Monday 27 September – Into Turkey
Reageer (0)20.00 GMT Monday 26th September: The convoy has arrived in Istanbul, Turkey to a warm welcome from supporters. The picture below taken at the Turkish border is thanks to Asif.
Monday 27 September – Into Turkey
It's Monday morning, and the weather has improved. Everyone has been able to shower and de-stress slightly but there's a palpable sense of excitement. We're heading for the border this morning and what we expect to be a huge welcome as we cross over. Our friends, the Turkish NGO the IHH, are to be our hosts. We joined their volunteers on the Mavi Marmara where nine of their people were murdered by the Israelis. Two of our party were on the boat too. It's going to be both a joyful and poignant reunion.
Sunday 26 September - onwards to Alexandroupolis
In the morning we cleared up and moved out for the Turkey border, aiming to camp in the municipal facility of Alexandroupolis, leaving an easy stretch for the crossover. The weather turned as we headed for the town - the first rains spattered on the convoy as we pulled into the seaside site with 45 vehicles and 91 people on board. There was a gathering of local people and young Palestinians studying at the university to greet us as we swung into the site. It's highly recommended for visitors, tree and bush-lined plots to camp, a bar on the beach and washing facilities plumbed in. The sea was immense, massive breakers crashing on the beach but that didn't prevent some of the braver, or more foolhardy, guys charging into it.
Saturday 25 September – Another day in Greece
There was work to do on the vehicles so we decided to spend another night in Greece, and again this was unexpected. The basketball stadium was in use so we could not use the facilities. But Evdokia arranged for portable toilets to be brought in and we washed from cold taps on the skin of the building.
Friday 24 September - across Greece to Thessaloniki.
The sun was scorching as we pulled out of the port and headed on into Greece. The destination was the town of Thermi, on the outskirts of Thessaloniki. We were picked up by a police escort on the outskirts of town to negotiate the ring road. But there was an immediate problem as we pulled into a massive and overgrown car park without lights, or running water and the hard standing made it impossible to set up our tents. We weren't expected to camp, we were told by the local head of the council. And while some of the men played football and others communed, the leadership negotiated vigorously. The upshot was we were allowed to set up tents on the grass areas around the local basketball court and use the toilets and showers inside the building. They even threw in barrow loads of food for us. We're extremely grateful to the deputy president of the council, Evdokia Papachristidou, who engineered the transformation. She was outstanding.
Greek welcome for Convoy - picture thanks to Kia Ora Gaza
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