May 30

I randomly awoke at 6:30 am, but that was in time for our passage through the first gorge. Took a few pictures from my balcony, didn’t feel like going up to the top deck. Got dressed and headed to breakfast, because our shore excursion was at 8:30 am. Took a smaller boat through the lesser gorges, and then an even smaller boat through one section. Also pretty sure we saw a dead body floating. We thought maybe it was a dummy at first, like a joke, but then we figured that China probably doesn’t make dummies and put them in rivers as jokes, that’s more of an American thing. So yeah, I have a picture of a dead body. The rest of that boat ride was really nice though, it’s an excellent view.

Lunch was uneventful. The rest of the evening just consisted of passing through the next two gorges, and the lock system of the dam. This was actually pretty interesting for a few moments. There are five locks, but we skipped the first one since the water level isn’t that high yet. The construction is a sight to behold. It’s a REALLY big dam. And we made lots of dam jokes. It’s some fine dam construction. And some big dam doors. And there’s a lot of dam water. I touched the dam wall.

Dinner was the captain’s farewell, and we received keychains with the cruiseline name on them. Dinner was actually pretty good, with some favorites being the cream of mushroom soup, teriyaki chicken, and roast duck. I was also a fan of the complimentary champagne, and I was splitting another bottle of red with Jenny.

Then there was a crew/passenger talent show. It was mostly crew, with some song and dance performances, but one tour group put on a fun little “American tourist” skit, and our illustrious LSU crowd exhibited some of their flexibility skills (video to come). More drinking, more wandering around deck, and then to bed, because we have an early morning breakfast (6:30) and shore excursion (7:30) to visit the dam site.