The day had warmed up a little as we entered the estuary. A boat came shooting out of the glare, depositing the pilot on our starboard ladder - he and John guided the ship towards the Estación Marítime, right at the foot of Vigo's old town. Small ferries and tiny fishing boats were zipping in all directions deftly handled by boat handlers that can probably navigate when asleep - and if there's speed limit around here, I don't imagine anyone is observing it!

The port thrusters pulled took us alongside the quays, where a gaggle of Greenpeace Spain people were waiting for us - Mariajo was waving to us from the quay. Ropes were thrown to the dockers, the gangway lowered - hugs and kisses exchanged. Action stations right away - we had a press conference to host, in the heli-hanger. Boxes of materials were carted on board, as well as stuff for the school tours - including a bizarre squid costume.

The hour of the press conference - midday - drew closer. There wasn't a journalist in sight, which was a little worrying. A few phone calls later, and we're dashing across the docks, with cameras and boxes of stuff. The Vigo Port Authority - for some reason - had decided that press conferences were 'not allowed' on the Esperanza - and was refusing access to the media. The Greenpeace Spain team took the matter in hand, and the press conference in the open area, on some steps by the ferryport building.

Given the bizarre situation The press conferences went well, with Sebastian and Juantxo fielding some difficult questions - many of which seemed to focus on the fishing industry, rather than the environmental issues. Several TV stations were there, and lots of press journos. It was a little surreal though - little old ladies were wandering past asking what it was all about.

After lunch, Maya, Frederic and I went for a stroll and a coffee, and explored Vigo's old town, and its steep winding streets. Lots of places were closed for siesta - but we didn't care. Poor Frederic was suffering from some landsickness - he was on land, but still thought he was moving. I tried reassuring him by reminding that the earth is spinning. It didn't help.

We walked back to the ship, a crowd of people stood talking around the gates to the port. Were they fishermen? Farther in there were more groups, walking alongside us towards the final gate. We passed through, but the other group were called to a halt by the security guard.

I met John, our captain, back at the ship, and told him that maybe some fishermen were coming our way. 'Good', he said 'Now maybe we can talk to them'. They fishing industry had turned down all our invitations for dialogue - maybe they had changed their minds.

Nothing happened for a while. I was on the heli-deck on the phone (actually talking to my mum). I heard shouting, and told her I'd phone later - a group of people had rounded the corner, making for the ship. They didn't seem interested in talking - shouting seemed to be more their thing. I didn't understand all they shouted but, they were definitely fisherman, and not too happy to see us in Vigo. They pelted the ship with eggs, and anyone on deck they could reach - high up on the top deck, my camera and me took a direct hit. Even poor Tweety - our helicopter - was hit.

This went on for a while - and then things got ugly. Some of the Esperanza crew attempted to talk to the apparent spokespeople for the group, but were roughly pushed aside. Dozens big burly men forced their way onto the ship, almost crushing some Greenpeace people. Ann, who had been standing by the gangway, had to scream at the top of her voice to avoid getting pulped against the railings. There were three or four Guarda Civil officers on the quayside, doing little to quell the situation.

The fishermen made their way all over the ship. We had locked down the inside of the ship, but there were still plenty of us outside. The 'visitors' started pulling down flags and posters - setting fire to them. They started cornering individual crew members and shouted at them. I had a pretty scary moment on the starboard bridge wing, when I was cornered by six individuals. I fully expected to go into the water, camera and all. Fair play to one of them though - he did say that they were not going to hurt me (or the camera) - they just wanted to 'talk' to me. They problem was, they all talked at me, in at least three different languages, and at the top of their voices. Alain materialised from somewhere and rescued me - the situation eased a little.

The bridge deck was still full of fishermen though - but after an eternity of heated tirades, they eventually trooped off - at which point some of them began to unhitch or cut the bow and stern lines - a very dangerous thing to do - these massive ropes are under huge stress, and cutting them could create a whiplash effect causing major injury. John tried to get down the gangway to deal with this new problem, but was forced back up by the crowd, who wanted us out of Vigo. Bu they wouldn't let us even take the gangway up.

Some hefty looking police offers - in semi-riot gear - arrived, and blocked both the gangway and ropes - preventing any further interference. The adrenaline, and the crowd began draining away. Some stragglers remained, shouting and jeering.

The Esperanza's crew - shaken, not stirred - got moving with the cleanup, washing the deck of countless egg-stains and eggshells, fixing the damage.

We were left to digest the events of the afternoon’s events. Greenpeace had publicly and openly called for dialogue on the bottom trawling issue, yet the companies responsible refuse to talk to us. This may be speculation - but we've been wondering why the bosses of the big fishing companies are so afraid of us. Perhaps they know that time ­ for both their fishing practices, and the fisheries - is running out. Whatever their reasons, it looks like yesterday's violent acts were orchestrated by the industry bosses- and not by the unions. In the past, when Greenpeace have received less-than-friendly welcomes, it's usually due to industry influences - whether it's logging, fishing, or whatever - drumming up fear and loathing among their employees, telling them that Greenpeace are here to take away their jobs and livelihoods. This is pretty obviously incorrect.

One of things I spotted in one of the Galician papers today - the local fishing industry are claiming that Greenpeace is in the employ of Canada and Norway, to disenfranchise Galician fishermen - interesting conspiracy theory, until you consider that in the past, Greenpeace has organised major campaigns dealing with problems perpetuated by both of these countries - such as the seal and whaling issues.

Incidentally, the media coverage today has been good - all of the Galician newspapers have covered yesterday’s events, and most gave a pretty balanced account of the situation. Last night we made national Spanish TV news - which focussed much more on the environmental situation.

So, we're still here, in Vigo. We've had to cancel all the school trips and open days - Vigo's port authority is refusing to let kids come to see the ship, saying that they cannot guarantee their safety. The security of the port is not secure at all, and seems very selective. When we wanted to have a press conference, they wouldn't allow the media in. When the fishermen came to protest, they allowed them, in, and the media. Now they won't allow school children to visit us, because they might be allowing fishermen in again.

But apart from the spot of bother yesterday and the port problems, we're enjoying Vigo - the welcome has been otherwise fantastic.

Meanwhile - at the UN General Assembly in NY as predicted the moratorium on bottom trawling didn't come through. However, The language of the resolution was far better than we expected - it urges states and regional fishing organisations to protect deep sea life. This gives us plenty to work with for the next two years.

Thanks to everyone for following the weblog over the last two months - it's great to know that people are paying attention to our work!

-Dave (with help from Maya)