A river cruise down the Yangtze–something I never could have imagined in my wildest childhood dreams! The Yangtze was in my geography and history books; a faraway place that seemed like another planet. Who could have imagined that someday I’d be cruising down this historical river?
Now if it were Dave taking this trip, he’d want to sail down the river in a sampan Chinese Junk boat with a boatload of old, chain-smoking, toothless Chinese men. Me? A little comfort doesn’t hurt the experience!
We had been told that the view had drastically changed due to the purposeful flooding of the Yangtze River to prepare for the construction of the Three Gorge’s Dam and that the Gorges had lost most of their charm. But as we cruised away from the dock and the muddy waters of the Yangtze, we were pleasantly surprised to see the water color changing to a beautiful green and were wonderfully impressed by the dramatic vistas before us. There was no mistaking we were in China with the little villages dotting the mountainsides and the farmers along the riverside wearing modernized coolie hats.
I spread Dave’s ashes in a unique and beautiful place; the Wu Gorge at Goddess Peak. It is a very well-known and starkly beautiful rock formation in the Yangtze River / Three Gorges. As I sprinkled his ashes, I was once again overwhelmed to be in such an exotic place for Dave…in the green, green, waters of the Yangtze River in the middle of China! Of course, during the course of cruising along this area, several black butterflies flitted by.
There’s a myth that the Goddess watches over the boatmen on the river. Maybe now she’ll also watch over Dave.
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Dave, i remember you since you srayed in my rent rooms in GREECE 2000. unfortunatelly i am in sok with your knews