One of the beauty about travelling is the unknown. No matter how much you're planing, something will always go different. For us, it's the decision to visit Armenia with the two others, which wasn't on our List in any way. By this moment, we got our 16-days visa for russia and we believed to be through with it - that's what we thought. But let's talk about that later.
The process at the Georgian-Armenian boarder is pretty structured, at least much more then other boarders we've crossed in the past.
After a marathon of duties such as car insurances, sim-cards, offline maps and so on, we find a place to stay for the night. The region we're in is called the Lesser Caucasus which lays in the north of Armenia and also covers parts of Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. The region is battered by some catastrophic land slides that have taken place in may this year. Countless villages we pass are fully torn down, huge industries left behind, rivers took streets and hills, and everywhere human leftovers and trash. It's a moving sight in an already poor region.
About 15 minutes after our arrival here near the village of Dsegh, the thunderstorm begins.
It's an impressive amount of water coming down in just a few minutes and we beginn to wonder, how the muddy street might look like the next morning. The flashes aren't less of a spectacel, and on this exposed hill we are pretty much the highest point around. So we were happy when this wall of thunder passed by just an hour later.
The next day, we managed to have a visit at one of the countless monasteries of Armenia before the rain started hard again.
📍Haghartsin Monastery
We are still fighting with our stomach, which is why access to a toilet isn't the worst idea. We are heading for a cheese farm at the Sewan lake we found on the internet. They are offering free parking for the night and clean toilets. The only condition is a visit and a cheese tasting. The prices are proud for armenian standarts, but those ten different cheeses and six types of meat we taste along with white and pink wine, are exzeptional and worth the money. Then it probably wasn't the best cure for our current health issues...
Lake Sevan
Another big surprise is the breathtaking lake of Sevan! The next day brings more rain in the morning, which is why we decide to find a place to build up our awning and spend the day playing games and baking. The beauty of the lake is just mindblowing! It's landscape reminds us of Scotland, Ireland, but also of Scandinavia or even the Lake Baikal in Sibiria.
📍Hayravank Monastery
The day before we spotted a place right at the lake with a few camper cars. By the time we arrive, the sun surprises us and brings warm temperatures. Since the Lake Sevan lies on 1900 altitude, which makes it the second biggest mountain lake on earth, the temperatures are usually fresh even in high summer.
We make friends with Helene and Alessandro, a german / italian couple and spend a beautiful day at our private beach. They'll take the same route like us. Alessandro takes a stunning droneshot from our camp:
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Swimming instead of rainjackets, football instead of board games. How this day changed!
There's also locals enjoying the day at the shoreline, which brings me in contact with some guys to go for the mandatory ritual together: Vodka! This time in exchange for a Bialetti coffee. It's always fun to meet local people, and especially here in Armenia they seem to be always happy to see you.
When evening arrives, the beach becomes quiet and lonely again. It's truly a magical place.
By all the beauty, we have to take a little downer that day. Our russian visa is NOT VALID. To be more precise, it is valid to stay in Russia, but not to leave it in direction Kazachstan. Sounds weird, right? It is. The reason lies in the form - it's an e-visa we got. Since they do not have the required technology at the russian-kazachian boarder, they won't let you leave the country. We also read, that you can only leave Russia to a country which you need another visa for, such as Mongolia for example. Probably they wanna make sure you have a plan to exit Russia. Anyway, Helene and Alessandro did the same mistake and ended up applying for a physical transit visa in Yerevan at the russian embassy. Our plans are changing again rapidly - Yerevan it shall be. I'll keep you updated about the visa, and if once we are finally successfull, i'll write a step-by-step articel about the whole process. Until there - we breathe the fresh air of the alpin Armenia and enjoy our evening.
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