马丘比丘【马丘比丘：探险无极限】

　　阅读小提示：本文篇幅较长，生词较多，阅读时需注意。建议先读懂大意，再听一遍录音，看看能否抓住以下信息：马丘比丘位于哪个山脉，是何人在哪一年重新发现的？作者用了多少天完成这次徒步旅行？走了多少
　　英里路？他们在旅途中遇到了哪些困难？马丘比丘遗址有什么建筑特色？
　　对马丘比丘感兴趣的同学还可以翻到本期的“探索区”，看看这座印加古城为何能长期吸引着世人的关注。
　　
　　It’s 4:30 in the morning of day five. The porters have just come to our tent to wake us. No coffee or tea this morning � we need to get moving to reach Intipunku, the Sun Gate, by 7 a.m., or we will miss the sunrise over Machu Picchu.
　　The fabled town of Machu Picchu, which is thought to have been built by the Incas注 around 1450 A.D. and was 1)inhabited until the Spanish 2)conquered Peru in 1532 A.D., is located on a 3)ridge between the mountains of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu in the Peruvian Andes, at an 4)elevation of about 7,700 feet. Unknown to the outside world until 1911, the 5)original purpose of the “Lost City” is still being debated. There are two 6)plausible theories that most historians believe could be true: it was an agricultural site or a large 7)observatory.
　　After our early morning wake-up, we are still a couple of hours away from the 8)overlook. It is 9)pitch black. I can feel the heavy humid fog left behind by last night’s rain. This is why the tour memo listed “flashlight.” Unfortunately, the majority of our hiking party of nine must have missed the memo, as we have only four flashlights between us.
　　An hour later, we are on the 10)trail. It’s dark, foggy, wet and the rocks are 11)slippery. We 12)alternate places between the flashlights “haves” and “have-nots.” As we march, the only voices heard are from the “haves”: “Step up, step down, watch out for the rock on your left.”
　　We reach Intipunku with only 15 minutes to spare. The view at sunrise is not what we were told in the travel 13)brochures. Three feet in front of our faces is a white 14)substance called “fog.”
　　As we walk toward the Machu Picchu ruins, my 15)anticipation is 16)mounting. When will the fog lift? Slowly, as if someone is 17)cranking up a curtain, Huayna Picchu begins to appear, overlooking Machu Picchu. First there are 18)fleeting 19)glimpses, and then finally, there it is, in its full 20)splendor.
　　When I 21)envisioned going to Machu Picchu, I always thought of mysterious ruins and the famous postcard picture looking toward Huayna Picchu. But there is more to this man-made/natural wonder of the world. It is the adventure of getting there. I knew I wanted to experience the feel of the Inca culture and the energy of this “sacred valley.” I also knew I didn’t want to take the train, but needed to hike. Depending on your starting point, the Inca Trail is 25 to 33 miles of 22)semi-23)arid desert, breathless mountain 24)passes and stunning tropical cloud forest. Our hike took us four nights and 25 miles to finish.
　　Our local guide Mauro keeps telling us “no worries, the hike is 90 percent mental and only 10 percent physical.” I am not convinced that the physical percentage is correct, but I definitely become more and more excited as we get closer to Machu Picchu. By getting myself into good shape, running 20 miles and hiking a 500-foot hill five to seven times per week before I left for Peru, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the hike and not worry as much about aching muscles and lungs.
　　The first day of the Inca Trail hike was almost as 25)eventful as the final day. We had to start the hike a half-day early, due to a planned national strike. Fortunately, Mauro got us out of
　　Cuzco � about 50 miles southeast of Machu Picchu, where most hiking companies are located � while we still could.
　　The early start allowed us to reduce our miles per day to about six. The first and second day we were on the west side of the Andes. We had blue skies and fantastic views of Peru’s 20,000-foot peaks. Our second night was the roughest. After hiking 10 miles, we camped at 12,600 feet. A combination of 26)dehydration and temperature dropping to 20� gave everyone a restless night of sleep.
