Victoria and Vancouver

We went across from the Port of Seattle to Victoria on the Clipper- basically a ferry that serves food. Crossing took about 3 hours, and when we arrived our friend Andy was waiting for us. We went back to Andy and Graham’s lovely condo to unpack, then headed back to the Fairmont Empress for High Tea.
The Empress is a gorgeous old hotel known for their “Tea” and we loved it. 3 tier platters with everything from watercress/cucumber sandwiches to scones. Of course, they also served a selection of teas, being a bit of England and all that. All of our daily allotment of calories all at one sitting, and our daily budget for food at the same time. Good thing we were staying under the largess of Andy and Graham- tea per person was $72.

We brought the better weather with us and we had blue skies and sunshine again. The guys showed us around their beautiful area, including of course the world famous Butchart Gardens. Truly spectacular. Although they say every season of year has it's benefits, by visiting in July we got the most amazing roses, begonias, snapdragons- every summer flower you can imagine. Really a mesmerizing day. We enjoyed Victoria very much, and then we were off again- this time on the ferry across to Vancouver to see Marion. This trip was really our Mexican/Canadian friends tour! Really fun to see them all in their “natural habitat”. As it turned out- Andy, Graham and 2 of their friends (also from Mexico) needed to run an errand in Vancouver, so we drove their car onto the ferry and rode across with them. We had breakfast while crossing, and arrived in Vancouver in time for lunch. We said "goodbye-we’ll see you in PV" to everyone and met up with Marion right on schedule. She lives about 20 minutes out of the city, in White Rock, in an unbelievable 2 storey condo overlooking the harbor. After she showed us the techie things like how to turn on the lights, run the shower and put the curtains up and down, we rode in her private elevator up to her private roof balcony. There, a pair of seagulls were raising 3 babies, on her roof. Unfortunately they didn’t understand that it was Marion’s roof, and every time we went out onto the deck they barked at us for interrupting.

One full day we spent in Vancouver, an attractive city surrounded by water. We continued to get clear weather, for which we were very grateful. One day we walked down to the water in White Rock, where kids were crabbing and fishing. Marion explained to us what makes a crab “legal”, as we watched a young boy try repeatedly to unhook the pincers of an “illegal female” from his net. Marion finally went over and helped him hold the claws and release it from the net.

Andrew and Gordon were actually in their Vancouver condo during this time, so they came over to have lunch with us.

A wonderful respite, all in all, after the walking in Seattle and Victoria, and after 3 nights there in paradise, Marion took us back into Vancouver to catch the Rocky Mountaineer train to Banff.

Seattle...continued

So, I forgot to mention that the reason we arrived so early from home was that the Seattle Mariners were in town for one more day- so we got tix to see them lose their ninth game in a row, this time to the Texas Rangers. Still, the park was pretty, the weather was nice enough that they left the roof open, and we had hot dogs at the ball game. Good enough. Besides, we really didn’t care who won (but for the benefit of the suffering Mariners fans around us we pretended we did.

But back to the Underground Tour- we had seen it advertised and the nice young lady behind the desk at the Seattle LQ said “it was her favorite tour” so we signed up. Turns out Seattle had an interesting past, as probably all cities had. Especially those in the Wild West. The city burned to the ground in the late 1880’s, and as raw sewage backing up from the low lying streets was a real problem, they elevated the streets that the buildings were constructed on, as much as 2 storeys higher than before. This meant that for many shops, the entrance was at the second storey, and that the rest was underground. This left a bunch of space beneath the level of the street, and a whole section of the seedier side of Seattle took place, such as prostitution, gambling and crime. We actually walked around through the original rooms under the world that was going on above. And in the gift shop-every tour has a gift shop-they had a great t-shirt for sale. I didn’t buy it but I did take a picture of it.

So we spent 4 nights in Seattle, had several Starbuck coffees, and then caught the Clipper across the water to Victoria.

SJC to SEA-TAC at dawn. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Seattle. We arrived from SJC by 8:30 in the morning, so we settled into our hotel just up from Pike’s Place Market and assessed our condition. The weather was rainy, we had been up since 3AM, and we didn’t have a car.

