An early start, up at 6:00 and off by just gone 7:30. The Golden Iris was moored nearby. A long drive to Jerusalem. When we arrived we went straight to the Mount of Olives. From there we saw the Dome of the Rock, the Al Aqsa mosque and much of Jerusalem.

Then we went to Gethsemene. There was a small garden with olive trees, one of which is over 2,000 years old. We went into the Sanctuary of Gethsemene. Then we went to the Wailing Wall, past the Al Aqsa Mosque. After that we walked through old Jerusalem to see Stations of the Cross 3, 4 and 5, before passing along the Via Dolorosa to the Holy Sepulchre. There we saw where Jesus was supposed to have been crucified, where his body lay and where it was put in the cave.

After an OK lunch at a kibbutz (Israeli wine is good!), we drove to Bethlehem, which I didn't realise was so close, only a 10 minute drive from Jerusalem. We saw the awful wall that the Israelis have built. Once in Bethlehem, we drove to Manger Square and then into the Church of the Nativity. There we saw part of the cave where he is supposed to have been born, we didn't get to see the actual spot for some reason I didn't quite catch.

After a long drive back, I got on board at 19:45. It was a very busy day and the roads were crowded for two reasons. First of all it's a Sunday morning, the first day of the working week. Secondly, it's Israel's Remembrance Day, so lot of people were about.

Back on board the captain announced that we would be leaving late due to mechanical issues. We hadn't left at midnight.

I had a good day, all the more so because of my reservations about visiting Israel, because of their treatment of the Palestinians.

This is the end of the penultimate week. Next week is the final full week of the cruise and our last two ports before home.