A Traveling we will go

We got up super early, thank goodness we were without hangover. Got on our bus and headed back to Yerevan where we were going to get a taxi to Goris. Goris is a 4 hour drive from Yerevan and taxi is the way to do it. We had planned to eat lunch in Yerevan so we went to La Boheme and cute nice place on Northern Ave. There we had what seems like the only nice Armenian waiter. We had been there a few times (Ashley more) so he knew us. We leave Yerevan on a good note.

From there we met our taxi that we pre-ordered before we left for Dilijan. It seems to be a day of firsts since this was the first time we had a taxi driver who didn't look like Pauly from "Rocky" after he had a few. He was a young kid and was driving a nice Bentley. We are off! Four hours of open road here we come! I tell you these Arnenians have a thing about lanes. They just don't like them cramping their style. Here is a suggestion - how about we stay in our lane Mr. Taxi Man and Mr. Mack Truck maybe you can stay in your lane so Lyndsay doesn't keep having mild heart attacks in the back seat here. The young lad had a USB stick for music and his taste was mostly Armenian dance music but with American hip hop/dance as well as a splash of Lionel Ritchie's "Lady"? Odd. We are heading up and then down a mountain keeping a good distance from the guardrail ( 2 inches seems like a good distance right? Right? Oh Lord). The guard rail had huge pockets where they didn't exist which did not give me much faith that others hadn't already driven off the edge.Winding up and down the mountain driving along with steep winding turns apparently does not warrant the need to slow down or to be cautious. Nope. Let's speed up?! Okay great - no problem kid. Well if I must go barrelling down a canon and the guardrail has failed to save us I guess it would be poetic to fall off while Snoop Dogg is crooning "Drop it like it's Hot".

We actually got stopped by a policeman! So exciting. In Armenia the driver has to get out and actually meet the cop at the cop car. If that happened in North America the driver would probably be arrested and seen as hostile. I think our kid bought him off though cause he came back smiling and without any kind of ticket.

We got to Goris safe and sound and it actually turned out to be a beautiful ride. The scenery was amazing and the sun was out, the wind in my hair - all around a great afternoon. It has inspired me to maybe take a long road trip next year across Canada. I might even put some Lionel on my mixtape.

Dilijan Dilijan

Saturday in Dilijan,

This ended up being one crazy day. We got a taxi to Goshavank from the bed and breakfast this morning. Now I am not in the best mood because I have had stomache problems and squirrels have been doing their rendition of West Side story on our roof everynight. I thought they were rats trying to barg in but it turns out they are just squirrels who, in my opinion, could stand to lose a few pounds. I have been up all night scared hoping they wouldn't burst through the walls.

We had the taxi for a few hours which was nice, our own personal driver. We decided to try the hike to the lake from the monastary. Now apparently this is something tourists do all the time and we found the sign saying that we are about to go on the path. We also had a written description of how to get up to the lake so we thought we were set. Well I am sure I don't have to tell anyone who would be reading this (mom and dad) but I am not a hiker. I decided to do it because Ashley likes it and I wanted to be a good sport, do something different. I was dying. Dying! Out of breath and sweaty and I wasn't even at the 15 minute mark. On top of that we kept encountering stray dogs and had to tread lightly not knowing if they were biters. Even passing a horse (tied up) randomly in the middle of a field. The whole time consulting with the map and asking locals which direction. We thought we were in good shape when all of a sudden we saw it. Exactly where we started. Sans Lake. We were so upset we went through all that just to go around in a pointless circle. The cab was only supposed to wait for an hour and a half and anything over would be more money so we decided to head back and just remember what a lake looks like and live with that.

We hung out at our favorite spot one last time and had beer and ice cream and battled wasps who wanted what we had. After that we walked around then headed to this Peace Corps couples' for dinner. They were from North Carolina and had awesome accents and cool stories. We ended up being there so late we had a hard time calling a taxi who would come. I was so tired I felt my eyes droop... little did I know what was awaiting us at the bed and breakfast.

Have any of you met an Estonian? Well they are basically Russians who like to party. The owner of the B&B was there in full swing making us come to the table and forcing us to drink Cognac and Apricot Vodka. The Estonian guests were loud and fun and ready to sing (Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Really?) Normally all this would be great but I was tired and not felling good and had to get up at 7 the next day to travel. I have video evidence but there was singing and dancing and accordian playing. I was finally able to sneak away to many groans and tsks but what are you going to do. I think the Apricot Vodka did the trick because I missed the squirrel performance that night.

Friday, Dilijan

Got up with some stomach problems (maybe the "sour" cream sauce on my pasta had something to do with that) and a bit grumpy since I got very little sleep the night before so I skipped breakfast. Since Breakfast is essential in the Bed and Breakfast experience I heard Ashley making excuses to the nice lady as to why I wasn't eating. We headed into town where Ashley was meeting with a lady from the Peace Corp to do an interview and I walked around the city. The city is so cute and looks much like a cross between an old Western town and a Swiss local. The mountains and trees are beautiful and we have picked our favorite spot to write and watch the sunset.