The LQ was nice enough to let us eat some of their complimentary breakfast while the room was being readied…after all, check in time is 2PM and we were hours away from that. We got a map and struck out for downtown Seattle. 6 blocks, the concierge said. Easy- just walk to the end of the block and head toward the water. Before a block had passed we realized that yes, it was easy, because it was all downhill………

So we looked around, I bought a pair of pants at the local Nordstrom, Judy bought a blouse. Not exactly sightseeing, but still fun. Then we headed out to the street, to return “home”. The tourist map, we discovered, was not really to scale, or even very accurate. Streets that converged on paper, did not do so in reality. But with the help of several police and more than a few streetpeople, we were on our way. Just about then, the blue skies blew away and we were walking in the rain. No umbrella, of course- they were in our suitcases back at the LQ (the last time we made that mistake- Seattle). We ducked under an awning to wait it out, and as we were standing there, 5 or 6 young adults came by. They were 18 to 20 years old, with backpacks and a large jug of what looked like rosé wine carried by one of them. As we watched, the young man dropped the wine, which hit the pavement at the curb and shattered. All of them started to wail, except the guilty one, who promptly dropped to his knees and started sucking the wine (and the glass particles!) out of the gutter. Since Seattle is like SF, it’s very hilly, and the wine was flowing rather swiftly toward the bay. One by one they all got down and slurped as much of the dirty wine as they could from the ground, until the rain had slowed and we started back on our way up the hill. An amazing sight. Scary.

But we did have a good time in Seattle- the weather actually held for the most part and we got around. Rode the trolley out to Lake Union, the bus along the waterfront, had a marginal facial at an Aveda beauty school, and took the Underground City tour. More on THAT…next time!

On the Rocky Mountaineer-

After 3 amazing days with Marion in Vancouver, we got up at 4:45AM to catch the train from downtown Vancouver to Banff. The train is very comfortable, a doubledecked carriage with clear plastic ceilings for viewing the gorgeous countryside. We were served a tasty breakfast and settled on in for the 10 hour trip over to Kamloops.

The landscape we are traveling through is green, lush and full of wildlife. We have seen osprey, eagles, marmots, and promised the possibility of a glimpse of grizzly bear. But the overwhelming impression is that of clean, clear water. Lakes and rivers have wound along the entire route, reminiscent of New Zealand. We have learned all about the rough life of the local salmon, and seen huge protected habitats of the seabirds that live in the area.

After a night in Kamloops, we reboarded the train for the 12 hour jaunt into Banff. More of the same stunning scenery with all of the food and drink we could ever want. We had just left the relative flatlands of BC with an increasing climb up the mountains towards Banff, when we came to a stop. We have now been sitting here on the RM tracks for 90 minutes, and were just informed that our secondary engine is malfunctioning. Because of the steepness of the track, we can’t make it without the second engine, and so here we sit. They are sending another engine, and in the meantime we are enjoying the summer rain, the green environs and the free alcohol. I just hope that the Avis rental car agency will still be open when we do finally limp into town. But we are staying at the Fairmont Banff Springs so if we can’t get the car tonight- we’ll get it tomorrow! No worries, as they all say.

Chongqing.

So we left the river, and took the bus to the Chongqing Zoo. We knew we only had a short time there and that our reason to make the stop on the way to the airport was, of course, the Giant Pandas. So we got our tickets and headed off to the Panda Enclosure. OMG. There they were, waiting for us. And they are so cute, even though from what everyone says they are a bit nasty tempered. One of them sitting in a special chair, obviously designed for easy viewing and at the same time easy munching of eucalyptus. A real photo op. We all took about a million pictures, then it was off to the Zoo Museum. We weren't really looking to buy anything,especially in a museum inside a zoo, but there was a guy there who was carving a unique type of jade so ......

