After another very good nights sleep and a hearty breakfast we prepared for a trip along the Lesser Three Gorges. We were to transfer onto a smaller boat for this trip whilst the cruise ship remained moored to await our return. The morning was hazy and threatened rain but, fortunately, this would clear as we made our way along the river.
The scenery was magnificent. Each bend in the river brought new wonders to view. The visibility at times was poor due to the weather but as the morning progressed the skies lightened.
The guides on board had themselves been rehoused when the Dam was built and their original homes were flooded. Our guide spoke with great pride and enthusiasm when she pointed out the apartment block where she now lives with her husband and son on the fifth floor. She now has a kitchen, indoor plumbing and separate bedrooms for the first time in her life. Things that most of us take for granted. Our guide did say that, although she was very happy with her new life, it was certainly true that many old people had found the enforced move distressing despite the improvement in their living conditions. Another of the guides lived in the same block on a lower floor. Both had views overlooking the river but those views would soon be lost to them as a new apartment block was in construction between their own homes and the river..
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| The infamous brew |
Refreshments were available on board. Daphne was going to buy tea for the four of them. She returned with four glasses of a very strange brew indeed.
It looked as if the glasses were filled with grass cuttings and the whiff was not exactly pleasant. Despite the pong a tentative wee sip was taken. There were most definitely no further sips attempted. Although our Australian friends very generously offered us both a taste. How very kind. Later on the trip someone would pass by with hot water offering a refill. It was politely declined.
All along the Yangtse that are interesting rock formations perched high on the cliffs. The guides would tell stories about some of them indicating when some resembled mushrooms, faces, a pig, a dog and so on. You had to sometimes squint a bit and use a bit of imagination while the guide urged everyone to agree that they could see whatever was being described.
Locals were sitting on the rocks whilst taking a pause in the working day waved a greeting. These were real locals and not paid entertainers installed there for our benefit.
At one point along the way our guide told us to look along the rocks on the bank as there were wild rhesus monkeys scampering there. I didn't see any either with the naked eye or through the zoom lens on my camera. Not to worry - we had seen the monkeys in Dragon Valley yesterday.
From time to time small fishing boats would pass us. The day's work must go on. The fishermen were often family members, father and son, brothers or cousins.
Markers were set into the high banks at intervals to show the level to which the waters could rise each winter during the flood season. That level was way way above our heads.
The high water marker seen in the context of the bridge. The Chinese seem to have cornered the market in reddish orange paint which adorned many of the bridges that we would see throughout the Yangtse cruise.
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| An enclosed area of the walkway |
Even higher than this a walkway was being built so that energetic tourists could travel the gorges on foot. I think that I will keep to the ferry if I ever pass that way again.
Toughened glass forms a short section of the path. I have walked across short areas of glass at previous locations and I found it very disorientating. Even though I absolutely knew that doing so was safe I had a hard time convincing my brain that it was so.
Not all of the walkway is enclosed. There are long open sections where walkers can simply drink in the atmosphere.
The walkway was not open to the public at this time but we saw a lone employee stalwartly walking along above us wielding his broom to clear any fallen leaves and minor debris.
The walkway even crosses a bridge in order to continue its way.
After some time the ferry moored and we split into small groups to board sampans. Now we had a new guide and a boatman as we wended our way at gentle pace along this shallower and narrower, section.
On board the sampans the wearing of bouyancy aids is obligatory.
Look in the hoop behind the guide and you can see a section of the walkway.
Oh Look!! Here we are taking photos of you, taking photos of us. See you back on board for lunch.
We would experience entertainment once again. Singers and musicians along the way. Some standing up on the banks and some waiting on board sampans ready to spring into action as we approached in order to serenade us as we passed by.
Unfortunately this photo is a little blurred but it gives you an idea of the colourful costumes worn by the entertainers.
We were also entertained by both the guide and the boatman who serenaded us with traditional local songs. Perhaps not the most tuneful to our western ears but interesting to hear.
Along the bank there were some reconstructed traditional dwellings and more coffin niches. If you look carefully you can see the coffins just inside the niche.
At one point the boatman produced traditional wet weather attire. We were invited to have photographs taken wearing the costume and pretending to steer the sampan. I managed to persuade Mick to have a go so that I could take a photograph.
Then it was time to make the return journey and re board the ferry for the return journey to our ship and.......lunch. Just before we reached the end of our journey a man swam past us. He must have been crazy - the water was freezing. We had the impression that it was perhaps his regular daily exercise.
An optional trip had been planned for the afternoon to White Emperor Castle. As with the Dragon Valley yesterday this would be a trip requiring additional payment. It did sound quite interesting but we were unsure about participating. The description said that there would be a lot of steps to climb and, after the long walk in the valley yesterday, we were not sure if we wanted a walk with a climb today especially as the weather forecast for the afternoon was poor and the steps would be slippery. It seems that a lot of people must have had the same thought as the trip was cancelled due to insufficient interest. In fact, our ship simply continued along its way without stopping as, we were told, that the mooring fees could not be justified if the tour was not going to take place.
Despite the overcast and windy afternoon many of us spent some of the time outside on the top deck as we cruised. A commentary was being given about interesting things to see and a little history. For those who preferred to remain inside there would be talks and demonstrations each afternoon on such subjects as Chinese medicine, scarf wearing and tying, painting on the inside of snuff bottles, Chinese dancing, Hot Pot cooking and the beautiful Chinese pearls. Later during this afternoon we would enjoy an interesting talk about the pearls from the South China Seas.
After dinner there would be Bingo in the bar on the top deck. Not really our cup of tea but we decided to join our Australian friends although Mick was adamant that he would not participate. When we arrived in the top bar Daphne had already ordered a set of 3 cards for each of us so Mick had no option but to join in. There was a long delay before we started. Apparently the crew had been overwhelmed by the number of people prepared to join in. More cards were being printed. The three games were nothing like the games normally played. Strange combinations of letters and numbers were required to win. It was a shame that no one had considered that, in view of the numbers of people paying to participate, slightly better prizes could be offered. The prizes amounted to a scarf for one game, something similar for another and the star prize for the final game was a bottle of wine. Kerri won the wine and said that he would share it with our table the following night at dinner. The wine was Australian Jacobs Creek. In fact most of the wine being sold on board was imported and most was Australian. Being imported wine meant that the prices were astronomical. At home we always drink wine with our evening meal but on board we declined, as did most people. I am certain that the cruise company should reconsider this situation. There are some very good wines in China at a fraction of the price for imported wine. Even if 100% was added to the price it would still have been more acceptable than the prices of the imported wines.
We decided to retire to our cabin after the Bingo to relax with one of the beers we had haggled for and maybe watch a little television or read. The Chinese really do enjoy all kinds of sport and there is a channel that broadcasts in English dedicated to sport. So, relaxation might involve watching a little football ( English Premiership ) or snooker. A major snooker tournament was taking place in Shanghai during the first week of our holiday. It just so happens that we both enjoy watching most kinds of sport. There was also the channel HBO available in English so, from time to time, we might watch a late night film although, on most nights, we simply fell into bed.
