Back to Sailing

So much for my China trip. I'll finish that up later.
I've been doing the Wednesday night races on Panache, a Ranger 37. The boat routinely comes in last place but first place in fun. The crew is a mixed bag of old and young - more newbies than seasoned sailors. Some nights it has looked like a Chinese fire drill when trying to put the spinnaker up.
Last Wednesday was a different story. We were winners. Well we beat one boat anyway. The course took us down the Rhode River and was a bit over 5 miles. The wind was coming straight at as, 7 to 8 knots, as we tacked out of the West River. Our competition came from behind, passed us, but tacked a bit too early as we were approaching the Rhode River and had to do an extra tack. That gave us an edge. We stayed in front down the Rhode and back but they passed us up again as we headed back down the West River flying spinnakers. With superb teamwork we managed to jibe the spinnaker and pass our competition. We held our breath as we approached the finish, hoping to cross the line 15 seconds ahead to win. Well at least we weren't in last place this week.
Always first in fun.

The Pandas, Sichuan Food, Tea House and Opera

Thursday, June 14th, we were off to Chengdu. Chengdu is the home of the Panda Breeding and Research Center which was our first stop Friday morning.

I was amazed at the number of pandas and their proximity. In the US it is difficult to get a glimpse of the pandas at the zoo. At the panda research and breeding center there were many of all ages playing, sleeping, and eating.

Chengdu is a large city with a population of over 11 million people. The city was huge and the air polluted. But it offers a wonderful variety of experiences.

Chengdu is located in Sichuan Province and a must do is sampling the wonderful cuisine. We had a hot pot dinner Friday evening. The food was excellent. Saturday lunch was at Ma Pa Dofu - true Sichuan food, nothing comparable in the US. Ma Po's Dofu (Bean curd with mince and chili oil): one of the most influential flavors of Sichuan cuisine is served in every Sichuan restaurant. Gong Bao Ji Ding (Spicy diced chicken with peanuts): a specialty of Sichuan cuisine, diced chicken, hot pepper and peanuts was the other dish we tried along with vegetables.

Saturday morning we started on Jinli Street, a cultural street that is located near the center of the city. Wuhou Memorial Temple is nearby. The temple and Three Kingdoms museum had beautiful gardens. It was a rainy day so few people were there and we were able to wander the museum and gardens undisturbed.

Chengdu is famous for its tea houses. We went to one Saturday evening suggested by the hotel which included a Sichuan opera performance. The Sichuan opera had many charming, witty and varied performances, such as Bianlian (Changing faces), Gundeng (Rolling lamps) and Tuhuo (Spitting fire). Bianlian (Changing faces) is famous even overseas for its mysterious techniques. I don't know how they did it.

Sunday, June 17th - Off to Xian.

The River Li

Guilin, located in south west China, was the next stop on my China travels. Guilin is one of the most picturesque cities in China. It isn't a large city, with a population of only about 670,000. The Lijiang River ( Li River) runs through the city and is a popular tourist attraction. We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel and could look out our hotel window and watch the river directly across the street. After checking in we walked along the river. Young men were swimming but the current was so fast they made little progress. Guilin is a tourist city with a night market and walking streets. It was fun to explore.

Tuesday we took a river cruise down the Li to Yangshou. The river is surrounded by sharply rising limestone towers that are rounded on top. They are often portrayed in Chinese artworks. We saw water buffalo wandering alongside the river near the many villages as well as men fishing on narrow bamboo rafts. There had been recent flooding and we could see the debris left by the high water.

Yangshuo lies in the northeast of Guangxi Province and to the southeast of Guilin. It seems that all the river boats end up there so it was packed with tourists and shops. The diverse ethnic minority groups were represented there including Hui, Zhuang, and Yao. We were glad to get out of town.

Wednesday was rainy but we explored Guilin on foot. I managed to find a lovely white silk brocade jacket with a mandarin color, typical chinese style, that I planned to wear at the Nanjing festivities.

Next stop - Chengdu.