自然世界：玛雅地下世界之谜（2005）

Hidden in this jungle 3000 years of human history
这片丛林隐藏着在人类三千年史上
one of the world's greatest ancient civilisations.
堪称世界上最伟大的古文明之一
Here, on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula,
在墨西哥的尤卡坦半岛上
the Maya built cities, temples and palaces
玛雅人建立了城市 庙宇和宫殿
and yet we still don't know how they thrived.
而其繁荣的景象我们至今不得而知
The forest has grown back
丛林回复繁茂
and nature has taken over again,
这里重现自然景象
leaving many riddles unsolved.
留下了许多未解之谜
Like the riddle of the missing river.
比如 消失的河流之谜
Almost every other ancient civilisation was founded beside a great river,
其他古代文明大都源于大河两岸
but there are none here, not even any streams.
而这里却没有河流 甚至连小溪也看不到
Where is the Nile,
尼罗河在哪里
the Ganges or the Euphrates of the Maya?
玛雅人的恒河或是幼发拉底河在哪里
What they did have
玛雅人曾拥有
were thousands of these pretty little pools
成千上万分散落丛林里的小池塘
scattered through the jungle, called Cenotes.
我们称之为天然井
They are the Yucatan's only source of fresh water.
天然井尤卡坦半岛唯一的淡水源
Could they, by themselves, have supported an entire civilisation?
整个文明史仅有天然井就够了吗
The Maya believe that Cenotes were entrances
玛雅人认为天然井通向另一个世界
to another world, an underworld.
那是地下世界的入口
At face-value they seem to
表现上看
be little more than beautiful jungle waterholes,
不过是丛林中赏心悦目的池塘
so was the underworld just a myth?
难道地下世界只是个传说吗
People today can do something
如今的人们可以在水下保持呼吸
the Maya could only have dreamt about breathe under water.
这是玛雅人难以实现的奢望
These modern explorers have made some remarkable discoveries,
现代探险家们有了许多非凡的发现
not only about the Maya,
不仅有玛雅文明
but about the forest and its animals, too.
还有这片丛林和这里的动物
What they have found in the underworld,
地下世界中的发现
has changed our understanding of the Yucatan forever.
彻底改变了我们对尤卡坦半岛的认识
The Yucatan,
尤卡坦半岛
a peninsula the size of England,
与英格兰岛大小一致
separating the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea.
位于墨西哥湾和加勒比海之间
American-born Sam Meecham is a cave diver.
萨姆·米晨是美国的洞穴潜水员
He has been exploring the waters
他对尤卡坦半岛
under the Yucatan for more than a decade,
地下水域的勘探工作进行了十几年
but he has still only seen a fraction of what is down there.
但这些工作成果仍仅是冰山一角
His mission is to explore as many Cenotes as he can,
他的任务是尽量多勘测出一些天然井
working with scientists to try to make sense of it all.
并与科学家一起摸清天然井的情况
The puzzle of the Yucatan peninsula is extremely complex.
尤卡坦半岛之谜极其复杂
I arrived here in 1994 with
1994年我来到这里
the intention of only being here for six months,
计划只逗留六个月
and 10 years later, I find myself still here,
过了十年 我发现自己还在这里
so interested and curious in what I have discovered.
对自己的发现万分好奇
But Sam wasn't the first foreign explorer
萨姆并不是第一位因对探险的热爱
to be drawn to Mexico's jungles by a passion for adventure.
而被墨西哥丛林吸引至此的外籍探险家
Back in 1839,
早在1839年
John Lloyd Stevens,
约翰·罗伊德·史蒂文斯
an American diplomat and travel writer,
美国外交家兼旅行作家
set off into the Yucatan, inspired by rumours of a lost civilisation.
就为失落文明的传闻来到尤卡坦半岛
For a while, he found nothing,
一开始 尽管这里不乏线索
even though clues lay all around him.
他却是一无所获
Finally,
最后
he stumbled upon the ruins of a great city,
他偶然发现了大都市遗址
smothered by the jungle.
深藏在丛林之中
The wild tales that Stevens told
史蒂文斯的原始地之旅
made his name as a famous Victorian explorer,
使其成为家喻户晓的维多利亚时代探险家
a hero of his time,
他就是当时的英雄
and to some, the original Indiana Jones.
印第安纳·琼斯基本也是以他为原型
Stevens' fantastic revelations
史蒂文斯的惊人发现
have inspired a whole new generation of explorers.
激励了整整新一代的探险家
For me, one of great motivating factors in what we do here
激励我做这些事的动力之一就是
is that I am able to explore, in the 21st century,
我在二十一世纪还可以去探索
something I thought would never have been possible in my lifetime.
自己原以为有生之年不可能走到的地方
Just getting to the Cenotes is an adventure in itself.
