走在海底

沿着北海海岸，有一个奇特而美丽的地方，叫作瓦登海。每天两次，海水都会从陆地退去，向远处退出好几公里，把海床暴露在天空之下。早上还是深水的地方，到了下午就变成了一片宽阔、闪着微光的平地。步行者聚集在岸边，脱下鞋子，踏上这片海洋的地面。

Along the North Sea coast there is a strange and wonderful place called the Wattenmeer. Twice every day the sea slips away from the land, retreating for kilometres and leaving the seabed open to the sky. What was deep water in the morning becomes a wide, shining plain by afternoon. Walkers gather at the edge, take off their shoes, and step out onto the floor of the sea.

光脚踩在上面，泥土柔软又清凉，从脚趾之间挤了上来。这片滩涂并不是空的，里面充满了微小的生命：小贝壳、小螃蟹，还有蠕虫在地下留下的卷曲痕迹。向导带着队伍走向远处的一座小岛，一路小心地留意时间，因为这片开阔的海床，只是大海暂时借出来的。

The mud is soft and cool under bare feet, and it presses up between the toes. The flats are not empty. They are full of tiny life: small shells, little crabs, and the curling casts left by worms under the ground. A guide leads the group toward a distant island, watching the time with care, because the open seabed is only borrowed from the sea.

接着，潮水开始转向。海水涌回的速度比人们想象的要快得多，像一条条银色的线，在滩涂上飞快地漫开。这正是为什么没有人独自来这里行走。向导知道安全的路线和合适的时间，能带领队伍在大海收回它的地面之前，安全抵达坚实的陆地。

Then the tide turns. The water comes back fast, much faster than people expect, racing in silver lines across the flats. This is why no one walks here alone. The guide knows the safe paths and the right hours, so the group reaches firm land again before the sea takes back its floor.