We’re moving again. Hubert just came on the PA to announce that we’re 15 minutes from entering the second of the Three Gorges, Wu Gorge.

This morning after breakfast we disembarked at Fengjie to see the Palace / Temple of the White Emperor. Our tour guide was Sara; total cutie. Bus to the Temple. Same setup as Red Pagoda: new pavillion & bridge to new island / former peninsula. The Palace / Temple is Ming Dynasty, built over the ruins of a temple from the West Han? Kingdom, 25AD. Originally built in memory of a man inspired to write legendary poetry by the beauty of the countryside. I get it. The gardens are filled with stone tablets & stelles of others similarly inspired. The gardens are at the peak. Sara climbs these stairs twice a day. Learned about the hanging coffins, and the clever prime minister who borrowed arrows from his enemies. The general in the temple here proclaimed himself king after seeing a white dragon in the vapour emerging from a well, but his kingdom was successful, so now he is worshiped by three religions. Learned yesterday the symbol for palace is the same as temple. So much for separation of church & state. Such a thing would make democracy the death of religion as well.

Following our return to the ship, no break before lunch, immediately followed by entry into the first gorge, the Kui Gate? Pretty amazing. And windy. And maybe a little rainy too. returned to my room to find my underwear strewn about my balcony. May have lost a pair or two. Cruise took us down past the Cradle of the Chinese Civilization to Wushan, the Mountain City. Disembarkation for our river cruise of the Daning. Less silty than the Changjiang / Yangtze. Saw a hanging coffin in the wild. Stepped farmland stretches almost to the sky. Sheer rock faces show upwelled sediments, the highwater mark, and at least one breathtaking multilevel waterfall. Four hours later, with 44km of the second gorge to go, I’m a little gorged out. A bit underdressed on the river cruise, and the warmth of my face reminds me often. Just found the remote for the tv in my room. Think I may have just missed a photo op for an incredible waterfall system. I get the next one. Notcied the tv on my first day here, but subsequently forgot it existed untl now. Wonder if the get CCTV3 / MTV China.

Have to say I’m having trouble distinguishing the historically significant buildings / statues / towns from new towns rendered weathered by the harsh climate.

Tiny huts perched on the rock face, look down upon John, Yolanda, and I, and our cameras. Kodak and Fuji can talk as much game as they want, but no camera or film could ever capture the colour of green that stains the rock cliffs, thick with moss built of entire forests.

Been taking a lot of photostitch photos. Occured to me that I could imply 3-dimensionality using timelapsed photos compiled into animation. Think I’m going to need to buy some memory cards. Can probably use lowest resolution, since GIFs are typically small to speed up loading times. Hungry. Been pissing all afternoon. Paid Y8 for 2 1.5L bottles of water. Realized after the fact that they might not be safe to drink. Dave made a joke about it distinctly saying unpurified water on the front, and I fell for it. Saw John drinking same brand.

Steep chasms marr the rocky cliffs. Bone dry, or covered by thick flora. Will have t o come back when the streams are flowing. spring perhaps. I’m cold, even in jeans, a sweater, & jacket.

Caves, forested cliffs, and barges in a line carry sand and other concrete constituents, most likely, go by.

Kathleen thinks the cool weather is a nice change. Tell her she has her hot flashes to rely on. What do I have?

These cliffs used to be 80m taller. Now they’re under 120m of water. Still pissing. Need to lay down, look out the window, and get warm. Dinner is at 6;30pm. More than an hour out.