April 18, Wednesday

April 18, Wednesday    (Happy birthday Normand !)

Yvette !   Our first day cruising down the Yangtze River ! ! !

First full day on the ship.  We wake up to find another ship docked right beside ours.  You could literally jump from one ship to the other, that’s how close it is to ours. 
 That is really close !
  People who want to get off their ship have to go through ours to get off for their excursions.
  There are a lot of other boats in the harbour as well
  Our balcony on the ship

 The room I share with Wendy
 My suitcase has to go on the floor because it is simply too big to go anywhere else !

Breakfast is from  7 to 8 am each day on this ship, so no one gets to sleep in, which is a bit of a disappointment.  For early birds you can take in Tai Chi lessons,  and although I love Tai Chi, I’m not willing to get up earlier than I have to. 

They have optional land excursions which leave at 8:15 !    Kit tells us that we are more than welcome to pay and go to these, but she does tell us that her notes indicate from past Go Way cruises that those who went were quite disappointed.   Only Michael opts to go this morning to view the “Ghost City” and he confirms upon his return that it really was not worth the price and that he would have been better off to stay on board.  Most of us admit that we are relieved to hear this since we were feeling a bit guilty at not trying to take everything in that we could;  we are just too tired and need some down time.  I need to point out also that Michael, our only American in the group, is also the youngest (early 40s) and has more energy than the rest of us put together.

 From the other side of the ship we see the area where this morning's excursion is probably taking place "The City of Ghosts".

   When we finally leave the dock, there is still quite a bit of mist on the river, but it slowly clears up as the sun warms things up.
  Views along the Yangtze River this morning
 
  There are industries along the water way
 And a few cities like this one, which looks like it was built for the "resettlement" of people displaced by the creation of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.
  And older communities as well.  My zoom shows the people washing their clothes in the river.

 A beautiful agricultural area in the rich fields above us

We have a lovely balcony with our room  (every room has one !) and that is where I am sitting this afternoon while we cruise down the Yangtze to our first ship excursion at Fengdu at 3:30.  After a leisurely morning and early afternoon, we disembark for our scheduled land excursion at Shibao town, “Shi Bao Zhai is located in the centre of the 3 gorges dam reservoir on the Yangtze River;  at about 200 km from Chongqing and 400 km from Yichang where the Three Gorges Dam is located.”  We reach the island via a hanging swinging bridge after a 10 minute walk through the town. 
   Shibao town and the gate to the street that leads to the bridge and the island
  The street where the vendors are located, trying to sell their wares to tourists
  Arriving near the riverfront.
  The gate that leads to the bridge
  In this upper courtyard we find the Chinese Astrological symbols
  I get my photo taken with another lady who was born under the sign of the Horse.   {Karen - we share this sign too !}
  Walking across the swinging bridge to the island
 A welcoming Pagoda welcomes us on the other side
 The retaining wall built to preserve the site before the flooding.  We walk all along the top to get to the Pagoda.

  This beautiful wall was in the garden below.  You can see a beautiful story unfolding.  To give you some perspective on the size of this art work, check out the staircase to the right of the bottom picture.   Chinese people have some amazing artists.

There is a mountain, or huge rock, on the island with an elaborate 12 story wooden pagoda. 9 levels are attached to the cliff and were built in 1572 during the Ming Dynasty; the last 3 levels were added 90 years later during the Qing Dynasty.” The Pagoda, which is 56 meters high, is also referred to as the Stairway to Heaven, if you climb all the way up. 
  
Shi Bao Zhai Pagoda,  built into the cliff side.

 We made it back down to the entrance of the Pagoda, and have to climb back up from within.  Quite an impressive building
  With elaborately carved dragons protecting it from the roof tops
  A view of the town from one of the Pagoda windows
 Climbing up the wooden pagoda
  I love this photo !
  And we finally make it to the 10th floor and out to the top of the mountain.
 Still 2 levels to go ?

I only made it up the 10 levels since the last two only had a inner ladder and there were too many people trying to climb up and having a hard time getting back down.  

 
 
 
  A wishing bridge in the last courtyard

From the 10^h level of the pagoda, you are on top of the mountain and walk through a series of temples then use the back staircase to return to the bridge level.  We were very lucky since it was a fairly sunny day and had to look for shade whenever we could to get out of the sun and heat.   Normally, it would be raining or extremely cloudy.

When they were preparing the dam and getting ready for the flooding, the entire village was relocated to what is now the town, and a high retaining wall was built around the island to ensure that the Pagoda would remain safe.
 From the back of the mountain, we see the bridge below, leading back to the village
 Back down to the "welcoming pagoda" near the bridge
  A sign near the docks.  "Lost in translation!"
 Our cruise ship awaits.
 Locals washing themselves and their clothes in the river
   From the ship, looking back at the landing area at Shibao town.

By 6 pm we are back on the ship and only have 1 hour to prepare for the Captain’s welcome toast and dinner.   At 8:30 pm we are in the lounge ready to see a show that the crew are putting on for us:  traditional dancing (slow and elegant when women are dancing & martial arts movements when the men are dancing).  One young lady plays the guitar and sings a song. They are all amateurs rather than professionals and we enjoy their performance.  

I take advantage of the laundry facilities and get all my jeans washed.   Hopefully it will be another warm day tomorrow because I will have to wear my capris.

I’m back in my room by 9:30 and by 10:30 I am sound asleep!