寻找天然井本身就是一种冒险
Like the Maya ruins, they are scattered
如同玛雅遗迹一样 天然井散布在
over thousands of square kilometres of trackless forest.
人迹罕至的丛林中 面♥积♥达上万平方公里
But Sam is not alone.
但萨姆还有同伴
British-born Steve Bogart shares Sam's passion for exploration.
英籍的斯蒂夫·博加特同样热爱探险
They have been Cenote hunting together for years.
多年来 他们都一起寻找天然井
With local help, they mount expeditions
他们在当地人的帮助下
deep into the Yucatan's interior.
深入尤卡坦半岛腹地考察
It can take days to find a new Cenote.
寻找一个天然井要耗时多日
As we travel through the jungle looking for Cenotes,
我们穿过丛林寻找天然井的时候
of course there is always the usual assembly of spiny trees and cactuses.
到处都是有刺乔木和仙人掌丛
We have crocodiles, we have snakes, scorpions, tarantulas
那里有鳄鱼 蛇 蝎子 狼蛛
you name it, it's all there.
想到什么有什么
But really, if you know what to look for
但只要知道自己要找什么
and know where to go and when not go,
去哪里找 什么时候不方便
you can avoid a lot of these problems.
就能避免这些麻烦
Finally, a new, unexplored Cenote.
他们终于找到未经勘察的天然井
Never mind the jungle treks,
艰苦的丛林跋涉算不了什么
the real danger for Sam and Steve
对萨姆和斯蒂夫而言
begins at the bottom of these enchanting little pools
真正的危险在充满诱惑的池底
considered sacred by the Maya.
玛雅人认为那里是圣地
It's very easy to see how the ancient Maya
古玛雅人把天然井视为圣地
would have perceived the Cenotes as very sacred spaces.
这很容易理解
They are absolutely beautiful jewels out in the middle of this jungle.
那绝对是丛林中的美丽珍宝
And to walk up to the edge of a Cenote and to look down
在天然井旁向下看
into the crystal clear water and
河水在阳光下清澈透明
see the fish swimming below in the natural daylight,
水里游动的鱼清晰可见
casting these incredible shafts of light through the water,
水面上反射的阳光
is very inspiring.
十分耀眼
As the sole sources of water in this jungle,
作为丛林的唯一水源
these pools are also magnets for wildlife,
这些池塘对野生生物有巨大吸引力
their whole world.
那里是它们的世界
With thick forest on all sides,
由于密林环绕
they seem as isolated as islands in an ocean.
池塘犹如海上孤岛一样与世隔绝
Peccaries, deer and other forest animals
对野猪 鹿及其他丛林动物而言
use Cenotes as watering holes,
天然井就是水源地
but that doesn't mean they are easy to see
但看到这些动物也绝非易事
the jungle does its best to keep them hidden.
丛林是最好的藏身之所
But some animals, you can't help but notice.
而有些动物 让人很难忽略掉
Howler monkeys.
比如 吼猴
Even if you don't see them at first,
即便一开始看不到它们的身影
you are sure to hear them.
却能听到它们的吼声
With calls that carry five kilometres,
这吼声能传到五公里外的地方
they are the loudest land animals in the world.
它们由此成为了世界上最吵的陆栖动物
Howlers are sloppy eaters.
吼猴吃东西很邋遢
Coatis following below can fill their stomachs solely
长鼻浣熊跟在吼猴向后 仅靠遗落的食物
out of what they have dropped.
就能果腹
Spider monkeys.
蜘蛛猿
They are infinitely quieter than howlers,
虽然嗓子跟吼猴没法比
but much more agile.
可动作却敏捷得多
With their hooking hands and long arms,
有了钩形手与长臂
these monkeys can live their entire lives
这些猴子得以终生生活
in the dense forest canopy.
在这密林笼罩之下
For nine months of the year, there is no rainfall here,
今年 这里已经九个月没下雨了
and much of the forest struggles to survive.
森林中 许多植被都在勉强生存
But some trees seem immune to the drought.
而有些树木似乎不大受干旱的影响
What is their secret?
其中的奥秘是什么呢
Such are the riddles of the Yucatan.
这就是尤卡坦之谜
The answers lie underground.
答案就埋藏在地下
But Sam and Steve won't get to go there until tomorrow.
但萨姆和斯蒂夫要等到明天才会潜入水下
In the dark, the jungle seems even denser
夜晚的丛林愈加繁茂
and the sounds, even stranger.
各种声音也愈加诧异
This is when Cenotes really come alive.
这时 天然井旁也活跃起来
Tapiers love water,
貘喜欢水
for bathing, as much as drinking.
用以满足沐浴与饮用的需要
But visiting a Cenote means coming into the open,
可到访天然井就会暴露形迹