有朋自海上來 文／劉芝芬
（航行中的阿里山號 Alisan in sail )
(和Marijke及Pam在他們停泊的碼頭合照--因退潮關係，船身幾乎已看不到了。)
透過鳥，什麼事都可能發生。原本素昧平生的人，有了共通的語言→鳥，很快便熟稔了起來。
5月中旬接到一通電話，對話的那方透過skype傳來濃濃的歐洲英語，原來我一直在等待的人已經到花蓮港了。
Marijke和Jaap(或Yap)這對夫婦來自荷蘭，兩人駕著自己的帆船周遊列國已二十餘年。「我們不住飯店，我們在三號碼頭，船就是我們的家。」當我在電話裡問Marijke住在哪一家飯店時，她這樣回答我。
他們自菲律賓來台灣。過去兩年，他們在馬來西亞一帶生活，也因當地環境的關係，開始熱衷賞鳥（之前偏愛海洋生物），而後一發不可收拾（鳥的魅力就是無法擋）。在菲律賓旅遊結束之前，便已透過菲國鳥人和中華鳥會余維道教官聯繫，由於他們將停泊花蓮港三週，教官在詢問過我之後，請他們直接和我聯絡。就這樣，我認識了生活和我們（甚至一般人）截然不同的他們。
海上航行讓很多事情變得不可預測。譬如，他們無法事先email告訴我正確的到達日期，因為風向和氣候一向多變。就如這次來台灣，他們原本計劃直接由菲律賓航向花蓮，不料中途天候不佳，他們只得在綠島臨時停留，預計兩天，沒想到一待就是一個星期多。還好，讓他們看到很多台灣沒有的棕耳鵯、巴丹綠繡眼和當地特有的甲蟲。
接到電話的第二天，我便前往花蓮港找他們。原以為他們是搭中型遊輪或遊艇之類小團體旅遊，看到他們的小船，我着實驚了一下。這才明白真的是兩人開一艘小帆船來的，同行還有另一對澳洲退休夫婦，也開著大小差不多的船。有趣的是，Marijke他們的船是台灣製的「阿里山號」(Alishan)，是三年前在日本買的二手船。
(水位太低了,不好上船.Jaap正準備放下黃色小艇到有梯子的岸邊接我上他們的船--阿里山號)
和他們見面的第二天，我就帶Marijke和Pam(澳洲太太)到我的地盤→美崙山賞鳥。那天鳥況不錯，短短兩個多鐘頭就看到聽到16種鳥，光是鳳頭蒼鷹就看到兩隻，而且都停在枝頭上。也帶他們去水源地（另一次和楊懿如老師研究所學生同行），鳥況不好，但蝴蝶及昆蟲很多；好玩的是，他們對非洲大蝸牛特別感興趣，不斷用各種角度拍攝，說他們在下美崙加油站附近吃過螺肉!我們也一起參加鳥會活動，到鯉魚潭找八色鳥，雖沒找著，卻看到朱鸝；到壽豐看環頸雉、灰胸秧雞、鷦鶯及棕扇尾鶯等等。
(他們覺得美崙山的八星虎甲蟲真帥!)
(一起參加鳥會的活動--鯉魚潭訪八色鳥）
（我和Pam在砂婆礑水源地拍桑天牛)
他們原本計畫在6月5日上午出發前往日本石垣島，而那天正是生物多樣性嘉年華舉辦的日期，我無法去送行。然而在活動進行中，看到他們四個人出現在美崙山活動現場，真是驚喜；當然又是「天公作美」囉！
隔天正好鳥會有例行活動—中橫賞鳥，我帶Marijke同行，由海拔零公尺爬升到三千多公尺的合歡山，看到帝雉、酒紅朱雀和諸多特有種鳥類，也看到高山特有小花，讓她開心極。不過她說了一句話：「這些鳥對你們來說可能稀鬆平常，但對我來說卻都非常難得。」這也是為什麼當我們一夥人談天說笑享用午餐時，她卻仍拿著相機到處狩獵，只因捨不得放棄任何機會，尤其是那隻一逕在樹叢中大聲鳴叫卻始終不見廬山真面目的黃胸藪眉（想必令她扼腕吧）。
(我帶著愛賞鳥拍鳥的Marijke和鳥會朋友一起上合歡山)
(Marijke拍到正忙著收集巢材的褐頭花翼)
(也拍到難得一見的熊鷹!)
