May 31 White Emperor City

We woke up to see mountain landscapes on both sides of the ship as we steamed up the lake. Wow, what a difference a day makes! Deb did her first session of Tai Chi on the afterdeck at 07:00 this morning, whilst I swilled coffee and watched the world go by in the forward lounge. There's always something to see here, with boats and people and scenic vistas and wildlife around every corner. Saw a couple goats velcroed onto the rocks this morning, since they were whitish and in the middle of nowhere I presume they were feral. We've passed a number of the 'relocation cities' which look pretty good actually. The lake is definitely a highway, I've seen every type of transportation this morning including car ferries, excursion boats, and hydroplanes.

A portion of one of the relocation cities they are building to house the folks who were flooded out and wish to stay.

 

Combination commercial ferry and cruise ship, the only decent way to get up and down the lake.

There's a half-hour between breakfast and the morning excursion today, and we managed to make it eventful. Deb was on the forward deck when they let out a blast on the horn without warning and they literally nearly blew her eardrums out, took her 10 minutes to recover. I just got the scoots (not from the horn), no drama but scooty enough that I wasn't getting in no boat with no washroom. So here I am, typing on my Transformer whilst Debbi cavorts on a weenie little boat somewhere.

Tying up the chi at 07:00 whilst the world goes by. 

 

 Morning hydrofoil service up and down the lake.

 

I’m thinking this is a job for the new guy. It’s hard to capture the scale of the scenery!

 Deb says the small-boat excursion was spectacular. That afternoon, another 50 miles up the river, we went to the White Emperor City. It’s actually a town on top of Baidi Hill right in the middle of the gorge, and it’s been around for a zillion years. At one time it was surrounded on three sides by the river, now it’s in the middle of the lake and there is an excellent walking bridge out to it. A very interesting place to visit as it has history, artifacts, monkeys, architecture, and a great view of the gorge and the lake. The scenery is spectacular as it’s right beside the Xu Gorge.

Who can argue with a sign like this?

    Or this?

Lots of quiet, pretty little spots on the way up. 

The entrance to the town.

Beautiful dragon fountain.

My princess. 

    Do NOT screw with the locals!