Goodbye Armenia

 

The time has come to say goodbye to Armenia. The passage of a very busy two months has been heralded with shortening days and lower sun angles as our planet's northern hemisphere marches steadily now toward the winter solstice.

The monastery above the town of Tumanyan

A lot has been accomplished. The window for gaining citizenship in Armenia has been temporarily halted and is likely to be closed in the near future. I am very glad to have this chess piece in my pocket. Our time with the Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) was a highlight for us both. The friendships that we made and the mutual benefits of sharing our time and ourselves with others was just fantastic.

Our volunteer opportunity: teaching English language skills

Gary feels right at home learning Armenian language. Actually it's tough for both of us!

The next big piece of the puzzle will be to look at real estate but, with time running out, that will have to wait until next year.

Our first stop on our way home was a short three hour hop on a mini-bus from Yerevan to a small town in the northern part of the country near the Georgian border. The tiny town of Tumanyan was our home for a week. Laying at the bottom of the Debed River Canyon, along the river of the same name, our little studio apartment looked out upon the small courtyard of what passed as the downtown square and out and beyond to the 500 meter high cliffs surrounding the village on all sides.

The town of Tumanyan, Armenia and the Debed River and Gorge by the same name 

The view from our Airbnb looking out over the Town Square of Tumanyan

The town, once a factory town in the soviet era, manufactured bricks. The next town to the north, Alaverdi, was the home of a copper mine and smelting plant. These business have long since been shuttered and they, along with the other towns in the region, have faced new challenges to support themselves. Most of the towns have turned to various forms of tourism to support themselves. Advertised hikes and outdoor adventures breathe life once again, seasonally, into these beautiful towns with uncertain futures.

The town of Dsegh in another such town that has seen a major influx of tourism and money. It is perched on top of the canyon in the fertile and flat fields that reach inland from the edge of the chasm to the even higher mountains beyond. When, one day, we hiked up the side of the gorge from Tumanyan to the little town at the top, we found ourselves exiting the woods and walking the wide dirt paths through farmer's fields into a town that had seen some amazing growth.

The fertile fields of Dsegh

As we entered town, we walked past one of many little homes only to pass one such “home” to find a woman suddenly beckoning us in past her gates to her little detached cabin she had built for her. She quickly introduced herself and explained that she was the owner and proprietress of a small tea plantation. Guests would arrive on tour buses to hand pick teas and to sample them with dessert cakes and dried fruits she prepared herself.

Homemade jam made from rose hips and dried fruits

This lovely lady runs a small Tea Plantation that caters to tourism in a town Reinventing itself

I purchased a small bag of custom designed tea, mint and lavender

We enjoyed our tea and dried fruits and jams and homemade Gata bread on the porch of her little Log Cabin

A delicious spread indeed!

A little further into town and we found that the center for science and learning, TUMO, had also established a small outpost in Dsegh as well. They also ran a sort of eco-inn that was designed to house travelers in simple accommodations that were powered by solar and battery.

The bakery in the center of town was alive with the smell of freshly baked breads and signs in the town square pointed the way, past statues and water bubblers to a variet of hiking destinations, the times and distances all carefully printed and trails leading out of the town carefully marked on light poles and rocks and various other edifices.

Trails leading to everywhere!
Be careful of cliffs though!

This little town of Dsegh was also the birthplace of the famous Armenian poet, Tumanyan, for which the town at the bottom of the canyon was named. He later resided in the nearby city of Tbilisi, Gerogia where he was a well known figure there.

The poet, Tumanyan

Tumanyan's statue, in Dsegh Village, and Gary

We spent the rest of the week hiking trails up the sides of the canyon walls to viewpoints, ancient monasteries, farms and fields filled with sheep and cows and a goodly amount of time relaxing and utilizing the really wonderful piano in the town hall just one building away from the one we were staying in.

At the end of too short of a week, having suffered the ravages of too much beautiful weather and amazing people, we took a short minibus ride to the third largest city in Armenia, Vanadzor, to catch the train to Batumi, Georgia. The song, “Midnight Train to Georgia” has been omnipresent in my mind as I am sure, our telling here, brings to yours.

The Train to Georgia passes right through the town. We would be on that train, three days from when this picture was taken.

Six days in Batumi, on the Black Sea, would put an end to our time in the Caucuses as we would next board a ferry for a three night crossing west to the city of Varna in Bulgaria.

As always, the adventures continue!