Best Laid Plans

Monday aboard the Yangze Explorer on the Yangze River

I'm sitting at the bar (best wifi signal on the ship) after a fabulous lunch. The charming
waitress just told me that the signal will weaken considerably as we enter the locks that
will move us up 330 feet and up river of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest in the world.

We flew to Yi Ching from Beijing yesterday. There was a thunderstorm in Shang hai
the night before and somehow that meant our 1:20 pm flight would be three hours late.
Go figure. Instead of landing mid-afternoon, we arrived at dusk so by the time we were
bussed to the ship, it was dark so we had no idea where we were other than on the
boat! The ship is absolutely gorgeous. It was completely refitted a few years ago with
lots of marble and, even better, lots of room! Our stateroom is huge. As promised there
is western food, ice and laundry service! Life is good.

We left the dock about 8 this morning and headed up river to the Three Gorges Dam
for a short bus trip to visit the site and enjoy the gardens that have been planted
everywhere. This project involved relocating 1-1/2 million people from the villages and
towns and farms that were soon to be under water so there is a considerable effort to
make the new towns along the higher banks of the Yangze quite pleasant.

Jim and I did Tai Chi on the forward deck this morning at 6 am. I felt less than graceful
but it was such an elegant way to start the day and somehow despite all the slow
motion movement, you could feel the burn!

We're about to reach the locks so I'll send this before I lose the signal.