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At the back of the chamber, a passageway leads into the wall. As I approach, Aaron suggests I go first to get some great shots without anyone kicking up the silt.
在房间的后面，有一条通道通向墙壁。当我接近时，亚伦建议我先去拍一些漂亮的照片，而不会踢起淤泥。
I slowly head inside, not sure what to expect. This is what I love about cave diving—so much adventure exploring the unknown.
我慢慢地往里走，不知道会发生什么。这就是我喜欢进行洞穴潜水的原因，我喜欢探索未知之事。
And there is something cool about swimming through a crack in the rock.
在岩石的裂缝中游泳有点酷。
I lead the way into a gorgeous passageway that almost looks like a miniature riverbed, with pebbles paving the floor.
我进入一个华丽的通道，看起来几乎像一个微型河床，地面上有卵石。
The white limestone walls reflect my video lights, making beautiful illumination.
白色的石灰石墙反射着我的视频灯，发出美丽的光芒。
In a few minutes, we reach an intersection and I'm not sure which way to go, so I stop and wait for Jeff and Aaron.
几分钟后，我们到达一个十字路口，我不知道该走哪条路，所以停下来等杰夫和亚伦。
Jeff gives us the "turn around" sign—this is as far as we go today.
杰夫示意我们“掉头”，我们今天就走这么远了。
Heading back out I hang back a ways to get some shots of Jeff and Todd ahead of me.
游回去时，我拍了一些游在前面的杰夫和托德的照片。
Working our way back towards the cavern, Aaron removes a section of line he laid on the way in. Then we make our way back up into the sunlit waters of the cavern.
我们回洞穴的路上，亚伦移除了他在进洞的路上放置的一段线。然后，我们回到阳光明媚的洞穴里。
Jeff has found a cow bone in the debris pile. It's not hard to image an animal wandering through the woods and accidentally falling into this deep pit. Near the bone, the skull, complete with a few remaining teeth.
杰夫在废墟堆里发现了一根牛骨。不难想象，一只动物在树林里游荡，不小心掉进了这个深坑。骨头、头骨旁边，还有几颗牙齿。
Finally we surface, and now the hard work is about to begin.
我们终于浮出水面，艰苦的工作现在即将开始。
Woo hoo!
呜呼！
To get us back out of the cenote, the guides lower a rope ladder.
为了让我们离开天然井，向导放下了一个绳梯。
We're not sure this is going to work, but hopefully it will because we're not very good at climbing trees!
我们不确定这是否可行，但希望可以，因为我们不太擅长爬树！
It looks like it will be easy to climb, but I assure you, it's not. First Jeff heads up while Aaron tries to keep it tensioned so it won't flip around sideways.
看起来爬上去很容易，但我向你保证，不是这样的。首先，杰夫抬着头，而亚伦试图绷紧绳梯，不让它翻转。
Next it's my turn. By halfway up my arms are burning from the effort. Then it's Cameraman Todd's turn.
接下来轮到我了。爬到一半时，我的手臂因用劲而发热。现在，轮到摄影师托德了。
Having fun yet?
好玩吗？
Fifty feet from the surface of the water to the top of this cenote seemed like an eternity when I was climbing up and my arms were burning,
从水面到这个天然井的顶部有50英尺，当我往上爬时，我的手臂在灼烧，好像永远也爬不完一样，
but it was so worth it! That was the most amazing dive!
但这个经历是值得的！超棒的一次潜水！
Not all cenotes are small holes with water way down inside. We take a walk through the woods to a cenote so large that it looks more like a lake.
并非所有的天然井都是带有水道的小洞穴，我们漫步穿过树林，来到一个巨型天然井前，它看起来更像是个湖泊。
And in a small town outside Merida we check out the town well—which is just a cenote with a tiny opening.
在梅里达城外的一个小镇上，我们可以很好地看到这座小镇。它只是一个带有小开口的天然井。
I would love to dive in there, but they probably don't want a scuba diver in their water supply. Even today, the cenotes allow access to clean, fresh water.
我很想在那里潜水，但他们可能不想让一个潜水者进入他们的供水系统。即使在今天，这些天然井也提供干净的淡水。
But to the Mayans, cenotes were not just sources of water.
但是，对玛雅人来说，天然井却不仅仅是水源。
Cenotes were also believed to be entrances to the underworld--and therefore pathways to the Gods.
天然井也被认为是进入地下世界的入口，因此也是通往神灵的通道。
In pre-Columbian times, the Maya people ruled Central America. They built staggering cities, which included massive step-pyramids as temples to the Maya gods.
在哥伦布时代之前，玛雅人统治中美洲。他们建造了令人震惊的城市，其中包括巨大的阶梯金字塔作为玛雅神殿。
They performed rituals that they believed would keep the gods happy--to insure their good fortune.
他们举行仪式，他们认为这会让神灵快乐，以确保为他们带来好运。
The Mayans would often throw offerings into the cenotes to please Cha'ac, the rain God.
玛雅人经常会向天然井里投掷祭品，以取悦雨神查克。
Sometimes those offerings included human sacrifices.
有时，会用人来做祭品。
Would it be possible to dive in a cenote used by the Mayans for human sacrifices? That's where we are going.
有没有可能潜入玛雅人用人类来祭祀的天然井？这就是我们要去的地方。
Don't go away! Jonathan's about to explore a spooky underwater burial ground.
别走开！乔纳森正要去探索一个诡异的水下墓地。
Our team is piling into the truck and driving back out into the bush to visit a very special cenote used by the Mayans for human sacrifices.
我们的小队正挤进卡车，开回灌木丛，去参观一个非常特殊的天然井，玛雅人在那用人做祭祀。
We arrive at Cenote San Antonio. The opening was enlarged and reinforced at some point to be rectangular.
我们到达圣安东尼奥天然井，洞口的某些地方被扩大，还加固成了长方形。
But this tiny opening was once an important place to the Mayans. So important that we had to get a special permit to dive here.
但是，这个小小的开口对于玛雅人来说，曾是一个重要的地方。它是如此重要，以至于我们必须获得特批才能在这潜水。
Once again our guides set up some pulleys and rope to get us and our gear in and out of the cenote.
我们的向导又一次用滑轮和绳子，带着我们和装备进出天然井。
It might be hard to believe, but this dive is even more difficult than the last one.
也许很难相信，但这次潜水比上次更难。
There is no room for error, we will only get one shot at this.
没有犯错的余地，我们只有一次尝试的机会。
