On Saturday, I took another organized tour, this time with Mel, the PRCV who started most recently; I haven’t seen that much of her and it was nice to spend the day together. And to see more of beautiful Armenia, all green for spring. We drove northwest through Kotayk Marz, past good old Charentsavan, to Tsaghkadzor, the ski resort town. Turns out that this was the place that the Soviet Olympic ski teams practiced. Well, had I known that…nah, just as well. There was still some snow at the top of the mountains, but ski season is over. Kecharis monastery, in the same town, was our destination – now I’m coming around to the “you’ve seen one monastery, you’ve seen them all” way of thinking, but they are all in picturesque remote locations, so seeing them is still a good way to see Armenia. Most of our fellow passengers were Iranian, up for a four-day holiday weekend, and they were very nice.
We then went past Lake Sevan, the biggest lake in Armenia – and, if I understood it correctly, the second-highest lake in the world after Titicaca (can that be true?). We stopped for photos; there’s a separate tour that covers Lake Sevan highlights, but the photo stop alone counts for me as an activity in Gegharkunik marz. We then went through a tunnel and were in a completely different climate – Tavush marz, where most of Armenia’s forests are. Trees! Dilijan, in an alpine area, is known as the “Switzerland of Armenia.” I think that’s a stretch, as was Ifrane as the Switzerland of Morocco; if I ever go back to Vietnam I’d like to see the Switzerland of Vietnam, but maybe the thing to do is to go back to Switzerland! There were mountains and trees and maybe a bit of chalet-style architecture…and a couple of major monasteries. Goshavank was a major cultural and learning center for several centuries, before Tamurlane burned its 15,000 books, and Hagartsin is in a beautiful forested valley. Both have 800-year-old wishing walnut trees; since I spent some time this week fretting about the next chapter in my life, I made a couple of wishes and now everything should be okay.
Sunday morning I went to breakfast at Artbridge with another PCV whose company I really enjoy. And then it was on to the Vernissage – I had been looking at a particular artisan’s wood carvings, and a few weeks ago when I finally decided to buy a piece, he had sold it! I commissioned a new one, a three-tiered bird-shaped salt cellar, and picked it up; also started to buy some things that I think will make nice gifts for people back home. I spent part of the afternoon outdoors in the gazebo behind the Peace Corps office, listening to podcasts and writing postcards; it was relaxing and productive at the same time. And then I had tea with Brian; I hadn’t seen him in over a week! Zina made dolma for dinner; they were delicious! I’d been going out a lot lately and it was great to eat home cooking. That was followed by a powerful thunderstorm and maybe that orange glow in the sky (though I think it’s supposed to be a late-afternoon glow) and a rainbow!
Today I took a long lunch and went on a tour/tasting at a brandy factory; they’re open only on weekdays. One of the PCVs has his parents visiting, and he arranged a little group. Armenia is known for its brandies and it was important from a cultural standpoint to take the tour and to taste samples of various ages. If there’s room in my luggage, I may have to take some back to the U.S. with me….
On Saturday, I took another organized tour, this time with Mel, the PRCV who started most recently; I haven’t seen that much of her and it was nice to spend the day together. And to see more of beautiful Armenia, all green for spring. We drove northwest through Kotayk Marz, past good old Charentsavan, to Tsaghkadzor, the ski resort town. Turns out that this was the place that the Soviet Olympic ski teams practiced. Well, had I known that…nah, just as well. There was still some snow at the top of the mountains, but ski season is over. Kecharis monastery, in the same town, was our destination – now I’m coming around to the “you’ve seen one monastery, you’ve seen them all” way of thinking, but they are all in picturesque remote locations, so seeing them is still a good way to see Armenia. Most of our fellow passengers were Iranian, up for a four-day holiday weekend, and they were very nice.
We then went past Lake Sevan, the biggest lake in Armenia – and, if I understood it correctly, the second-highest lake in the world after Titicaca (can that be true?). We stopped for photos; there’s a separate tour that covers Lake Sevan highlights, but the photo stop alone counts for me as an activity in Gegharkunik marz. We then went through a tunnel and were in a completely different climate – Tavush marz, where most of Armenia’s forests are. Trees! Dilijan, in an alpine area, is known as the “Switzerland of Armenia.” I think that’s a stretch, as was Ifrane as the Switzerland of Morocco; if I ever go back to Vietnam I’d like to see the Switzerland of Vietnam, but maybe the thing to do is to go back to Switzerland! There were mountains and trees and maybe a bit of chalet-style architecture…and a couple of major monasteries. Goshavank was a major cultural and learning center for several centuries, before Tamurlane burned its 15,000 books, and Hagartsin is in a beautiful forested valley. Both have 800-year-old wishing walnut trees; since I spent some time this week fretting about the next chapter in my life, I made a couple of wishes and now everything should be okay.
Sunday morning I went to breakfast at Artbridge with another PCV whose company I really enjoy. And then it was on to the Vernissage – I had been looking at a particular artisan’s wood carvings, and a few weeks ago when I finally decided to buy a piece, he had sold it! I commissioned a new one, a three-tiered bird-shaped salt cellar, and picked it up; also started to buy some things that I think will make nice gifts for people back home. I spent part of the afternoon outdoors in the gazebo behind the Peace Corps office, listening to podcasts and writing postcards; it was relaxing and productive at the same time. And then I had tea with Brian; I hadn’t seen him in over a week! Zina made dolma for dinner; they were delicious! I’d been going out a lot lately and it was great to eat home cooking. That was followed by a powerful thunderstorm and maybe that orange glow in the sky (though I think it’s supposed to be a late-afternoon glow) and a rainbow!
Today I took a long lunch and went on a tour/tasting at a brandy factory; they’re open only on weekdays. One of the PCVs has his parents visiting, and he arranged a little group. Armenia is known for its brandies and it was important from a cultural standpoint to take the tour and to taste samples of various ages. If there’s room in my luggage, I may have to take some back to the U.S. with me….
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