin America- Church of Society of Jesus on our own. Other than the seats, everything was decorated with gold reflecting light every few second inside. It was a magnificent exhibit of foliage, vines, fruits, birds and caryatids. As we entered the church, we were entranced by the splendor that met our eyes. Since we did not understand anything in Spanish or Latin, we left the church in a French style when the archbishop prayed in the middle of his Mass.

      傍晚临近，妈妈决定参加节日弥撒，我们立刻动身前往拉丁美洲最为富丽堂皇的教堂──耶稣会教堂。除了长凳座位之外，教堂内到处镶金镀金，打造得金碧辉煌。灯光下，金树叶、金藤枝、金鸟禽和金女像柱光芒四射，耀眼夺目。我们一进入主殿大堂，立刻被它的神彩圣明所迷住。可惜我们完全听不懂西班牙语甚至拉丁文，只好中途不辞而别。

      In US, we never experienced the religious spirit with such faithful natives on Good Friday like Ecuadorians before. Now we were blessed to do it once in our life.

      在美国，我们从未亲眼目睹像南美天主信徒如此虔诚庆祝耶稣新生，因此格外庆幸今生通过朝拜盛况了解基多文化背景，真正认识厄瓜多尔人。

(二O一三年三月廿九日,耶稣受难日)