Spring Break Armenian Style

We had a long weekend for the Easter holidays, so a few of my fellow teachers and I decided to hop on a marshutka and head to Yerevan.  The trip started off easy enough, my friend Annette (Netty) and I got up early to take a cab from Gori to the Ortachala bus stop in Tbilisi.  There we met our friend Chris, who is teaching in Zugdidi.  Then Mallory, Jeremy, Frankie, and Caitlin, all teaching in Tbilisi, and Rob, teaching in a village near Tbilisi, showed up.  We all piled into a marshutka with only one other passenger, a friendly Russian-speaking woman who was clearly bewildered by all of us young, loud English speakers.  About an hour into the journey Jeremy announces he doesn't have his passport.  A few chaotic moments followed where we asked the driver to pull over and I explained in Russian that Jeremy was without a passport.  We assigned Rob to be his travel buddy for the journey back to Tbilisi, and there we left them on the side of the road in an unnamed village somewhere outside of Tbilisi with nothing but promises of "we will see you there!"

We were all optimistic that they would make their own way to Yerevan not too far behind us.

The drive to Yerevan was spectacular.  Everything was beginning to bloom and we wove through high mountains and over bumpy roads.  Mallory and I had each packed a picnic so we were able to dine on lavash, cheese, hachika, girl scout cookies, and Easter candy (courtesy of some Americans who visited my school).  We arrived in Yerevan at one of the most impressive hostels I have ever stayed at.  We dropped our stuff off and went to explore the city.  We were hoping that Jeremy and Rob would be there when we got back from dinner.  Alas they were not.  There was a moment of false hope when Rob's French twin walked into our room.  I think he was shocked by our eager faces which suddenly drooped in disappointment.  "It's still lovely to meet you though!" we said.

A few moments after that they did arrive and we were jubilant.  And a few moments after that the woman next door told us to stop being jubilant.   

The next day we explored the city by foot.  At first we attempted to explore as a group of eight, but we eventually split.  Rob, Chris, Mallory and I wandered around, eventually ending up at the Cascade which is best described as a giant stair case with interesting statues at the base.  The boys indulged us in a few pictures.

Chris, Rob, and Statue

At the bottom of the Cascade

At the top of the Cascade

The next day we took a bus tour that was arranged through the hostel.  This was an all day excursion that Jeremy, Netty, Chris and I opted to take along with 40 or so strangers (turns out some of them were also TLGers).  It was called "essential Armenia" and took us to Lake Sevan and Sevanavank, which is the monastery that sits overlooking the lake.  Next we went to Noratus cemetery, where there are many ancient tombstones that tell ancient stories, including the one about the wife who thought her husband drank too much vodka.  While we were wandering among the tombstones, some hundreds of years old and others brand new, Jeremy was invited to join a man who was visiting his sister's grave.  He motioned Jeremy over to sit with him and drink a few shots of vodka and sample his small feast.  I'm sorry I missed it, as it seemed to be quite the memorial experience.  Next, all 40 or so of us in the group piled into a home where a nice family prepared lunch for us.  After that the next stop was another monastery called Hayravank, which also overlooks Lake Sevan.  We all waited at the top of the hill while a young Irishman in our group used the monk's old escape route to walk down to the lake and take a quick swim.  It looked cold.  Very cold.  We gave him a round of applause.  Next we went to Garni temple which is a pagan ruin and then the last stop was Geghard Monastery, which is carved out of the side of a mountain.  After this whirlwind day, I certainly felt that I had a true sense of "essential Armenia."

Sevanavank at Lake Sevan

Noratus cemetery.  She kept asking us to take her picture and posing for us.

View from Hayravank Monastery of the swimming Irish

Garni Temple

Chris and Jeremy at Garni Temple

Me at Garni Temple

Inside Geghard monastery

On Sunday it was Easter so some of us traveled to Khor Virap Monastery, which is at the foot of Mt. Ararat.  Mt. Ararat is a sacred place for Christians, and especially Armenians.  It is currently within Turkey's borders which are closed and therefore this monastery is as close as many Armenians can get to the sacred mountain.  Netty, Mallory and I set out for the monastery, Chris and Caitlin were going to see another church, and Frankie, Jeremy and Rob didn't know what they would do.  Just as us ladies stepped out of the hostel, we heard, "wait, wait for us."  Turns out the three boys didn't know how to get by without us.  So off we went in search of a marshutka.  Turns out we couldn't find one so we hired two taxi drivers who drove us there and back and waited while we explored.  It was amazing to see so many people swarming to the church and realize that only a small, small few were tourists, everyone else was there to worship.  We saw many a rooster being marched to it's sacrificial death.  Unfortunately, I also spied the pile of rooster heads, put a damper on the celebration for me.  All of us but Mallory walked up to the rocky hill top that overlooks the monastery.  We saw handkerchiefs tied to the bushes and someone explained that it was where people made wishes.  So I took Frankie's Swiss army  knife and cut some of the fringe from my scarf and we picked out a bush and each made a wish.  Mallory missed out, but when we came back down she had been posing for photos with random people's kids.  So she had a perfectly good time without us.

View of Mt. Ararat

Khor Virap Monastery

Making a wish

Later that night most of us went out for drinks at a nearby bar.  My birthday was the next day so at midnight we toasted my birthday Georgian style.  This means that each person stood up and made a very sincere toast about how wonderful I am.  Except Frankie, whose toast I won't retype here, but it did make me laugh.  Thanks Frank!  Afterward everyone put on lipstick and gave me birthday kisses.  I don't know why, but it was great nonetheless.

The last day was my actual birthday, which we spent lounging around in a park baking in the sun.  I brought my ipod so Rob and I listened to the Smiths while Mallory and Chris tried to annihilate each other at 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon.  A perfect day.  It was our last night in Armenia so we celebrated the end of our adventure with a dinner at an Armenian restaurant and gave more Georgian toasts. 

All in all it was a great time.  I certainly bonded with a new group of people and developed relationships which only people who travel to together in tight quarters with no room for secrets can.  I am writing this entry anticipating a weekend in Borjomi, the resort town of choice for the Russian tsars and politburo elite, with the same group of merry travelers.