Around 2 pm we went to Judy's home (the Peace Corps woman from North Carolina) and spoke with some local students (teenagers) and their teacher. They have a get together once a week so they could practice their english in conc=versation. Ashley talked to them about their lives and interviewed them about being Armenian. They spoke well considering they have only studied english a couple of years. It has inspired me to learn Armenian yet I also say I will learn the language of the country I just

visited and never do.  Maybe I will keep to this pledge this time. We were invited to Judy's (and her husband David's) for dinner tomorrow night so that will be a nice change.

This afternoon we walked around the town and caught up on our writing. We wnrt o to a restuarant that seemed promising but we were both less than impressed by our meals. We decided to splurge and go to the fancy hotel in Dilijan and get some drinks. I ordered a simple rum and coke and the dude poured me almost a full glass of rum and a little coke. It was so strong yet I managed to finish it (of course). We were pretty sure the people at the hotel thought we were prostitutes. Why you ask? Two nice girls from Canada? Surely not. Well we were drinking at 9pm (scandelous) by ourselves in a hotel lobby. We got so many odd looks from people who had no business eye balling us ( looking back at you neon green pants man). We called a taxi back to the hotel which is always an adventure. Let me tell you if I had two of those drinks I would have not enjoyed that horribly bumpy ride home!

 Tomorrow we have alot planned which may or may not include getting lost in a forest. Stay tuned ...  

Thursday, Ride from Yerevan to Dilijan

Today was a travel day so we packed up our hotel room in Yerevan and headed off to lunch. We decided to try this sushi place we had passed everyday which was probably not the best idea. Considering Armenia is landlocked I am sure the sushi is probably not the freshest. We went for it anyways and prayed our stomaches would reward and not punish us. The menu was not too bad but when we ordered they didn't have half the rolls we wanted (bad sign) and the service was horrible (double bad sign). He didn't even ask us if we wanted a drink or if we wanted anything else before he threw the bill in our general direction. It turns out they had a service charge already included so he didn't care if he was rude since he would get a good tip anyways. The meal itself wasn't that great but it did the trick. We headed to our bus which does not have any set schedule. The way the buses work going from town to town is whenever they are full is when we go. Ashley and I sat in the steaming hot bus for 40 minutes waiting for enough people to show up and fill the seats. 

To say the bus ride was not very smooth would be an understatement. We had many near misses with other cars where we had to break suddenly.  Passing cars in a one way lane is just something every driver seems to do whether there is on coming traffic or not. Besides not adhering to any kind of lane rules we were barreling down a mountain with very curvy turns. Next came the never-ending tunnel (I assume we were under Lake Sevan). This is my most nerve racking moment when all I could think about was getting above ground again.  Don't quote me but I might have started praying.

We got to Dilijan safe and sound and taxied up to our bed and breakfast. The place was nice but a bit odd how they had their beds set up (one was outside) but we were the only ones there and had a private room so it wasn't too bad. The lady was very nice and gave us tea and food and the internet was  much better than anywhere we had been so I was happy. Until 3:30 AM. That is when I heard the "noises". I kept hearing animals on the roof which normally would be fine but I recalled that none of the outside doors were especially shut (or could shut all the way) and I got scared furry creatures could enter our room. I couldn't get back to sleep because I kept hearing noises and even though I had to go to the toilet there was no way I would leave my room to venture downstairs. I just lied awake and hoped I would fall back asleep. 

P.S I blame my mother for constantly putting thoughts into my head about bedbugs as the reason I was shivering most of the night not wanting to get under the covers. At some point I thought bugs were better than being cold and I threw caution to the wind. I am such a daredevil.

Wednesday, Yerevan

Wednesday

We headed out early for our tour. This would be the whole day so we wouldn't get back into the city until about 8pm. The tour had all young people our age (yes I still consider myself young) and all spoke english. Some tour mates were Canadian so Ashley had a chance to interview Canadians who were not Armenian which was good. The tour took us to some beautiful old churches and even a pagan temple which was been restored but still had much of the old foundation. We went to a famous graveyard called Noratus. This was where the comedy began. We were bombarded with old ladys who they call Tatiks here (grandmas). All of a sudden it wasn't just the Tatiks but their grandkids too. They even brought out the big guns in the the form of a little girl who looked up at us so sad trying to sell her pot holders. It was so hot out and they followed us around trying to sell the wool products they hand make. They were peddling hats, scarves, socks and gloves and most of us were just sweating buckets looking at them. They did not stop hassling us and after awhile we started having fun with them but still they would not relent. Ashley and I finally bought a hat each and even them it was not enough. We finally broke free and made our way back to the bus. Wool hats and all.

The tour group ventured over to Hayravank monastery where there were tons of old ladys selling Gatah (or as Ashley calls it "Gotta") and Bastegh which Ashley bought and loved. I remember Nana making it and never liking it so I passed. The Gatah was decent but not as good as ours. I learned that every family/village makes Gatah differently so I think we would be up there as the best.

