28th to 30th of June, 2022.
Hitchhiking in Armenia.
A very nice man offers to drive me a few kilometres further, until the exit to Haghartsin. He is going to Dilijan, so he cannot drop me off at the monastery, he tells me.
I am kind of looking for a supermarket already, where I can buy some fruits and something to eat, to finish my Armenian cash.
A pick-up pass by me but comes back. The two men inside offer to drive me all the way to the monastery. Yay! Up there, they go inside for a little pray and one of them gives me one candle. I light up and ask to meet RDJ. Laugh.
There are quite a lot of people here. I mean, tourists. But most of them are from Armenia. Interesting.
The Monastery Complex is quite big, with many buildings which you can visit. There is an interesting contrast between the exterior and the interior of the buildings. From the outside they look quite new, perhaps there was some kind of restoration? But the inside still remains from the old times. I must confess that the place itself does not impress me that much. There is a nice view of the National Park and I believe you can do some hiking around, but that is it. Again, because of the light, not so good photographs.
There is a coffee shop down the road which is merciless! They are charging a fortune for the food there! And the worst part is that lots of people are buying. Oh, Loki…
I see Arthur, the driver of the tourist van who picked me up from Sevanavank. He is super nice and wave to me. When I see the girl, though, Has, she pretends she does not know me or didn’t see me.
I stay around for a little while and then I make a plan. I will go back to Dilijan, check directions for a place where I can camp, preferably near the exit to Jukhtak Vank and Motsavank, both monasteries I will visit tomorrow, and then I will get some groceries.
Vrtkin and Yussin are a young couple, and they pick me up. Lovely people who get very surprised with my travels. They drop me off in the middle of Dilijan, which is great!
I am starving so first I make sure to get something to eat, which is really hard due the fact that here, at this round-about area, there are only a few tiny shops, with very little options, and a bit more expensive than the bigger supermarkets, which you can find, easily, on the way to Jukhtak Vank and Motsavank. But I cannot go all the way there now. I mean, right now I don’t even know that yet. Either the way to the monasteries or that in that way are quite a few good supermarkets. So, I just get some bread, one cucumber and one tomato, plus some sour cream. I sit by this super cute lake, under a lovely tree and its shade, and have my lunch.
After eating and resting for a while, I try my chances for wi-fi and a plug in a small bar called Sovats Vozni. The manager of the place treats me so well and kindly; it is amazing! He takes me to the bar where I can find a plug and gives me the wi-fi. Then, he says to me: “What about a glass of white wine on the house?” Own! How sweet! I accept, of course! How nice is to have a glass of wine in the middle of the day, just like that! The Bar is called Sovats Vozni and the atmosphere there is also great! Lots of greens and colorful spots to sit, relax and have a drink.
After planning everything and finishing my glass of wine, I decide to go and sit by the lake, waiting until evening so I can go and look for my camping spot.
I plan what will I buy for food. I pass by a mini market, but I decide to wait and see if I find a bigger market. Which I did and lucky me! Things are really cheaper in the supermarket, and the ladies working in here help me a lot! I am just trying to finish my Armenian cash, getting necessary things for the next two days here (and possibly for crossing Turkey, even though I am sure I will always get food in Turkey), so I buy fruits (I have some oats with me from my host’s house), sour cream, a tomato and a cucumber, a bar soap, some cookies, and I am still left with some little cash. I look around and it is the exact amount to get the cheapest ice cream. Oh! I was dreaming about an ice cream for a while! Mostly under this heat… I am very happy when I leave the shop because I believe I not only made a good deal, but I also got ice cream!
Not so much happiness to find a place for camping, though. Laugh. It is a huge valley along the road, so no chances there. After a while, I decide trying to ask in some houses.
After three negative answers, I am feeling a bit demotivated, but fucked! I need a place to sleep. Finally, I find my luck when I decide to ask in another family house. There is a young man, who speaks a great English and live with his father and grandparents, in the grandparents’ house / land. It is a simple but very nice house, super tidy and clean, with a beautiful flowers garden. They immediately say I can stay but not for camping, I must sleep in the couch.
Inside the house, they ask me if I am hungry, but since I just ate, I only have some coffee with some delicious sweets, made by the grandmother.
The grandfather shows me, very proudly, his bees and his little pig. He also grows lots of fruits and some veggies. He strikes me like a very hardworking man, as much as his wife, a very sweet woman. They are both very kind to me, even though they cannot speak English.
Me and the young man chat a lot. He is a very smart boy, who unfortunately suffers the pain of being from a conservative family and leaving in a conservative country. He is so bright and has so much potential! He has plans of going to study in Belgium, which would be great for him, I am sure. But he is a bit unsure if he will manage to go because of lack of resources.
The couch where I will sleep is prepared very tidily for me. I clean myself and wash my sock before going to bed.
Next morning, we all have a delicious breakfast together. The mother is a baker, and she prepares the best and most beautiful homemade bread ever! Plus, her doughnuts are delicious! With her homemade raspberry jam is to die for! She prepares also some delicious eggs for all of us. I eat so much that I feel I could explode. But I couldn’t resist! Everything is so yummy!
I ask to leave my backpack in their home for the time I will be going to visit the monasteries. I then say goodbye to the young man because he will not be home when I come back. And his father, who works for the army, also leaves and say goodbye.
When I come back in the early afternoon, I notice that my leggings are smelling funny, so I decide to wash them. It’s been quite a few days I have been using them, so it is time for washing. But they take longer than usual to dry so I decide to leave wearing my shorts pajamas. Before I leave, the mother gives me one of her delicious doughnuts! Yay!
My plan is to get a lift only to outside of town, where I can camp safe in between places. But I decide to walk only, not to hitchhike.
A lovely couple stops the car and tell me they are going to the next town. Once I get in the car, I explain everything to them, and they drive me to a spot where they say it is beautiful and safe. Unfortunately, when I am leaving their car, another car is coming right to the spot where they drop me. There is a man inside and he parks at some distance, gets out and start to do I don’t know what. I must turn around and try to find another place a bit further. To make things worse, the rain which fell in the afternoon, made everything wet and there is long grass everywhere. You do the Maths.
I finally find a place where it seems a bit hidden and flat. Nobody shows up, of course, and I manage to rest a bit.
10 Years Around the World 