Three Gorges Dam

I went to bed, unable to post. I listened to the ipod and fell asleep. I had just the cover of the duvet on. But for some reason, I got cold. So I woke up, and threw on a blanket as well. I was still slightly cold. But I went back to sleep. Then when daylight began to appear, I got hot and had to throw all the covers off. I wanted to go to tai chi again, but had been up too late typing my blog and trying to connect to the internet to post it. Around 7 I got up to try again. I turned on the laptop and signed into the vpn. Things were going well until the internet went down. I think it was because the ship had entered the Xiting Gorge. There were tall mountains on both side and then I noticed we were floating closely past a tall wall. We had entered a step lock. The gate swung shut very slowly. Then the ship began to rise at about the speed of an escalator. Soon, instead of a wall outside my balcony, there was a public street. When I realized that I was still in my nightgown for all to see, I shut the drapes and went back to the laptop. But there was still no signal. And it was past time for breakfast. I washed up and got dressed. Chris was in the bathroom and did not feel like eating. So I went to breakfast by myself. I ran into Michele on the way, but she had already eaten.

When I got there, Cecily was there, as were two other people I did not know. Al was up at the buffet table. I set my purse down and did some chatting before collecting a plate of food for myself. We visited with the people who were at our table. Marie joined us, but not to eat. Two other people came to join us, and the first two left. Shirley and Ann came in later and had to sit elsewhere. When Al heard about Chris, he offered to give him a package of Immodium AD. So when I finished eating, I went to the room to ask. Chris was sitting and talking to Michele. He said yes. So I left and happened to see Marie in the hall. She offered me her package. I gave it to Chris. We hung out for awhile. Because of the fog, the ship stopped moving forward. We could not get to the excursion point, so they rescheduled the tea ceremony to fill the time. Cecily, Al, and I went to the tea ceremony. The tea lady gave it and you could tell that she was nervous. She talked about the health benefits of the different teas. She showed how the tea utensils are prepared and how the tea was made. Cups of tea were handed out. I stayed late, chatting with Cecily and another lady. When I left the Observation Lounge, I was looking for Michele. The tea lady was nearby so I asked her, but she had not seen Michele. I went up to deck 6. I saw Ann and Shirley sitting at a table outside. I sat and chatted with them. Michele dropped by to say she had heard I was looking for her. I told her I had my tablet so we could play 2048, but she wanted to read instead. She left.

The ship started sailing again. I guess the fog had lifted enough. Other people came up to see the scenery going by. It got a bit chilly. Then the MC gave a talk about what we were seeing: the landscape, the people, the way of life. Then it was time for lunch. Ann had gone looking for something, so Shirley asked me to save them seats at our table. I went to get Chris, but he still wasn't eating. When I got to the dining room, all the other Damours were there. I arranged the napkins to save seats for A and S. I ordered the coconut pumpkin soup on Cecily's recommendation and loved it. So we recommended it to Ann, but when she got it, she did not like it. I went to the salad bar for a plate and got some veggies.
On the way back from lunch, we stopped at the reception desk for passes. I got Chris's as well, having heard that he intended to come along. On the way up, I saw Cassie and Dyveen talking at the tailor's station. So I sat and talked to them. She gave me some more silk scraps. Then the PA system announced the tour to the Three Gorges dam. I went back to our room to get Chris but he still wasn't sure he should leave the vicinity of the bathroom. I grabbed my receiver and headphones and headed out. I returned Chris' pass.

I did not see our family members, so I figured they had gone on ahead. As I left the ship, I was handed a water bottle and a packaged wet wipe. I walked out, over to the gangplank and up to the shore. There were more steps and I came out on a small street. I could not tell where to go from there, so I hung back until other people went ahead of me. As we walked the street, we were mobbed by ladies selling t-shirts and fans, and other wares. We hurried to the bus. I got on and sat with Michele. We were bused to the dam, listening to our guide all the way. We alighted, went through a security check, then met the buses on the other side of the building. We were taken to a parking lot. We saw a model of the dam and 5-step ship lock. We had some free time to shop but it wasn't much. Then we rode 5 escalators to the top of a hill. We had time to take pictures of the dam and ship lock. Then we went down the other way, using steps instead of an escalator. It was a lot of walking for Ann and Shirley, who both used canes. Eventually we came to a concession spot. I checked out the wares and got two bracelets. I paid the asking price, then heard that other people were haggling. I saw one more thing I wanted, but Michele was tugging at me, saying it was time to go. We got back to the buses, which brought us back to the place where we were mobbed. There were more than a dozen stands set up. Michele and I started looking.

I went on ahead as she looked at coins. I was hounded by sellers but managed to wave most of them off. I found a dish of colored glass eggs. As I examined them, a man showed up. They were 10 yuan each. I got one, hoping to find a way to put it on a necklace. I kept going. Another place had the thread-stitched placemats for 50 yuan. I offered 35 and he said 40, so I agreed and picked one out. His wife tried to sell me another one, but none of the others stood out. I went back to look for Michele. One shop owner rushed out to tell me that the picture in my hand was only 20 yuan at her shop. Maybe I should have gone, but I figured she had the same selection as the first lady, so I kept going. Michele was not at the place I had left her. I walked back to the ship. Each returning passenger handed back their pass, then received a moist cloth to wipe their hands. I wiped and threw the cloth in the bin reserved for used ones. I went back to our room. Michele was in there with Chris. I brought out the tablet and she started playing the game. I got on Chris' laptop. The internet was back up. Luckily Blogger had saved a draft from last night. I posted it as is in case the internet went down. Then I went back and added pictures. I typed up today's activities. Michele put down my tablet and went back to her room.

I picked up the tablet and played 2048 until it was time to leave. We went to the observation lounge for the nightly talk on the next day's activities. He said when they got permission to go through the locks, we would be notified so we could gather on top and watch. And tomorrow we would board sampan boats for a trip up a tributary. Then we were dismissed to dinner. Chris went to get Michele and we all went to the dining room. The maitre d' came by to show me the gluten-free options. I wanted the lamb dish and he said to order it without the sauce, and to replace the potato tart with boiled potatoes. So I did. The lamb was quite tasty and I chewed some of the remaining meat off the bones. The others ordered dessert and I got the dish of watermelon. I salted it and the ladies from England remarked that they had never seen watermelon salted before. Chris excused himself and left. Later I left to check on him. I typed up my blog on his laptop, hoping to avoid the exposure to blue light just before bedtime. Just as I finished typing it, the ship started its engines and pulled out toward the locks, leaving the internet behind. I may have said a few unladylike words.