阿拉巴马河道纵横，沼泽遍地，“The best part of the vacation was the swamp tour.”，小拖在他的旅游日记里这样写道。“As I got into the airboat, I was ready and excited to see some alligators. I'd never seen alligators in person, only on tv or in the zoo.”

这就是我们要乘坐的airboat。船老大说这种船底部没有动力，全靠背后的风扇推动，在沼泽里行进时不会有勾挂。

“The operator started the engine and we were off. At first, we were moving extremely slow to the point where I wondered if the entire experience would be this boring.”我们围着芦苇丛的边沿寻找鳄鱼，只找到几个鳄鱼洞。

船老大借此机会给我们讲说了鳄鱼的知识：10几岁有生育能力，生产时会疼得掉眼泪（咦？“鳄鱼的眼泪”的另一个版本？）。母鳄鱼可以长到9尺，公的14尺，平均寿命7、80岁。鳄鱼的牙齿貌似凶猛其实只是个摆设，它们吃东西是囫囵吞枣式，全靠功能强大的胃。鳄鱼（alligator）很胆小，见人就逃，不会主动攻击出击，凶猛的是（crocodile）。

“Then, the boat turned onto open water and we picked up speed. We sped across the marshy area with the wind blowing in our faces. It was like a rollercoaster only in the water. ”

在芦苇荡里穿梭，风声，水声，好像在吟唱着一曲来自远古的歌谣：

蒹葭苍苍，白露为霜

所谓伊人，在水一方

溯洄从之，道阻且长

溯游从之，宛在水中央

“Suddenly, the engine stopped and the guide pointed out a dark long shape on the bank. It was an alligator.  I could see the bumps and ridges on the alligator's back. We had already learned that alligators were shy animals and tended to avoid humans. Sure enough, as the boat drifted closer and closer to the reptile, it quickly darted away and dove underwater. The loud roar of the engine was heard again and we were off. At one point, we almost ran over an alligator that was drifting peacefully in the shallow water. As we neared it, it jumped out of our way with a huge splash and waddled into the nearby reeds.”

来到一片芦苇丛，在船老大的指点下，我们看到小鳄鱼，遍地！他一伸手不费任何力气就抓了一条，是个baby girl。

“怎么看出是公是母呢？”，我好奇地探过头去，很想他能翻过鳄鱼肚皮给我看看，是不是也像螃蟹那样的公母法。

他回答说：“我这么捏着的时候，公的会左右摆头试图咬我，母的只会静静地趴着任我摆布。”

这个，这个，are you sure？

我很认真地抚了抚小鳄鱼的背，大名鼎鼎的以厘米论价的美洲鳄鱼皮哦，硬硬的，有点儿粗糙，爱马仕LV 不过如此嘛。