目前他們又已離開石垣島而停泊在宮古島，接下來都將在日本一帶打轉。由於擁有日本永久居留權，Marijke夫婦打算在日本工作一段時間，賺足下一段航程的旅費再揚帆。
一直認為這樣的生活很浪漫，可Marijke卻說，船上有太多的雜事，尤其一停泊港邊，便要檢查添補零件、購買日用品、洗滌衣物等等；在海上時，天候不佳還是會讓他們覺得不舒服。浪漫，大約只佔所有生活的十之一而已。
總之，這是一個我們很難想像、也不是一般人可以過的生活方式。很高興認識他們，也很高興自己有機會盡一點地主之誼，讓他們看到台灣美麗的鳥兒、昆蟲和其他動植物。
(他們請我上船享用午餐--生菜沙拉、朝鮮薊和舖上一層茄子的pasta)
Birding Friends from the Sea
Everything could happen via birds. With the common topic—birds, people become friends easily.
In mid-May, I got a phone call. The speaker on the other end of the line (actually Skype) spoke obvious British English, which made it a little bit difficult for me to follow at first. But immediately, I realized that the couple I had been waiting for was here at Hualien Port now.
Marijke and her husband, Jaap (or Yap) are from the Netherlands, and they’ve been sailing for more than 20 years. “We are not staying in hotels. We are at Dock No.3. The boat is our home.” She answered when I asked her which hotel they were staying in.
They came here from the Philippines. In the past two years, they stayed around Malaysia. Because of the rich biodiversity there, they started watching birds and have been fascinated about it since then. (Yes, birds always have that kind of charm.) Before leaving the Philippines, they contacted Victor Yu, secretary-general of Chinese Wild Bird Federation. Given that they planned to stay at Hualien Port for three weeks, Victor told them to contact me. That’s how I’ve got the chance to know them, who live a life quite different from ours.
Sailing at sea makes many things unpredictable. For instance, they weren’t able to inform me the exact arriving day by email because the winds and the weather are always changing. Just like this time, they were supposed to sail to Hualien directly after departing from the Philippines, but the weather forced them to stay at Green Island. They thought maybe it would only take two days, it turned out that they stayed there for more than a week. Luckily, it was not a waste of time staying there because they saw many Brown-eared Bulbul, Lowland White-eye, which are absent in Taiwan proper, as well as some endemic beetles.
The next day after I got the phone call, I headed for Hualien Port to meet with them. When I saw their yacht, I was a little surprised. It’s a small one! And it accommodated only two of them! I thought they would come with some small group of people, but no, only two of them, accompanied by another yacht owned by an Australian couple. It’s worth noting that Marijke and Jaap’s yacht is named Alishan, made in Taiwan.
The third day after their arriving, I took Marijke and Pam (the Australian wife) to Meilun Shan Park for birding. It was quite good because we saw and heard 16 species of birds in about two hours. Especially Crested Goshawk, there were two perching themselves on the branches respectively.
We went to Riverhead Region twice (once with Princess Frog and her graduate students). Though there were not many birds there, butterflies, damselflies, snails, and beetles were abundant. Both my friends seemed to be quite interested in Giant African Land Snail! They took photos of these creatures from every angle and said they ate the snail dish somewhere near the port! We went to Liyu Lake with members of WBSH to look for Fairy Pitta. Although we didn’t see any of them, we encountered beautiful Maroon Oriole several times. In Shofong, we saw Ring-necked Pheasant, Slaty-breasted Rail, prinias, and Zitting Cisticola, etc.
They planned to leave for Ishigaki, Japan on the morning of June 5, but there was an important fair held in Meilun Shan Park on that day, I wasn’t able to see them off. However, they showed up on the scene that morning. What a surprise! Of course, it was due to “the blessing of Mother Nature.”
The following day, Marijke went with our group to Hohuan Shan, ascending from elevations of zero to over 3000 meters! We encountered a Mikado Pheasant in the mist along the way. Seeing Vinaceous Rosefinch, other endemic species, and some pretty alpine flowers made her excited. She said, “These birds may be common for you guys because you can see them any time. But for me, it’s quite a rare opportunity.” That’s why she still held her camera hunting for birds during lunch time. But some Steere’s Liocichla kept singing loudly in the thick bushes and never showed up, which surly made her frustrated, I presumed.
Now they’ve already left Ishigaki and anchored in Miyakojima. For the following periods of time, they are going to spend around the islands of Japan. Because they’ve got the permanent residency there, they plan to work for some time. Once they get enough money, they’ll start the next journey.
What a romantic life! One might think, and that’s what I thought at the first place, too. But Marijke said there are so many chores to do on board. Especially when the yacht anchors at the port, they have to check the boat, fix this and repair that, shop for the supplies, do the laundry, etc. Even when they are sailing, the uneven sea still makes them uncomfortable. So, only 10% of their life can be called “romantic.”
Anyway, it’s a lifestyle quite different from ours. I’m so happy to meet them and also glad to have the chance to show them the beautiful birds, insects, and other wildlife of Taiwan, at least of Hualien.
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