We had lunch at this villagers house and I was nervous I wasn't going to able to eat anything if it was meat based and I didn't want to insult our host but everything was family style so you could take what you want. I had cheese and bread and soup and it was very good. Later we had Armenian coffee and one of the tourguides read some of our coffees (apparently they do this here). I had my cup read which meant I had to # 1.drink my coffee, #2. when I was close to being done turn over my cup on the saucer, #3. Let it sit for 5 minutes then turn it over. #4. She reads what the cup says - My had something to do with Mountains and lakes and being supported by my family. Also I had two small snakes to look out for (eek) #5. Mark three dotes with your finger and she will read that as well.  My dots said I will have a husband who will support me in all I do. Good luck to you future husband.

We got back late and went to dinner at a really cute place with really cute things everywhere which reminded me of some hipster places in Toronto. Tomorrow we go to Dilijan where I am not sure what I'm in for but should be an adventure whatever happens.

Tuesday, Yerevan

Went on a day tour today so we got some awesome pastries from the grocery store and headed to our bus. The tour was to Sardaranpat which is the impressive war memorial outside of Yerevan. It was so hot today just walking a few metres required an abundance of water. We have purchased so much water here so thank goodness it is so cheap. You know what else is cheap? Beer. You can buy beer like you can buy water and pop at the roadside shops and all for less than a dollar! 

The tour continued to another history museum called the Armenian Ethnographic Museum. The outside just looked like a plain brown boring building but inside was quite nice and made to look like a fortress. It was actually considered the best designed museum building of Soviet Union. There were some great rugs and carpets on display as well as the machine (is it called a loom?) where a woman came and demonstrated how one would make a rug. That would be some time consuming business. From what I understand about our last name of Kalagian it means we were in the rug business but I am not positive. I have yet to see our names anywhere in this country. I am guessing since I grew up with all Western Armenian families I will not recognize any names while I am here. 

There were two, let's call them "husky", Armenian boys who were touching EVERYTHING. Apparently I was the only one concerned since no one said anything even though I was certain they were going to knock something down off a wall. There mother was taking pictures though which we were told was "forbidden" so I guess they are just a family of rulebreakers. The guide we had was knowledgeable but man was she a fast talker. Our friend she she might have just memorized the tour so that is why she went through it so fast but I thought she was going to collapse due to lack of oxygen. There was not even one pause. Poor Ashley gave up trying to make notes just to keep up was difficult enough. The end was priceless since she didn't even say goodbye to the group she just trailed off and walked away. Ashley and I just looked at eachother confused and just started laughing.

We had a chance to have a toliet break but there were no seats just a ceramic hole in the ground and we were handed toilet paper. I decided to hold it til we got into the city. I think I have been in Canada too long and this system seemed like way to much effort and coordination I did not possess. SO far I have been lucky with washrooms in this country. I was expecting way more holes in the ground so I have been spoiled. I will see what happens when I venture out to the smaller towns.

We  had time when we got back into the city to head to the genocide museum and memorial. The taxi took us to the wrong spot so we had to walk around to find it.  The museum was mainly displays of books and writings on the accounts of the genocide made by various artists in different countries. They had blown up photographs of the events and art work depicting the horrors. I was expecting more of an emotional connection but I think I thought there would be more personal stories, letters and survival stories. We met people who really liked the museum for it's subtlety so I can understand why they wouldn't want to be over sentimental and "in your face" about what had happened. The memorial was impressive and it featured an open dome with a flame eternally burning it the middle. It is a place where people can leave flowers for the lost people.

Trying to leave the area we were sort of lost and we just took a guess as to the direction. We passed a dog who seemed okay with us but as we continued to walk we noticed there were puppies coming out of the woods. This made the dog super sensitive to us being there and was following us a bit which made us super nervous but it was all ok cause we finally made it to a street where we got a taxi. We picked up our laundry (we had it sent out) and headed to the hotel. We met with Ben and saw the fountain display which is a light show accompanied with classical music. It was really fun and it was a nice night out. We met with Taline and her friends from the States and this guy Fred who we met the other night. He is Iranian and a funny guy who I was shocked was also a dentist after hearing his stories of drinking and partying. Another lively debate about Armenia and nationalism and retributions. I again just listened and took in their opinions. It was all very interesting but I try to stay out of the political side. We did have fun conversation after and I wanted to stay out later but I had an early tour to get to so sleep was needed.

Monday Aug. 12, Yerevan

This was a chill out day. Ashley and I went to a few art museums - Saryan being my favorite artist. We planned for the Genocide Memorial today but the museum part was closed. Many places are closed here on different days so it has become tricky to coordinate. Also I got a full body massage. A professional one people. Yep, that is right, I had my first official massage ever and it was done by the only Asian lady I have seen in Armenia so far. It was pretty relaxing except for the 1 fly that kept buzzing around my head. I think I was expecting a miracle since my back has been so sore for so long but I feel maybe I have to go to many more sessions to release this endless tension in my shoulders. It was still nice and a good break from all the walking around.  Ashley wanted to call her husband Steve tonight and get work done so I met some friends and watch a movie.

 All in all a nice day.