August 7 - Adventure within an adventure
In the morning I took a plunge in the lake, which was surprisingly warm, I was, after all, at around 1800m. Is it reactive? I thought - so decided to keep the swimming short. The eel was quite surprised to see me.
The lake with my tent & bike
It's not too common to have so many uphill stretches after a pass, but this was here the case. I had breakfast at a diner, where I met a lovely Italian couple, Bianca and Luciano. They were traveling by bus and they looked after me as if I was their child, they even paid my bill (which I found out only after they had left).
Close to the city of Sisian, I surprised a few Indian electricity workers by asking directions to Zorats Later in Hindi. This place is the Armenian Stonehenge, there are speculations that this is the oldest observatory in the world. The monoliths each have a hole, mostly at the top, pointing at the sky.
'Stonehenge' in Armenia
Here there was an information sign about Ughasar, a place that can be reached only by jeep. I found a little café, and the owner soon organized a beaten Russian keep for Eur 50. Soon the driver and I were on our two-hour trip high into the mountains.
On the way to the mountain (it was steep!)
It was but a dirt road, which was so steep that we had to use the four-wheel drive function most of the time. I was praying that the jeep would not break down, it would have been quite a long walk downhill. Mm the views were spectacular, there were even patches of snow higher up.
Carvings...
...and more carvings...
...and then some more...
At the top is a lake, which is surrounded by volcanic rock, on there are carvings from our ancestors, some as old as 10,000 years old. It was very impressive - and the dot on the i was that I had taken a plunge into this lake.
Roughly two hours later we got back safely to the car, the owner of the restaurant treated me as if I were part of the family, treating me with food and vodka in circle of his family 'and close friends.
My jeep
At around 5 pm I continued to ride, oh, did I mention those winds? There was a stretch of 16 km for which I needed well over two hours. I was happy to reach the turn-off to the Tatev monastery, which can be reached by cable car...
...provided it's not a Monday. Well, the following day was indeed a Monday, so the cable car option was gone. I was treated to some nuts and coffee by some Iranian tourists, then the caretakers of the modern property showed me a good place for pitching a tent. Good night!
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