Day 7: Gold at the end of the rainbow🌈

Hmmm, did we say rest day? 🤔 Well, think again!!

Today started with an insane ride into Vayk (pronounced Vike). Armenians + cars = terrifying. I’ll take the bear 🐻, ty! First of all, the only person who legally has to wear a seatbelt is the driver, so the rest of the seats just don’t have belts - because where is the fun in staying alive as a passenger? Secondly, the lines on the roads don’t seem to matter, because again risking death = Titan. Thirdly, speed limits also don’t matter, because AGAIN, SAFETY IS BORING 😰. And fourth, perhaps the most insane, is we were driven in a 50+ year old Lada through the deepest wettest skiddiest mud down a pretty long and at times steep hill (and then back up on the way home). I kept reaching for the seatbelt that didn’t exist! Holy mother of god I am SHOOK to my core at the level of chill Hayk (pronounced Hike) had when driving us down and back up. He was chatting, showing us various places in the distance, checking his phone, saying hi to construction workers who were working on making the new road (oh yeah, here you can drive on the road that is not yet a road while it’s being made into a road… not a single road cone in sight!). I do not understand how we did not get stuck in the mud or spin out, and I’m going to leave it at that. That car was WORKING 😮‍💨

The reason we were in the car in the first place is because Hayk (our host) very kindly offered to take us into Vayk so we could get some more cash out. Armenia is still heavily reliant on cash, and we did not realise just how much cash we’d need before leaving Yeghegnadzor. Even the accommodation has to be paid for in cash! This is what has caught us out the most. We also visited the supermarket while in Vayk and got some yummy food to snack on and cook later.

Arriving back at the guesthouse and getting out of that car was 😮‍💨 a relief, to put it lightly. I really enjoyed slamming the door closed behind me (it’s an old car so needs an overly firm hand, I wasn’t being disrespectful). Also Ben wants it noted that he was not worried or nervous at all, in the car, and was in fact having a lot of fun! I’m not surprised 😜

The weather had told us today was going to be awful, but it was really lovely this morning! We could and perhaps should have set off for Artivan, but the weather was saying this afternoon/evening/night was to be very heavy rain with thunder, so…alas… Instead we set off on a walk down to Kapuyt (pronounced Kah-puit). It was lightly raining for the majority of this trek, but that didn’t take away from our enjoyment at all!

Again, we walked past quite a few dogs who made sure to let us know we weren’t welcome on their property! Unsure if we’ll ever get used to that… 🤔 We also saw lots of horses and a couple of foals! So gorgeous. I stopped to just watch the horses on our way past, and a few of them I’m convinced came up to the big muddy puddle in front of us and pretended to drink the water just so they could get a good look at us! I was hoping one might come and say hello properly, but their ultimate priority was to eat grass! I actually felt quite emotional around them, and in general. I think perhaps because each day we’ve been hiking has had various stressors and reasons to be on high alert, and I’m needing some kind of emotional release - what better time than on a rest day walking past horses? 🤗🩵

We decided we’d like to go and see what the TCT trail up to Artivan actually looked like, as some of the higher mounts here don’t have snow - maybe our trail doesn’t either and we don’t need to go the “easy” way? We quickly discovered that there was, in fact, a lot of snow on the TCT trail, and we won’t be doing it 🫡

We then walked up to the basalt arch, which is an archway that has formed naturally (and is made of basalt). This little trek was incredible! Again, the rocks and lichen and caves here are so magical! The weather today also made it seem mystical and moody.

On our way up we came across a “Hike Armenia” group of workers who had just sat down for their lunch break. This was hugely exciting to us, because we are hiking the trail that their organisation is largely responsible for! Of course we had many questions for them, and we were quickly invited to join them for lunch. We had a couple of apples and some scroggin, and this must have worried the workers somehow as they started sharing their food with us. One man came over and handed me his entire chicken and (raw) onion sandwich! I got the feeling it would be rude not to accept, so we said “Merci chat” many, many times! Again, the community and kindness of these people is next level.

