Our big trip
A few thoughts and photos from our travels
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Day 37 – The grape harvest of Areni
2nd October: Yerevan, Armenia to Areni, Armenia We were awoken pre-dawn by the iridescent flashes of lightning. Cars sploshed along outside. It was a day for boots. Yesterday’s showers, and presumably those overnight, had fallen as snow on Ararat. An old tale states that when the snows begin to grow on Ararat in autumn, the…
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Day 36 – Transport in the city and beyond
1st October – Yerevan, Armenia We had another relaxing day, wandering the streets of Yerevan. We seem incapable of walking fewer than 16,000 steps, even if we actively plan to have a chilled day (my cheap Fitbit tells me 17,200 steps is my average so far for the trip). At least I can feel my…
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Day 35 – A fractured world
30th September – Yerevan, Armenia Today’s the day. I finally got a haircut! Pictures to follow. Maybe. The morning was very chilled. We’ve been doing some more China planning and I left Kaja to it for an hour to get a trim and a coffee on another glorious Yerevan morning. When I got back, a…
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Day 34 – Monumental Yerevan
29th September: Yerevan, Armenia Our first day in Yerevan began by looking for some late morning snacks. Kaja had a very tasty tofu wrap, but a coffee and croissant, to supplement my early morning plums and persimmon from a previous market haul, hit the spot for me. It was warm today! My first day in…
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Day 33 – The ecological catastrophe of Lake Sevan
28th September: Dilijan, Armenia to Yerevan, Armenia I write the first part of this blog from the terrace of Sevan Writers’ House, a spot I’ve wanted to come for many years. However, I had no idea they actually had a café, so being able to come and sit here on the sun-drenched balcony, overlooking the…
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Day 32 – Autumnal Dilijan
27th September: Vanadzor, Armenia to Dilijan, Armenia Early in the morning, I finished checking some potential train and hotel permutations for China. It does seem that we should be OK within our budget, if we travel slowly. This suits us anyway. I’m also feeling a bit better today after my digestion issues – what a…
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Day 31 – Planning for the next leg
26th September: Vanadzor, Armenia A very lazy day today. We were able to have muesli for breakfast and make coffee in the apartment, which felt like a luxury. I’ve not been feeling so well for a few days, so this was exactly what I needed. The morning got better when we were finally able to…
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Day 30 – Befuddled by Vanadzor
25th September: Gyumri, Armenia to Vanadzor, Armenia We had a bit of time before the marshrutka, so found a chilled café in the centre. Another place with almond milk! Armenia is winning the non-dairy milk stakes so far. On arrival at the bus station, it seemed like chaos. Our first impressions are that things are…
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Day 29 – The tragic history of Gyumri
24th September – Gyumri, Armenia Hearing a hissing sound, I thought it must be the pipes and rolled over attempting to get back to sleep on undoubtedly the most uncomfortable mattress of the trip. Thirty seconds later, it sounded like somebody was having a shower. I looked over, Kaja was asleep next to me, so…
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Day 28 – Passport checks and VAR checks
23rd September: Akhaltsikhe, Georgia to Gyumri, Armenia So, the apparently mythical marshrutka across the Armenian border direct to Gyumri does exist! This is far from a popular crossing but, nonetheless, almost every tale we could find online or person we’ve spoken to this week who has tried has failed to get a ride on this…