　　The next morning was the most challenging part of the hike, but also the most satisfying:
　　Dead Woman’s Pass. At 13,700 feet, it is the highest point of the trail. It helped to be fresh and starting at 12,600 feet. We made it to the pass in about an hour and waited for our fellow hikers to arrive.
　　After Dead Woman’s Pass the terrain began changing to cloud forest. It is on the 27)fringe of the Amazon, and has a jungle feel. On this part of the trail the 28)foliage has to be cut back every three months or it would 29)engulf the trail. No wonder it took until 1911 for American explorer
　　Hiram Bingham to “re-discover” Machu Picchu.
　　The 30)workmanship of the original Inca Trail (built more than 500 years ago) was extraordinary. The majority of the trail is original and in good shape. The stone steps, for the most part, have not crumbled, still fitting together without 31)mortar or 32)adhesive.
　　It has been said that the seven separate mountain valleys leading into Machu Picchu 33)emanate an 34)elevated energy level. I am not sure if it was that or the 35)accomplishment of finishing the hike, but there was definitely an energy surge 36)in full swing while visiting the ruins.
　　We toured the structures that once housed ancient Incan communities, and 37)marveled at the temples to their gods. Many of them are situated on steep 38)precipices. The architecture at Machu Picchu is the most impressive part of the ruins, with the majority of the structures having been built by piling 39)precisely cut stone blocks. Nothing but gravity and careful planning holds the stones together; the cracks are so small that, even centuries later, a credit card could not pass through them.
　　Back in Cuzco, our group stuck together after the official tour was finished. We celebrated our successful hike at a local restaurant. I was the only one to brave ordering the national 40)delicacy � 41)guinea pig. They serve it with the head and feet 42)intact so one doesn’t
　　think they are being ripped off. I also tried another dish, something that looked like a cat. It didn’t taste like chicken or duck. It had more of a wild flavor � probably closer in taste to the 43)woodchucks that 44)burrow under my deck back home � not that I know what they taste like!
