The anticipation is palpable(明显的，可感知的) onboard the Boaventura II as the yacht sets off(出发，启程) from Rio de Janeiro at sunrise. Once beyond the Cagarras Islands, rocky outcrops just three miles off Ipanema beach, the group gathers at the bow and starts scanning the horizon.(一旦驶过卡加拉斯群岛，人们便聚集船头眺望地平线。)
当“博阿文图拉二号”游艇在日出时分从里约热内卢启航时，船上的期待之情溢于言表。一旦驶过卡加拉斯群岛——距伊帕内马海滩仅三英里的岩石小岛——人们便聚集在船头，开始眺望地平线。
They do not have to wait long. “Eleven o’clock!” someone calls out(大声喊叫，呼喊), as a pod(（海豚、鲸等的）一群) of bottlenose dolphins appears, playfully diving in and out of the water. Then, two spouts(喷水柱（鲸呼吸喷出的水汽）) of vapour hanging in the air signal the reason for the outing: a pair of humpback whales. The majestic mammals surface to breathe with an unhurried chuff, before revealing the underside of their fluke as they dive back underwater.(这些威严的哺乳动物浮出水面不紧不慢地喷气呼吸，然后下潜时露出尾鳍。)
他们无需久等。“十一点钟方向！”有人喊道，一群宽吻海豚出现了，顽皮地在水里钻进钻出。接着，两股悬在空中的水汽表明了此行的目的：一对座头鲸。这些威严的哺乳动物浮出水面，不紧不慢地喷着气呼吸，然后潜入水中时露出尾鳍的背面。
This is a bucket-list moment(遗愿清单上的时刻，人生必做之事) for many on the boat, heightened(增强，加剧) by the spectacular backdrop(背景，衬托) of Rio’s jungle-cloaked mountains. But such a sight has become increasingly common, as Brazil’s humpback whales return to the shores of the Cidade Maravilhosa(里约热内卢的昵称“奇妙之城”) (Marvellous City) during the southern hemisphere winter after making a remarkable comeback(实现显著复苏) from near-extinction.
对船上的许多人来说，这是一个“遗愿清单”时刻，里约丛林覆盖的山脉的壮丽背景更增添了这一时刻的魅力。但这样的景象已变得越来越常见，因为巴西的座头鲸在南半球冬季重返“奇妙之城”（Cidade Maravilhosa）的海岸，此前它们从濒临灭绝的状态中实现了显著复苏。