Three Gorges on the Yangtze

And haven't they just been extraordinary!  

In an apparently rare pure blue sky, we passed through two of the gorges on our ship. The intense jade of the water against the sheer cliff faces and velvet green sided mountains was incredibly dramatic. Lorries being transported on ships looked like toys, they were so dwarfed.

For the third gorge we transferred to smaller boats. We don't really enjoy the mass exodus off the boat for the tours and took a stroll on our own this morning rather than participating in the optional tour.  But, this afternoon, this one was managed well with space between each smaller boat. The gorge was again a stunner. It was all going so well until the moment we passed a large floating platform with singers and dancers and tourists participating. And were told we were doing this on the way back. Why they feel the need to do this in a narrow gorge where the beauty and tranquility says it all, I do not know. But, we were quite clearly in a minority of 6 English speakers with the Chinese having a blast! So we took in the spectacle as another experience of a different culture.

There's been a dearth of wildlife on the river so it was a joy to hear birdsong from the mountainsides as we passed them once we were back on the main river.

The amount of water being controlled on the Yangtze is beyond comprehension. The third longest river in the world changes depth by over 100 metres. There's a high tide rock line about 8-10 metres above the current water level and it will drop by 120 metres or so before the rains start.

Little bit of a hiccup with tomorrow's itinerary so let's see where we end up to sleep...