　　
　　现在是第五天的凌晨4点半。搬运工来到帐篷叫我们起床。这个早晨没有咖啡或茶，因为我们要赶在早上七点之前到达Intipunku――“太阳门”，不然就要错过马丘比丘的日出了。
　　传说中的马丘比丘城位于秘鲁安第斯山的马丘比丘和瓦伊那比丘之间的山脊上，海拔约为7700英尺（约2347米）。据说这座城市由印加人始建于公元1450年左右，直到公元1532年西班牙人征服秘鲁，这座城市方遭废弃。这座直到1911年才被世人重新发现的“失落城市”是因何而建，至今仍然众说纷纭。目前大多数历史学家认为其中两个理论比较可信：一种认为它是一个农业中心，另一种认为它是一个大型天文台。
　　早起之后，我们距离目的地还有几个小时的路程。天色漆黑，我能感觉到昨夜雨后留下的浓重湿雾。这大概就是旅游指南的必备物品里列出“手电筒”的原因吧。可惜的是，我们一行九人中的多数人肯定都没看备忘录，因为我们总共只有四个手电筒。
　　一个小时后，我们上了小径。周围黑暗、多雾而且潮湿，脚下的岩石还很滑。我们不断在有手电筒和没手电筒之间轮换着走。行进的路上，唯一可以听到的是带了手电筒的人在说话：“上坡，下坡，小心左边的石头。”
　　在日出前15分钟，我们终于到达太阳门。然而，日出的景象并不如我们在旅游手册里读到的那样，因为在眼前三英尺（约1米）之外，只有一片白茫茫的物体――雾。
　　在朝马丘比丘遗址前进时，我的期望越来越大。雾什么时候才会散去？慢慢地，就像有人转动曲柄把窗帘卷起似的，瓦伊那比丘开始映入眼帘，俯视着马丘比丘。起初还只是若隐若现，偶尔能瞥见一眼，后来它的壮丽景色终于一览无遗。
　　以前想象去马丘比丘时，我总是联想到神秘的遗址和那幅众所周知、远眺瓦伊那比丘山的明信片般的画面。然而，这个人工及自然奇迹的魅力并不止于此，而在于其间的探险旅途。我知道自己想要体验印加文明和这个“神圣山谷”的神秘能量。我也知道自己不想坐火车，必须徒步完行这段旅途。印加小径的长度取决于起点，从25英里（约40千米）到33英里（约53千米）不等，沿途穿越半干旱沙漠、死寂的要隘，还有令人惊奇的热带雾林。我们用了四个晚上徒步走完25英里的旅程。
　　我们的当地导游毛罗总是对我们说：“别担心，走这段路九成靠心理，只有一成靠体力。”我不确信这个体力百分比是否准确，但是随着我们越来越接近马丘比丘，我的确感到越来越激动。早在出发前往秘鲁之前，我就努力使自己保持良好的身体状况，每周跑20英里（约32千米），并且徒步爬一座500英尺（约152米）高的小山五到七次；因此我才能够尽情享受这次徒步之旅的美景，而不必太过担心肌肉和肺部会隐隐作痛。
　　印加古道徒步之行第一天的变故不比最后一天少。由于一次有计划的全国大罢工，我们不得不提早半天出发。幸运的是，在我们还能安然离开时，毛罗把我们带出库斯科――位于马丘比丘东南50英里（约80千米）处的库斯科是大多数徒步旅行社的集中地。
　　提早出发让我们可以把每天的路程减至大约6英里（约9千米）。头两天，我们身处安第斯山的西面，看到了湛蓝的天空和秘鲁两万英尺（6096米）高的群峰胜景。第二晚最辛苦。走完了10英里（约16千米）的路，我们在12600英尺（约3840米）的地方扎营。由于脱水，加上气温降到20�（约零下6℃），我们全都彻夜难眠。
　　接下来的那个早上是整个旅途中最具挑战、但同时也是最令人满意的部分――穿越“杀女峰”。杀女峰处于13700英尺（约4175米）之处，是印加古道的最高点。在12600英尺处养精蓄锐后再出发，对完成这段旅途很有帮助。我们花了约一个小时到达杀女峰，并在那里等队友赶上来。
　　过了杀女峰之后，开始变成雾林地形。这一带位于亚马孙河边缘，充满热带丛林的感觉。在印加古道的这一段，路边的植物每三个月就要剪一次，否则这条古道就会被吞没。难怪直到1911年，美国探险家海勒姆・宾厄姆才“重新发现”了马丘比丘。
　　原有的印加古道（建于500多年前）的建造工艺令人惊叹。古道的大部分都是原址，保存完好。大部分的石阶都没有坍塌，即使没有灰泥或粘着剂，仍然完整紧密。
　　据说通往马丘比丘的七个独立山谷会散发出一种让人精神振奋的能量。我也不知道是不是这个原因，或是因为完成了这段徒步旅行的缘故，总之，在游览遗址的时候，我的确感到体内涌动着一种能量。
　　我们游览了这些曾被人居住的古代印加社区，为他们敬奉神灵的庙宇惊叹不已。其中许多都建在悬崖绝壁之上。马丘比丘的建筑是遗址里最令人难忘的地方，其大部分建筑都是由精确切割的石块堆砌而成。这些石块仅仅依靠重力和精确的设计来将它们连结在一起；这些石缝细小无比，甚至在几个世纪之后，连一张信用卡也塞不进去。
　　正式的旅途结束了，我们回到库斯科，一帮团友依然聚在一起，到当地一家餐馆庆祝旅途圆满成功。我是唯一有勇气点秘鲁特色美食“天竺鼠”的人。本地人上这道菜时会让天竺鼠的头脚保持完整，这样人们就不会觉得它们被分尸了。我还品尝了另一道菜，那东西看起来有点像猫。它的味道不像鸡肉或鸭肉，而是有一种更浓烈的野生味道――味道上也许更接近在我家甲板下面打洞的旱獭――我可不知道它们尝起来是什么味道哦！