危地马拉之旅:欢蹦乱跳的旗鱼和冒烟的火山(1)

From New York, I flew to Miami (3 hours 15 minutes' flight). After nearly 3 hours' layover there, I caught another flight which got me into Guatemala City 2 hours 45 minutes' later -- about the flying time between Beijing and Hong Kong. All in all, a long day, arriving too late to make the drive to Sailfish Bay.
我从纽约飞至迈阿密（航程3小时15分钟），在那里停留了将近3个小时，又换乘其他航班于2小时45分钟后抵达了危地马拉城——飞行时间和北京至香港大抵相当。总之是漫长的一天，因为到得太晚，也赶不及开车前往旗鱼湾了。

The next morning, the lodge's van picked me up from the Westin Hotel for the easy drive. Seeing Guatemala City's traffic for the first time in daylight persuaded me it's a place I probably wouldn't want to drive myself around.
第二天一早，渔舍的面包车到威斯汀酒店来接我，我们轻松上路。第一次在白天看到危地马拉的交通状况，让我觉得自己是不会愿意在这里开车的。

As we reached the edge of Guatemala City and saw extensive fields of sugar cane on the horizon, we passed a very colorful long-distance public bus as it chugged up a hill, with crates and boxes strapped to its roof, and belly full of passengers. On its back was painted "Dios es Amor" in outstanding colors: "God is love."
车开到危地马拉城边，我看到了一望无际的甘蔗田一直延伸到地平线。我们的车驶过一辆正吭哧吭哧地爬坡的长途车，车身的颜色花里胡哨，车顶上捆着大包小裹的行李，车厢里塞满了乘客。车尾用显眼的颜色喷着“Dios es Amor”（神即是爱）。

Guatemala is more than 50% Catholic, and there are a variety of other Christian faiths which are popular as well. In recent years, tourism has grown very quickly, overtaking sugar cane and coffee as the country's top earner. In 2010, 12 international cruise ships called at Quetzal. This year, around 100 are expected. Following many years of civil war and unrest, Guatemala is emerging as a safe and attractive tourist destination.
危地马拉超过半数的人口信奉天主教，多种基督教的信仰也很流行。近年来，当地的旅游业迅猛发展，一跃成为该国的首要收入来源，超过了甘蔗和咖啡。2010年，12艘国际邮轮到访格查尔，今年到访的邮轮预计将达到100余艘。经过多年内战和动荡之后，危地马拉逐渐成为安全和富有吸引力的旅游目的地。

I arrived at the Lodge and was met by their very friendly and helpful manager, Eric, who welcomed me with a fresh fruit juice, showed me to my room, and pointed to the swimming pool, beach, and dining areas. "Breakfast is at 6 a.m., and the fishing boats depart the marina at 7," he advised.
我随后抵达了渔舍，受到经理艾瑞克的友好接待。他非常乐于助人，预备了鲜榨果汁欢迎我，还带我参观了房间，指给我泳池、海滩和餐厅的位置。“早餐6点钟开始供应，钓鱼船的出发时间是7点。”他说。

In the distance, he pointed to three volcanoes, two of which were visibly active, with plumes of white smoke rising into the clear blue sky.
他还远远地给我指了三座火山的方向，其中两座火山明显是活火山，不断冒出缕缕白烟，飘向湛蓝的天空。

I settled by the side of the pool to read and relax. Not long after, Eric's colleague, Jesse, brought me a plate of freshly made guacamole with chips for dipping -- a delicious and healthy afternoon snack, made from local avocados. The food during my stay was outstanding, with an especially wide variety of fresh fruit and seafood.
我在泳池旁安顿下来，开始读书放松。没过一会儿， 艾瑞克的同事杰西就给我送来一盘薯片，还有用当地自产牛油果制成的蘸酱——真是又可口又健康的下午茶点。在渔舍停留期间，饭菜都很美味，新鲜水果和海味的品种也极其丰富。