On The Road

As we leave the Akhtala monastery and walk back to the main road, a driver named Robert offers us a lift on an old green Soviet “Lada” for a few kilometers and drops us off on the highway. He questions us of our trip, and gives us a big smile before driving back to the town. We wander around the railway, taking photographs of a rusty cable car hanging above us, and then walk along the road. We are now headed for the town of Haghpat to visit its famous 10th century monastery – one of the few UNESCO World Heritage sites in Armenia. A ride with three guys gets us to the Haghpat intersection. We take a rest under a tall tree, and just as I take out Emée’s little travel guitar to play a song or two, a minivan stops by us. “To Haghpat? Sure! Get in,” says the driver. An old woman on the front sit, who turns out to be his mother, greets us.

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After starting off on the wrong road, we were now stuck in the middle of the town of Berdavan in Tavush province of Armenia, not really knowing what to do and where to go. It was dark, and according to what locals said, it wasn’t that safe to be out at night, because there were hungry wolves and jackals roaming around in search of food and it appeared to them that both me and Emée were tasty dinner candidates. Surely, that wasn’t the fate we were up for. And although there was a chance for us to spend the night in a tent somewhere under trees, I knew, well, I felt, the Road had prepared something better for us.

~photo by Emée~

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