|
Another
highlight of our trip was about to begin ... our Yangtze River cruise.
Five days sailing the Yangtze from Wuhan to Chongqing, a distance
of about 700 miles. During this time we'd see many wonderful things
including the Three Gorges and the Lesser Three Gorges of the DaNing
River. We'd also stop and visit the Three Gorges Dam site and Wanxian,
a city soon to be submerged by the rising Yangtze. This was one
of the primary reasons for our trip, our desire to enjoy the scenery
of the Yangtze's Three Gorges before it is flooded in 2003 and,
I'm afraid, changed forever.
I
have to admit being on board the boat took some getting used to.
The prior week in Beijing and Shanghai were nonstop activity from
morning to night. Here on the boat the pace was much slower and
more relaxed. We could sleep in if we wanted and rarely was there
a rush to go anywhere. An enjoyable alternative to the rush of daily
sightseeing ... we stayed in the same place and the scenery came
to us!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Floodlit
gangway to a cruise ship |
Arriving
at the dock we were impressed at how pretty it was with the gangways
to the ships all floodlit. I've come to the conclusion that blue/purple
is their favorite color for floodlighting large structures at night.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A
band met us as we boarded the
Regal China Cruise ship |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wuhan
from the ship, John's photo |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ship
docked at pier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carol
measuring
the width of the
cabin |
|
Anne
trying to figure out how the
cabin's heater worked ...
I'm not sure she was successful! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our
ship, the Regal China Cruise Line's Princess Elaine, was quite nice.
The cabins, as advertised, were not very large, but they were comfortable
and spacious enough for us to relax and unwind in. With the lights
of Wuhan fading in the distance we quickly settled into our rooms
for a good night's rest, that is, after a stop at the bar to unwind
for a few minutes. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
map at the top left shows the route of the cruise along the Yangtze
from Wuhan to Chongqing. The lower map shows the sights along the
Three Gorges. Our first night and the next day we'd be just cruising
along the Yangtze with not much to see. That was good because it
gave us time to acquaint ourselves with the boat and also to relax.
That
first day was actually a wasted day. The terrain wasn't much to
look at. Mostly flat with various crops planted near the river's
edge. Occasionally we'd see a Water Buffalo, but the pictures were
useless because the weather was so bad. There was alight drizzle
and a very heavy fog for most of the day. We did, however, become
familiar with the various types of boats and barges we'd see along
the Yangtze.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
John
strolling around the deck |
A
tug with a barge
in tow |
I
believe this was some type of
fueling barge |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another
scene with a horse, a cow and a man.
Can you spot them? The cow is standing in
front of the tree in the center. |
|
|
We
did spot this one Water Buffalo pulling
a plow with a man following. To bad it's so
foggy, but the picture does have a mood to it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| While
strolling around the deck I ran into an Englishman (right) who had
a large format camera. I watched as he set the camera up taking aim
at something on the river's bank. I know how I felt lugging around
a 35mm with additional lenses, a digital camera and lenses, and a
video camera, and could imagine how it might be to lug a large format
camera, like his, around. Knowing that the pictures wouldn't be spectacular
I felt sorry for the guy. While It's possible to get some wonderful
shots in weather conditions like these, you need time to select the
location and set the shot up. Unfortunately with the boat moving the
way it was you didn't have much time to react to what you'd see on
the bank. In fact, with the limited vision because of the fog it was
impossible to know what was coming in the next minute or two. With
the 35mm and digital camera it was just a matter of selecting the
subject, focusing and clicking, a few seconds at most. So we at least
got some shots. I don't imagine he took many pictures because of the
time required to set up the shot. But, then, judging from how bad
the pictures were because of the weather I don't imagine it made much
difference. |
An
Englishman using a
large format camera on the
deck of the boat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anne
relaxing in our stateroom |
Anne
talking to Roy, a fellow group traveler |
The
Welcome Show |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All
in all that first day on the Princess Elaine was pretty much a waste.
Not much to see and what we could see was hampered by the weather.
That gave us time to rest and relax and get ready for the exciting
few days that lay before us.
Continue
to the next page for more pictures from the Yangtze River cruise
...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
