11 August - Entrance in Ashdod

"A magnificent morning for those who saw the sunrise ! All others came rather slowly out of bed : we're still not used to the life out at sea ! But after the breakfast and the daily cleaning again, with the first coffee everything looked better ! Today we could start our first training session at 10 am with an evaluation of the past days : we all agreed that the first days in in Alexandria have been really long because we were waiting for the boat...Nevertheless, we have already managed to  build a strong group spirit, even though there is still some distance among some of us.

The afternoon session was about sources and steps of conflict, interrupted by the attemps to see something of the solar eclipse.Then, around 4 pm we finally saw the landmark of Israel ! Everybody helped to bring the ship in order as asked by the Captain and at around 8 pm we happily reached the harbour of Ashdod.  However, just before our arrival, as we came out through Israel border and passport control, we received bad news : we were definitively not allowed to reach Gaza with the ship because of a final decision taken by the Ministry of Defence of Israel. And the Palestinian Authority took the decision not to welcome us by land.  This was a big shock for us and the direction of the Cruise. Many discussions went on during all  the night. We will see tomorrow how the situation will be solved. It will surely take time to get over this disappointment, especially for our Palestinian fellows who were looking forward so much to having the Peace Cruise in their territory."

The solar ecplise offered a salutary cooling and a beautiful astral show.

Anna Maria (Spain, Mobility International) is skillful at the helm as Talat (Canaan Institute, Gaza)  scans the horizon for the first glimpse of the Israeli coast.