Al Arish, still en route...

The internet wasn't working last night when I wrote this, but here it is today...

Day Two: Al Arish...so close, but there's a border in the way...

Today began at the US Embassy, which felt like a glorified DMV, where we paid $30 each to sign away our consular rights, because apparently it helps pave the very, very complicated road (of hoops) (is that mixing metaphors?) to Gaza. Then we drove to Al Arish, the town on the Egyptian side of the border. I caught a glimpse of the Nile in Egypt & the sea here in Al Arish, but there was no time to visit either...and tomorrow, early in the morning, we head to the border. It's strange to be in a place with so much vibrant history and no time to explore it.

Of course, that doesn't mean there isn't time for thoughts. Driving through the Sinai, looking out the window and watching the desert, the plants, & the people go about their days, I thought about how so much of Palestine would look similar if it weren't occupied – if so much of it hadn't been stolen. Even the land would be free to self-identify as “desert,” without anyone requiring it to bloom beyond its own inclination.

...More soon.
Also, check out this guy's blog: http://www.philipweiss.org/
He's on the same trip as I am.