SAN PEDRO—Hundreds of community leaders and members greeted the “Armenia” ship as it docked in San Pedro Port Monday in one of the many stops the vessel has made since it set sailed from Valencia, Spain in May.
Among the participants at the event were Armenia’s Consul General to Los Angeles and his consular staff, representatives of the Prelacy and Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as leaders and members of community organizations.
The ship sailed from Valencia, Spain on May 28. Traveling to Gibraltar, the ship crossed the Atlantic to Barbados and sailed through the Panama Canal. After the stop in San Pedro, the ship will continue to sail to New Zealand, Australia, over to the Indian Ocean from where it will travel to Indonesia, Singapore, India and then to the Persian Gulf. After traversing the Red and Mediterranean seas, it will make its final stop in Beirut.
The captain of the ship, Zory Balayan said that he and the crew are determined to cross the oceans that their ancestors have in order to create a bond between Armenia and Diaspora communities.
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We went there and it was very unique and exciting even, but I was surprised that the Armenian flag wasn’t among other flags the one that we see in the corner was installed later.
I was present to welcome our fellow Armenians from their long journey. It was a truly amazing event. These hard working gentlemen were welcomed into our community with open arms just like a family member returning from a trip. It was history in the making, to feel the pride and sense of community was unbelievable. I went with my parents and my 2 children, we represented 3 generations of Armenians.
Hovsep, there were lots of Armenian flag rpresented. Many people (including myself) brought their own flags and the scouts were standing on the dock with all the necessary flags.