北卡多头市(Morehead City)海边 -1：不野的野马

2014-09-19 19:47:05

北卡多头市(Morehead City) 海边

米国北卡的小城多头市，坐落在东海岸晓有名气的 Outer Banks 最南端。虽然离俺家不足三小时车程，竟然还没去溜达过。劳动节那周末，邀了几对‘空巢’，一溜烟奔了过去。没想到，还真有点 ‘相见恨晚’ 的感觉。

(一). 不野的野马

小城的东边有个小岛叫 Shackleford Banks。岛上除了上乘的海滩外，最为吸引游客的是一百多匹的 ‘野马’。据说是四百多年前西班牙人留下来的，除了这个岛外，它们还分布在 OuterBanks 的好些地方。我发现下面这位马先生的 ‘自述’ 还有点意思，故抄录于此与大伙分享： “ I am what some people call a banker pony. I am really a horse but we are called ponies because we are smaller than some horses, ... .... In the 16th century, my ancestors came from Spain via Hispaniola (located between Cuba and Puerto Rico) to live on one of the islands off the coast of North Carolina that make up the Outer Banks. My island is called Shackleford Banks and it is only nine miles long. It is located just east of Morehead City and Beaufort (we pronounce it Bow-fert). ... .We swam ashore from sinking ships long before the English people came. The story of the Shackleford Horses actually began about 400 years ago in Europe. ... " (摘自 http://www.shacklefordhorses.org) 。