One of the men, we unfortunately can’t remember his name 😩, is particularly passionate about their hike organisation and their shared mission. He was saying it is sad because all of these wonderful trails are here, but hardly anyone comes to do them! So we think he was very happy to know we are hiking most of the “hike Armenia” trail! Before we left and they got back to work, they tried to teach us how to say thank you in Armenian - and they also failed!! It’s such a difficult word to get our tongues around. Usually I’m alright at getting my tongue around words from various languages, but this is a really tough one! So they then taught us to say “aprés”, which means “may you live a long and happy life”, and is something you say informally, like to friends. In other situations they said to stick to “merci chat” 😅🥰🙏

We also had a huge and actually friendly shepherd dog join us for lunch! This pleased Ben very much, so of course the dog instantly began licking his face and wanting more and more pats! I think a lot of these “guard” type shepherd dogs have pretty tough lives… this one had no ears and half a tail, for example, meaning they were either docked as a pup so as to avoid frostbite, or they got frostbite and fell off… 🥺 but anyway, it was a very welcome change to be approached by one of these dogs with a happy face and wanting cuddles as opposed to the usual hostility… 🤗

When we approached the arch, it was wondrous to gaze upon. Our eyes were immediately drawn to the way it frames a tall, wide, shallow, cascading waterfall, which meets a stream that flows back through the archway. The arch itself is an impressive natural formation of smooth, curved rocks many metres high and across. When we walked through the archway and turned around, it then framed the misty horizon of snowy mountains ahead and the grassy slopes below. Around this area there were also khachkars carved into the rock face, as well as standing solo. These are an ancient beauty; it was hard to pull our eyes away.

After we’d explored about and taken many photos, we then trundled home together through the now pouring rain and various bangs of thunder. We again marvelled over how lucky we are to be here and how beautiful Armenia is - both as a landscape as well as a people. When we’d started climbing the hill back up to Gomk, Ben started suggesting that we undertake a further two hour hike to a frozen lake where we could go swimming. Just then, as if the Gods heard my silent plea, a car rocked up beside us and motioned for us to get in - I didn’t need telling twice and promptly climbed into the backseat - Ben sighed and followed suit 😝 The kind men in this car could speak no English, but there was no need, really. We all remarked at the increasingly large waterfall cascading down the hillside as we drove past. They dropped us off at the road that lead back to our guesthouse, and we said aprés and goodbye! Thank you kind Armenians 🙏 We really have been so well looked after here!

One other thing worth noting is during our chats with Hayk on the way to/from Vayk, he mentioned he sees brown bears while hiking fairly often and that they are afraid of humans, so we don’t really need to be worried - unless we are out at night or very early morning (noted✍️, and thankful for our sleepy camp mornings now 😝). He also said they are not bothered by our bear spray (greeeeaaaaat! 😅😅😅). But, good to know we largely don’t need to worry during the day 🫡 Of course we will still make noise to ensure we don’t surprise them, but it’s reassuring to hear this from a local who encounters them fairly often!! 🙏🐻 Also, our bear spray will very much work against big shepherd dogs, if needed, so it’s not a waste having it with us!! 💪

This later afternoon was spent watching a movie called “Train Dreams”, which is a really fantastic film. It tells the fictional story of a man working as a logger in newly “settled” (aka stolen) land in America throughout the early 1900s. It showcases beauty, hardship, trauma, loneliness, the power and warmth of kindness, technological change and upheaval… Beautiful, beautiful story - very emotional and so, so deep.

Most of this evening has been constant, heavy rain. At one point we looked outside and there was a 🌈rainbow🌈! But it wasn’t just any rainbow 🌈- it was right there in the next paddock! It started and ended right in front of us! What the helly!!! How marvellous! We quickly ran out into the rain to take it in better and look for the pot of gold at the ends of it 😝 Truly a childhood fantasy come to fruition! 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

What a big rest day! We are finishing this evening with a shot of Hayk’s father’s homemade 60% alcohol vodka! 🫡

Goodnight 🩵😝Read more