中美洲最活躍的火山 伊甸園小島的末日降臨1

A sleepy, isolated island community inNicaragua, nestled at the foot of one of Central America's most active volcanoes,faces an uncertain future. But the danger doesn’t come from theperpetual risk of geological disaster. The threat is manmade.

這是一個安靜、與世隔絕的島嶼羣落，坐落於中美洲最活躍的火山之一的山腳下，島民們面臨着一個不確定的未來。但是，危險並不是來自一直以來的地質災害風險，而是來自人爲威脅。

Over the past decade, tourism to Isla Ometepehas grown as word of its Eden-like natural beauty has spread. But this dualvolcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, often dubbed a “mini-Amazon”,recently found itself at the centre of a controversial mega-engineeringproject: a Chinese-run, interoceanic canal that will be deeper and longer thanPanama’s, ideal for giant cargo ships.

在過去的十年裏，隨着奧梅特佩島（Isla Ometepe）自然風光堪比伊甸園的消息不脛而走，該島的旅遊業發展迅速。位於尼加拉瓜湖（Lake Nicaragua）中部的這座雙火山島被譽爲“迷你亞馬遜”，但是最近該島被納入一項巨大的工程：這是一箇中國項目，計劃在這裏開挖一條比巴拿馬運河更深更長的連接兩大洋的運河，非常適合大型貨船通行。

The proposed 278km route, connecting theCaribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, will carve through Lake Nicaragua, potentiallydisplacing the surrounding rainforest and threatening indigenous route will also bring the supertankers right past Ometepe’s Eden.

這條計劃長達278 公里的運河連接加勒比海（Caribbean Sea）和太平洋（Pacific Ocean），從尼加拉瓜湖穿過，可能導致附近的雨林消失並威脅到附近的原住民部落。這條運河還會使得超大型油輪從奧梅特佩島的伊甸園旁邊經過。

Work on the canal officially began inDecember 2014, sparking a wave of protests from those who are worried about losingtheir homes, and the damage the canal might cause to the environment. Doubtshave also been raised over whether there will be enough funding to complete thecanal within the allotted five-year plan.

運河工程已於2014 年12 月正式啓動，招致了一些擔心失去家園和運河對環境造成破壞的人們的大規模抗議。人們還質疑，是否有充足的資金保證在所分配的五年計劃時間內完成運河工程。

The 267sqkm island, home to a population ofjust under 30,000, receives about 40,000 visitors a year. Between the roughferry ride over and the island’s bone-shaking roads, it’s understandable thatvisitor numbers are still relatively low, even with the island’s incrediblebeauty.

這個267 平方公里的小島，人口不足3 萬，每年接待近4 萬名遊客。鑑於渡船旅程艱辛而且島上的道路顛簸不平，可以理解遊客人數還是相對較低，儘管島上的風光美不勝收。

On the day that I crossed Lake Nicaragua –Central America's largest body of freshwater, so vast that SpanishConquistadors believed it was open sea – Isla Ometepe’s volcanoes were engulfedin a heavy cloud clover that burst as soon as I stepped onto the port. The lushvegetation beamed Day-Glo green against the remaining grey in the sky. Birdsand butterflies scattered while villagers carried on with their days. Turnsout, the only thing that moved fast here was the weather.

尼加拉瓜湖是中美洲最大的淡水水域，面積遼闊，以至於西班牙征服者將其誤以爲是大海。在我經過尼加拉瓜湖的那一天，奧梅特佩島的火山上空烏雲密佈，我剛踏進碼頭，大雨便傾盆而下。遠山含翠，映襯着仍然灰色的天空，呈現出一片熒光綠。鳥兒和蝴蝶輕飛曼舞，村民們生活恬靜安然。實際上，這裏唯一變得最快的就是天氣。

I was staying at Hacienda Mérida, aformer farm/coffee-processing plant-turned-ecolodge located inVolcan MaderasNational Park. Its owner, Alvaro Molina, was one of the first to bring tourismto the island when he opened the lodge in 2001.

我住在海茲恩達梅里達旅館（Hacienda Mérida），是個農場/咖啡加工廠改造成的生態旅館，位於馬德拉斯火山國家公園（Volcan Maderas National Park）裏面。酒店老闆阿爾瓦羅·莫利納（AlvaroMolina）於2001 年開辦了這家旅館，是第一批將旅遊業帶到島上的人之一。

A jetty from the lodge offereduninterrupted views of Conceptión, the 1,610m-tall, very active volcano thattowered over Lake Nicaragua. Ometepe's extinct volcano, Maderas, with itsjagged rainforest-covered peak, formed the lodge’s backdrop. Instead of trekking,swimming, kayaking, cycling and horse riding –all popularactivities here –I chose a hammock with a view, and flopped.

從旅館的防波堤可以看到康塞普西翁火山（Conceptión）全景，這座火山高1,610 米，非常活躍，俯視着尼加拉瓜湖。旅館的背景是奧梅特佩島的馬德拉斯死火山，山頂映襯着綿延起伏的雨林。在這裏，徒步旅行、游泳、劃皮艇、騎自行車和騎馬都很流行，但我選擇躺在吊牀上看風景，而且心情激動。

The next morning, I set off early to kayakon Río Istiam, a river and swamp that cuts inland through the middle of thehourglass-shaped island. On the 3km paddle towards the river mouth, I passedvillagers swimming and fishing in the lake. My guide, Maykel Carillo, saidlocals used to stay out of the water because it was once infested with bull the 1980s, overfishing and a shark fin trade wiped-out the population, butsome say a few still lurk under the surface. I dipped in my paddle with extra caution.

第二天早晨，我早早起來，到里約伊斯提姆河（Río Istiam）上劃皮艇，這條河從沙漏狀的島嶼中部貫穿而過，進入內陸。在划向河口的3 公里航程中，一路上我看到村民們在湖中游泳和釣魚。我的導遊馬卡·卡里奧（Maykel Carillo）說，當地人習慣遠離水邊，因爲這裏一度公牛鯊（bull sharks）橫行。截至20 世紀80 年代，過度捕撈和魚翅交易使得公牛鯊滅絕，但是有些人說仍然有幾隻潛伏在水下。我愈發小心地划槳前行。