As a result of our purchase, we were last on the bus- but everyone waited for us (smile)and we were off to the airport for our short flight to Xi'an and another Chinese treasure- the Terra Cotta soldiers. Remember that part- we were late for the ride to the airport but the bus waited for us.

In Xi'an we had had an opportunity to pay extra for a Tang Dynasty dinner/show but we had opted not to do so in order to go out and see some of Xi'an on our own. We had remembered what our friend on the Shanghai flight had said about Xi'an being China's past and we aimed to see some of it, especially since the trip to the soldiers wasn't until the next morning. But when we arrived at the very impressive Xi'an Kempinski hotel (Viking did put us up in some very nice 5 star hotels!) we discovered that we were out in the middle of nothing. Built way out of town, designed to be a self sufficient resort (but not there yet), we were stuck. Luckily there was a beautiful pool so we enjoyed the facilities and wondered how the rest of the group was doing (we were 2 of 8 who didn't go. Our excuse, and we still think it was a good one- was that THEY had all just STARTED their trip and we had been traveling for a month by then. We needed a break.) And we had been told by Tom, our very efficient guide, that those of us who hadn't dropped an additional $40 each on the Tang Thing would be provided with the tasty, convenient, included meal- right there in the sumptuous Kempinski dining room. No bus- no boat-no flight. Cool. Count us in. And some people we had met and made friends with had also opted not to go, so we agreed to meet in the beautiful, new bar at 7Pm for a drink before dinner.

At 7 we found a table- (not too hard since there were about 100 people in the entire hotel- and we made up about 75 of of that number) and waited for our friends while listening to a young girl sing American songs. When Jan and Mary Ann arrived they said that they had tried to order a drink already- had we had a chance to do so? No- but we were game. We headed for the dining room, ready for a new experience. Oh yeah.

Our arrival at the table was matched by the appearance of 3 very young, very smiley Chinese employees. Unsuspecting, we ordered a bottle of white wine from a Chilean winery. What a global world we live in! We could get a Chilean wine in Communist China! 15 minutes later all 3 Chinese kids (don't they have to be older than 21 to serve alcohol? Maybe not.) showed back up with a bottle held proudly on a tray. Right winery- but a red wine. Foolish as we are, we explained the mistake and actually let the 3 kids AND our wine disappear back out of sight. By this time we had been served our soup, and our salad, but no sign of the wine. We were joined in our laughter about the situation by the other 4 people from Viking, seated at tables around us. One of the women asked if we had been wise to send the bottle back because "who knew when another might show up?" No, we were sure it was about to be presented for our consumption.......but when it DIDN'T appear, we assured the few employees still around (most of them were otherwise engaged in going to Chile for the wine) that we would happily take the previously offered bottle- as long as it was on our table, in our glasses and in our hands before dinner was over....so off they scurried helpful, as always. While we were pondering this development, a new person came up to us. She leaned over Judy and said- "Madam- rare, medium or well?" After a moment's thought Judy asked "What kind of steak is it?" A stricken look came over the waitress, who paused to compose herself and then said...."Madam- rare, medium or well?" They were the only 4 words in English that she knew. Still, we could hardly be critical since we could barely manage "good morning" in Chinese so we took it all in stride. And just about then, almost as a reward- our bottle of wine (the original one) showed back up! Good- we were on a roll. Unfortunately, we are pretty sure that the waitress had never before attempted to open a wine bottle (or maybe even have seen one) and she gallantly tried for some time to get it open. Finally, to the amusement of all of the rest of the Viking travelers, we indicated with our best sign language to bring the bottle, AND the opener, to the table and we would do it ourselves......ah, the pleasures of travel. And we hadn't even gotten to the Terra Cotta soldiers yet. Tomorrow- another 5:30AM wakeup call and another intra China flight.

