(Delayed. First time I couldn’t get a secure (VPN) connection.)

Wed, 4/25.  Drizzle, low clouds again.  The views didn’t translate well into photos, but to the naked eye the scenery was awesome.  

Began the day with a walk around whatever city we were in.  Pagoda (unmoved), Large city wall (relocated).  (The Pagoda was built for luck so that students in the t0wn would pass the government exams.  The following year, five did pass.)  Shops selling word carvings, mostly of buddhas.  Movable escalators to aid getting people from the boats to town, regardless of water level.  Whole baby crabs, fish and shrimp, all fried.  Individuals are not allowed off the boat until 60 minutes after the paid tour goers get off.  Not a very subtle form of persuasion.

Shortly before noon we departed for the first of the Three Gorges.  View-by-view commentary from ship’s speakers, with (too much) comedy included.  One can only imagine how much more impressive the Gorge would be if viewed from the bottom, before the water level was raised several hundred feet.   There were buildings at the top of some cliffs which helped give a perspective of their heights.  Heavy boat traffic.  It was hard to drag my eyes away from the ever changing views for lunch, but there was a convenient gap between the first and second gorge to do so.

The second gorge was not quite as impressive as the first, but still pretty.  At one point we docked for a small boat ride up a tributary.  More jokes, some Chinese language lessons.  Very little technical talk about the rock formations, history, etc. There is a “hanging coffin” on one cliff.  (Review of Wiki reveals that hanging coffins are actually a thing.) Near the far end of the ride we joined about 8 other boats on a large platform to sing and dance.  Seriously.  Flabbergasted.  Clearly, the Chinese concept of being one with nature differs from mine.

We traversed the third gorge in the dark.  Farewell dinner. Another show that I skipped.  Getting tired of some companions who still seem to harbor thoughts that all Chinese can be lumped into one collective definition.  If anything, I’ve learned that they are more diverse than I expected.  I’ve determined that a crowded and noisy riverboat is not for me.  Reminded me of the Dickens quote, “being on a boat is like jail time, with the added possibility of drowning”.

Tomorrow we arrive at the massive Three Gorges Dam (tour), then drive to Wuhan.  The next day we fly to Hong Kong.

Very innovative movable escalators.

The entrance to the first gorge.

“Look! Cliffs!”

Cliff repairs.

To show off the zoom quality of my camera, the top has . . .

. . . a flag.

Interesting and large tablet.

Tourist stop in second gorge. No roads.

Small Boat ride. Cliffs closing in.

Music, singing and dancing.  Just stunning. Or stunned. The Chinese will dance on graves I think.