O Amur

Na manhã do sexto dia, o trem atravessava o Extremo Oriente Russo. A taiga havia mudado de caráter. As árvores agora eram pinheiros coreanos, freixos manchurianos e carvalhos mongóis. A floresta parecia mais próxima. Esta é a floresta temperada do Extremo Oriente Russo, uma das mais úmidas do mundo fora dos trópicos.

On the sixth morning, the train was running through the Russian Far East. The taiga had changed character. The trees were now Korean pine, Manchurian ash, and Mongolian oak. The forest felt closer. This is the temperate rainforest of the Russian Far East, one of the wettest forests in the world outside the tropics.

Polly estava sozinha no compartimento. Pavel tinha descido em Ulan-Ude. O soldado havia se mudado para outro vagão. A nova ocupante do beliche superior era uma mulher magra que dormia a maior parte do dia.

Polly was alone in the compartment. Pavel had gotten off in Ulan-Ude. The soldier had moved to another carriage. The new occupant of the upper bunk was a thin woman who slept most of the day.

Um trem de carga passou na direção oposta. Tinha quase dois quilômetros de comprimento, carregando madeira. Polly contou trinta e oito vagões antes de parar.

A freight train passed in the opposite direction. It was nearly two kilometres long, carrying timber. Polly counted thirty-eight flatbeds before she stopped.

O trem chegou a Khabarovsk no meio da manhã. Khabarovsk fica às margens do rio Amur, o oitavo rio mais longo do mundo. O Amur forma grande parte da fronteira entre a Rússia e a China. Da plataforma, Polly podia ver o rio através de uma abertura entre dois prédios. Era largo. Tinha a cor de chá forte. Na margem oposta, através da névoa, estava a China.

The train arrived at Khabarovsk in mid-morning. Khabarovsk sits on the Amur River, the eighth-longest river in the world. The Amur forms much of the border between Russia and China. From the platform, Polly could see the river through a gap between two buildings. It was wide. It was the colour of strong tea. On the far bank, through the haze, was China.

Polly desceu e caminhou ao longo do trem.

Polly hopped down and walked the length of the train.

Um grou do Extremo Oriente Russo estava parado à beira de um pequeno pântano perto dos pátios da estação. Quase dois metros de altura, preto e branco com vermelho ao redor do olho. O grou do Extremo Oriente Russo é um dos mais raros do mundo. Talvez restem três mil, reproduzindo-se principalmente na bacia do Amur.

A Russian Far East crane was standing at the edge of a small marsh near the station yards. Almost two metres tall, black and white with red around the eye. The Russian Far East crane is one of the rarest cranes in the world. Maybe three thousand left, breeding mostly in the Amur basin.

Polly inclinou a cabeça para ele. O grou inclinou a cabeça de volta. Polly se aproximou. O grou não se moveu.

Polly tilted her head at it. The crane tilted its head back. Polly walked closer. The crane did not move.

Um condutor apitou. Polly voltou para o trem. Ela se virou e olhou para o grou. O grou ainda a observava. Então, ele ergueu o longo pescoço muito lentamente e caminhou, com passos deliberados, para dentro do pântano.

A conductor blew a whistle. Polly hopped back to the train. She turned and looked at the crane. The crane was still looking at her. Then it lifted its long neck very slowly and walked, in deliberate steps, away into the marsh.

O trem saiu de Khabarovsk e virou para o sul. O Pacífico estava a menos de setecentos quilômetros agora.

The train pulled out of Khabarovsk and turned south. The Pacific was less than seven hundred kilometres away now.