Village life, Spa town, Walkers meet, Caravanserai - Part I

This may have been my favorite weekend in Armenia! It got off to a shaky start, though, with a two-hour ride in a completely full, hot and airless marchutny – during which, ironically, I was reading a New Yorker article about tuberculosis (nobody coughed during the ride, thankfully). Then I got into a taxi where I had trouble being understood and was lamenting my lack of Armenian study and practice – when I got to my final destination, my host told me I got the crazy taxi driver, so it wasn’t me. After that, I had a wonderful time.

I met Chad once at the cafeteria near the Peace Corps office; I told him I was interested in coming to Yeghegnadzor for the end of the Border2Border walk, and he instantly said he had four beds and I could have one, in my own room. Plus, I mentioned that I was interested in going to Jermuk, the spa town of Armenia, and he agreed to go with me. What a nice host! First, we met his landlord’s family – extremely nice people, with cute kids – and walked around his village. It’s the largest village in Armenia in area and the second largest in population. Almost everyone lives off subsistence farming in their gardens; some also have animals that they take across the river to graze. Chad’s family is quite prosperous – they grow enough food for themselves and have extra to take to market, plus three of them have outside jobs; it was nice to see a well-off family. Much of the rest of the village looked prosperous as well, with big houses and gardens; Vayots Dzor is a good region for agriculture. All is not paradise, though – the 19-year-old daughter in Chad’s original host family was bride-napped a few months ago by another family in the village. She hasn’t been allowed back to see her family, and she’s now pregnant. Another volunteer is extending his service specifically to work on bride-napping issues; it’s apparently an increasing practice here.

We took the marchutny to Vayk, the next town over, and learned that the next bus to Jermuk would be an hour and a half later – I was happy to spring for a taxi rather than wait, and we ended up with a driver who regularly transports Peace Corps volunteers. He offered to show us around, wait for us and take us back. First he took us to the ski lift, which operates year-round, and we had a view of the mountains and lake – Jermuk, at about 2600 meters, is much cooler than the village from which we had started. Then we went to a waterfall, where we took a little walk by the river. Jermuk is known for its waters – a local sparkling water is bottled here, and in the town itself there are hot mineral springs where you can drink and/or fill bottles. I had a sip from each spigot and feel cured of any possible ailments! Jermuk is also known for sanitariums – in Soviet days (and even today), people would come for long vacations and get various treatments. These are not as sophisticated as the spas we may know of and long for (ah, for The Farm in the Philippines!), but I wanted to experience a treatment. I had a 15-minute underwater massage – I was immersed in a big bathtub and then an attendant directed a stream of water from a hose along all of the major muscle groups. I wish the bath had been a little warmer, but I did feel relaxed and clean – not bad for less than ten dollars. I don’t think I’d go back for a long vacation though, or even a weekend. Our last stop was by the lake, where there are more resorts. It looks like a nice place to swim – unless you get too close to the end, that is. There, a large daisy-shaped outflow drain goes to an underwater river that empties into Lake Sevan, 53 k away. An interesting engineering project, and the end to an interesting little visit!

After Jermuk we went into Yeghegnadzor, where the Border2Border walkers from both the north and from the south had arrived. Supporting them and seeing them all at the end of their walk was my motivation for the timing, but I also wanted to visit Emily and Meag, the PCVs who live there. They were working with the women embroiderers; they have since found other projects, as have I, but they’re both nice, so I wanted to visit anyway. Plus, they are renowned throughout the country as great cooks. I found my way to the kitchen and helped stir cherry pie filling while others were making lasagnas. After all the prep work was done and the food was in the oven, we sat on the steps while a trio of B2B walkers who happen to be extremely musically talented (one went to Julliard, one won a national barbershop quartet contest, and the third, who knows) sang, harmonized and played a variety of instruments – one guitar and several improvised (shaken Pringles can, brushed broom, and banged-on pans, water bottles and other items). It was a real treat! As was dinner – even at a point where everyone (especially the walkers) was so hungry that anything would have been devoured, the food was exceptional. I enjoyed the stories and the camaraderie, and had a chance to do one of my favorite things – washing dishes when I am a guest in someone else’s house.