國家地理:加里曼丹島的地底洞天(9)
During their time belowground in 1979, Eavis and his fellow cavers explored some 30 miles of passages—an unprecedented feat. Nearly 40 years later, wearing black tights in the hot syrup of morning, Eavis smiled at the memory.
1979年，艾維斯和它的洞穴探險隊員在地下發(fā)現了長達30多英里的通道，這種長度史無前例。近40年后的一個酷熱清晨，身著黑色緊身衣的艾維斯追憶起往事，臉上露出了笑容。
"There's no expedition that's ever explored that much at one time," he said. "We did most of it standing up, you see."
“沒有哪只探險隊一次能有這么大的發(fā)現，”他說?！澳憧?，其中大部分都有據可依。”
Eavis paused, stared down at his tights, and bent at the waist. He picked a leech from his bootlace and flicked it into the jungle.
艾維斯停住了腳步，低頭看著緊身衣，彎下腰，從鞋帶上撿起一條水蛭，輕輕地把它彈到叢林里。
"Up to that point we were all just simple English cavers," he said. "Mulu transformed us."
“在發(fā)現姆魯之前，我們不過是英國的一群洞穴探險者?！彼f，“姆魯徹底改變了我們?！?/p>
The 1979 adventure set the stage for exploration in Borneo. Several caving teams have since made the long journey to Mulu, and Eavis himself has led many of them. For his 13th trip, in 2017, he organized a team of 30 cavers, including his son Robert and many Mulu veterans. In late March I reached him by phone in Kuching, a city on Borneo's west coast, as he traveled north to meet them.
1979年的那次探險拉開了婆羅洲探險的序幕。從那時起，幾支洞穴探險隊跋山涉水來到姆魯，艾維斯就多次擔任其中多支隊伍的領隊。2017年，在他第13次探險中，他組織了一支30人的探險隊，隊里有他的兒子羅伯特，還有對姆魯十分熟悉的?？?。三月底，艾維斯正在北上，我在位于婆羅洲西海岸的古晉給他打了電話，去與他匯合。
"We will probably find somewhere near 30 miles of new cave passage," he said confidently. "And nobody ever does that. Except for me, I suppose."
“我們可能會發(fā)現近30英里長的新洞穴通道?！彼孕艥M滿地說道，“我認為除了我以外，沒有人發(fā)現過這么長的洞穴通道?！?/p>
