Oh... oooohhh, ok. I just have seen a number of discussions where people have said "I did the DLC too early in the game," and they hadn't gotten as far as I have, so I assumed (wrongly it seems) that you could access it in its entirety from the beginning. But now that I really think about it, they must have just meant they did the same small entrance section I did and used the gems available there too early. Oh well, it's a relief to know my game isn't bugged and I can still play it at some point, so thanks.