March 28, 2016

March 28  aboard the Viking Emerald Three Gorges Dam

   Today is “Dam Day”. We were up in plenty of time for 7 a.m. Tai-chi. There was fog this morning but with only a few clouds in the sky, the sun burned off some of it, although as the sun rose it was a red ball for about 20 minutes as we walked along the corridors of four decks and stairs between decks managing to walk a mile before ending on deck 6, the Sun Deck, to begin tai-chi. The temperature was about 9 C.  Tian conducted today’s Tai-chi lesson adding the “Wave Hands like Clouds” move.  Noah, the ship’s river guide, translated again. There was lots of river traffic, as the middle section of the Yangtze River, it is a busy commercial route. There were half a dozen car carrying barges that we passed which had about 50 cars per level, some having all five levels full.  

   We had breakfast at the second deck main restaurant. We joined Janice and Michael from Burlington, Ontario and their Burlington friends, Rosalind & Rick and Lesley & her husband.  We walked another mile after breakfast before going to the Tea Ceremony at 9:30. We learned about different teas including Dark teas such as Pu er, Green teas such as Dragonwell and flower teas such as Snow Chrysanthemum.  The ceremony was explained. It included warming the cups and pot inside and out, as well as the explaining the proper water temperature for each tea and the number of seconds to brew. Brian, the tea master even had “mascots”. They were small clay statues, about half the size of a cell phone, which have the boiled water poured over them, then if it changes colour, the water is at the correct temperature to make the tea. For good quality teas like the fermented black teas, brewing for 30 seconds gives a flavourful cup and the leaves can be reused up to seven times. Three teas were demonstrated and each time six audience members volunteered to taste the brew.

    We did some more walking around the Sun Deck, which is only 30 meters by 30 meters, and we needed to dodge lounge chairs where people were enjoying the sun sheltered from the wind. By 11, when we attended the lecture on the Three Gorges Dam project, we had accumulated 2.85 miles. After the lecture, we walked out to the Sun Deck which was bathed in sun but visibility was only about 2 km. We made a few circuits as the ship passed the city of Yichang, which is 400 km from Yueyang.  We saw the waterfront Walmart store and the Imax theatre as we passed three river cruise ships moored together.  The middle ship had a golden dragon’s tail at the stern that was six storeys high and the bow was decorated with a six storey golden dragon’s head.  As we went along and you could see shiny and sparkling poles liberally scattered on the gorge sides in the gardens and small fields.  These poles are in preparation for the Tomb Sweeping Day, every April 4th, a 3 day holiday weekend this year.  It is an ancient custom of the Chinese to celebrate their ancestors and annually generations get together if they know of the burial site of a relative and bring a wreath and weed the tiny plot where an ancestor lies.

   Lunch in the restaurant was from noon to 2. We sat with Emily and John from Virginia and a couple from Sydney, Australia. Lunch was buffet style with various salads including a chicken & pineapple salad. There was a made to order shrimp sandwich as well as fruit, including dragon fruit, strawberries, oranges, pears, pineapple and apple. During the meal, the ship approached the Gezahouba Dam with its ship lock.

   After lunch we joined people on Deck 5 to watch the process of entering the lock and waited for the ship’s turn to be raised in the lock along with three large barges. The water level rise, within the lock, took only 12 minutes. Then we began the picturesque voyage through the first of the Three Gorges, the Xiling Gorge which is the longest of the gorges. The river water is now an opaque green. The new homes of the people displaced by the necessary dam flooding dotted the rocky slopes of the gorge.  We even saw a farmer plowing his small, about two acre, plot of land with a plough pulled by an ox. The afternoon temperature of about 23 was very comfortable to be outside. From Yichang to Wushen, passing through the Xiling Gorge which is 78 km long and Wu or Witches Gorge which is 38 km long, the distance is 170 km.  At 4:30, the groups disembarked for a tour of the Three Gorges Dam property.  The idea of a dam to harness the Yangtze River was first put forward in 1919 by China’s first president, Sun Yat-sen and again in 1935 by Chiang Kai-chek. The dam became fully operational in 2011. The main purpose is flood control of the Himalayan melt waters. Generation of hydroelectric power and increasing the shipping navigation on the higher reaches of the Yangtze River are the other two purposes.  The Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. It is hoped that the dam will protect up to a once in 100 years flood. Late this evening we were to navigate through the series of five locks at the Three Gorges Dam starting after 10 p.m.

   We returned to the ship and went to the 7 p.m. invitation only past cruisers cocktail party before dinner where we were served champagne or a cocktail of our choice and hors d’ourves. Lorraine & Gary and Ken & Sharon joined us. Then we went to dinner, about an hour later and sat with another Canadian couple from near Toronto, a couple from California and Lorraine & Gary. We ordered appetizers of tiger prawns or salad with duck breast; entrees of Sesame Chicken with bok choy & rice and Halibut, grilled tomato and grilled eggplant and Amaretto Tiramisu for dessert. The red wine served with dinner was a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was after 10 when we all left the dining room.  We went to the Deck 6 Emerald Lounge, but the duo was taking a break so we walked around the Sun Deck then returned to the stateroom.  The ship will be over four hours going through the five locks at the Three Gorges Dam lock system.  Today we walked over 6 miles.