Farming: Chinese-style

We did see a lot of the different valleys and gorges, and we were glad we did. I mentioned the unique style of farming used by the local inhabitants. When you realize just how steep the valley gorges are, and the lack of what we Westerners would consider to be arable land, the answer (I guess) is obvious. Up the slope. This is really thinking outside the box, since there is nothing easy about this process. First off, the land they were moved to was a different makeup of soil altogether. Remember- this new “crop land” was located on the sides of mountains, over 600 feet higher than the old farm land. So the dirt available there didn’t consist so much of top soil as- rocks. Rocks that were hard enough to have withstood centuries of weather. And now a group of about 13,000 farming families were going to plant their livelihood there.

I took many pictures of the various fields, just because they were so amazing. In addition, “Susan” told us that the soil is all worked by hand. All of the rocks that had to be removed, all of the plowing, etc- by hand. And the reason why? Because the pitch of the sloped fields is such that the animals (horses and cattle, for example) would lose their footing and slide down the mountainside. While that seems funny in retrospect…….

After our little outing we again returned to the Century Sun and prepared for sailing. Next stop- Chongquin. This was even more exciting than the Three Gorges Dam because everyone knows that Chongquin=Pandas. And we couldn’t wait. (Unfortunately, lurking at the other end of our visit to the Panda enclosure was another intra-China fight, but you do what you have to do. More about the intra-China flights later)

We cruised throughout the night, enjoyed the on board entertainment such as Bingo, and got the official word about disembarking, paying our bills and understanding the process of getting all 400 of us (and our luggage) to the airport for the flight to Xi’an. Good night- see you tomorrow! Pandas- here we come.

Three Gorges Dam

Having missed the first excursion of the cruise, we gleefully took advantage of the fact that the 4 desktop computers on board “YOU CANNOT USE LAPTOPS OR WIRELESS INTERNET ON BOARD THE CENTURY SUN” (sheesh!) were available. So I sat down and wrote all of you who were wondering what part of the flat ocean/earth we had fallen off of…..email after email. The joke, of course, was on me, since China had installed some very effective filters on those available computers, so our faithful missals home were either lying dead on the floor or bouncing around in cyber-space somewhere. Still, I felt better about it. Ignorance is bliss.

The next day we really entered “Gorge Country” and it was, well, gorgeous. We made an excursion to the actual Three Gorges Dam site, had a tour and everything, while they explained the need for the dam that had displaced the entire population of the valley. The design, technology and scope of the project is overwhelming and a testament to Chinese determination. Determination on the part of the government, of course. And in return, as the Scientific American reported “the government ordered some 1.2 million people in two cities and 116 towns clustered on the banks of the Yangtze to be evacuated to other areas before construction, promising them plots of land and small stipends—in some cases as little as 50 yuan, or $7 a month—as compensation”.

After returning to the ship, we started the job of passing through the area. The site consists of 5 locks. It took us 4 hours to navigate the locks, allowing us to pass through into the “Lessor Gorge” area. By this time the river was bordered on both sides by huge, steep walls of granite, trees, and amazingly- crop fields. Many farmers had their lands taken from them, with promises of payment and help in moving. Allegedly, funds for relocating the 13,000 farmers around Gaoyang disappeared after being sent to the local government, leaving residents without compensation. Crop fields- more on that later.

By this time we were rather “locked” out, and most of us had retired to the bar for some liquid refreshment that wasn’t muddy and flowing past the bow of our ship. Tomorrow was another big day- a transfer to a smaller boat that would take us up into the valleys flooded by the dam, and the opportunity to float over all of those homes, schools and such lying 600 feet below the current water level.

As promised, the next day we met a local tour guide and started up the valley. “Susan” was about 28 years old, and she and her parents were among the people displaced by the flooding of the region. She pointed out the beautiful, new, tall, high-rises along the (new) riverbank, and was happy to share with us the exact condo that she and her husband now own. She said that the old people are still bitter about the loss of their homeland, but that the young people are happy to have the new, modern apartments. And there are many. When you move 1 ¼ million people, something has to give. And this is a hilly region, so obviously the only way to go is….up. Just like in the cities, buildings are skyscrapers. And densely packed together. I guess they have to be thankful for all of the kilowatts that the dam is providing because you seriously would not want to have a power outage and have to use the stairs in these buildings. Damn. Dam.