Day 227: Agarak-Avilaq

And this morning it was finally time to enter Iran. I've thought about that country quite a lot, talked about it many times and I had that Persian audio phrasebook since I left Dresden. Most of the countries I crossed during this trip, that I did not know before, like Turkey, I just went to without long preceding thoughts about it. And as it is with things that grew important in the absence of concrete action, when it finally happens it is a bit overwhelming and no matter how close you are, it does not happen before it actually happens... there goes a simple and obvious thruth, that just struck me again...
But before taking off I had to repair another flat tire. I fixed it yesterday but apparently I only pulled out one of two metal threads from the wheel. Now I had five of these little metal pieces causing me the last four punctures, where do they come from anyway?
After a ten minutes ride I arrived at the border. The Procedure took some time, an Armenian officer asked me my detailed opinion about his country before the passport control... well, it was great, what do you expect? But ass a matter of fact, I did not have to search for lies, it was great. About the people it was a bit trickier, I met good ones but a lot of times I got weird vibes and never really figured what caused it.
At the passport control my face was thoroughly compared to that other one on the passport-picture and the lady flipped a couple of times through the visa-pages, when she finally finished, she recapitulated my travelling so far and then asked me where I'd go after Iran, I said that I have an eye on Turkmenistan, and then she kept asking... I assumed it was pure interest, even though during the flipping she looked very seriously and almost had me worried.
On the Iranian side the first officer was not in, a hurry at all, the second one taking a copy of the passport also asked me about my travel plans after Iran, but without examining my passport further. Then I had to open one bag and after a short look, before I could empty its entire content I was instructed to close it again and preced.
I got some Drams at the change office and after a civil Iranian welcomed me to his country and we had a short chat. When I was leaving he came after me handing me an Orange and wished me luck.
The land on the other side of the Rud-e-Aras (river) was quite different, vegetation was very sparse, most of the rivers were dry and the mountains, made of a sandy material, came in, different shapes. There was no big pass today only small ones and after the hottest time of the day was over I found my flow. In Kharvana, the first village I, crossed after the border I chatted with the shopkeeper and a lot of kids with bikes were sticking around. I almost drowned that one and a half liters of cold coke and the suggar rush translated into a higher pace once I took off again.
It was reptile day, I saw a big lizard and almost run over a snake.
Shortly before Avilaq there was a valley with a river that actually had water and around it it was nice and green. I took the spot even though it was still afternoon and I had a longer distance in mind for today. But in the ends I did not want to risk finding myself in a similar situation as yesterday.
Apropos distance, I completed the 10000 kilometres today. For some reason this number gets me very excited.

Day 226: Kapan-Agarak

My last day in Armenia... but there is still one the pass of Meghri to cross, which is incidently the highest with its 2535m. But when I started (on 570m) I only knew that it's higher than 2000m. The climb was spectacular, each new turn up that steep road (12% most of the time) brought a new perspective on that valley I came from. And it was very exhausting in the last quarter I happend to stop more often to taken a photo. When I, got off the bike on top, I felt a bit unsteady on my legs.
So I, had a long lunch brake, looking back down the way I came from, take a short stroll around and took some pictures.
Then I, got back on the bike, looked down on the way ahead and even seeing as far as to Iran. But I, did not find a lot of new strength during the break, heaving myself and Wolter up a 2000m in 40km distance completly drained my reserves for the day. But as it went up, it also went down, rather steep...
So I made it to Meghri with barley having to pedal at all. It was an amazing ride, the weather, the landscapes, the road with little (slow) traffic was very much my taste.
My intention was to sleep not too far from the border and cross next morning, otherwise I, would waste one of my precious 15 days visa duration in Iran. So first I needed to stock up water, then find a place for the night. Once I was back down on altitudes where it is green I found water, but I could not find a quiet place anymore. The feeling in my legs pushed the thought of going back up away immediately, so I followed the road all the way to the border and found myself at sunset finally in Agarak, the closest Armenian small town to the border. So I parked my lazy ass in a hotel, well I deserved it...

Day 223: Landjanist-Saravan

I thought I camped right before the pass, it turned out though that I had another bit to climb before reaching it. On the way up I discovered Ararat, he was peering over the southern mountains of the valley like a neighbour would look over the garden fence.
looking from the pass back into the valley was quite impressive. There were the mountains I passed yesterday and also the ones I saw when riding to Yerevan the day before yesterday. But more than that I could see across the plane where the metropolis lies to see the mountains behind. I guessed those mountains could be the ones I saw from the other side weeks ago while riding through south Georgia.
Then I went down into the valley and followed the rivers for a long time. The valley would narrow to a canyon and widen again.
Long before evening I settled for a camping spot in a little side valley beneath the monkey mountain with a little torrent with cristal clear water, that whispered wash yourself in me!

Day 222: Yerevan-Lanjanist

Getting out of the metropolis through all these suburbs was long and tiresome. I've seen the contrast between the shiny city center and the outskirts often enough and find it little appealing. Ararat was hidden behind clouds taking away the only thing I was looking forward to in this first part of the ride.
But then I could take a smaller road leading back into the mountains. The valley I enterd was covered in glowing, fresh green grass. Trees were only in the center of the valley and mostly fruit trees from agriculture and all in bloom. There were a lot of small torrents, which I found surprising, since there was no forest on the hillsides and the snow was gone already, so there must be sources pushing from deep inside the mountains I figured. I saw storchs circling up into the sky with the rising hot air, a pair of eagles chased through the valley and falcons would dive for pray on the fields.
slowly, slowly the road got steeper and became a serpentine. In one of the curves I went straight, leaving the road and found a spot overlooking the valley. No dogs around, just frogs in the little lakes. I just had time to pitch the tent when a shower came and at some point the rain turned into hail. It did not last long to my releave and I found a good nights sleep.

Day 235: Doghar-Kapan

I saw the sun rising at the end of the valley. It was warm but windy. So I got an early start dived down into a steep valley and for the next two hours I worked my way back up on the other side. Here everything was one big forest and the views I glimpsed at the curves of the serpentine road were amazing.
After a long break on the first pass I followed the road which went along a ledge, I love these particularly. But then the weather changed slowly, thunder form the clouds mixed with the occasional thunder of passing trucks bumping down the bumpy road. Before the next small pass I got hit by a little hail. Then it went down all the way to Kapan, quite a nice road. The views became tricky at this part since they would take my attention away from the road. There were not many holes in it but bumps from some kind of deformation of the asphalt, these obstacles are also more difficult to see than holes, so between gazing into the valleys and starring at the road I got almost catapulted out of my saddle.
Before Kapan I caught up with a heavy shower, sought out the next shelter and waited it out. Finally I decided to settle for a cheap hotel here, wash cloths, use internet, in short do the civilization things and wait out the small storm.  

Day 234: Saravan-Doghar

I attacked todays climb for the pass 2000m+ number six with force and pushed the remaining 900m up the serpentine without any stop. On the top I switched t-shirts and put on some more cloths (in the morning I had breakfast in my undies because it was so warm). After a longer break and a chat with a Czech lad starting the conversation with: 'I saw you a couple of days ago in Dilijan', I was in not for the downhill as I expected, but a series of up and downs staying in altitude where it was windy and too cold for a t-shirt but too hot for a jumper. I finally arrived in Goris pretty exhausted. but here the landscapes became exciting again. I stocked up with food and after one failed attempt of leaving the main road, where I had to turn around, I found this amazing small mountain which is has a huge flat part at the intersection of valleys. Up here the views in all directions are breathtaking. I'm sure to get up early tomorrow since there is no shadow from the morning sun.
Later I also found out why this mountain was so amazingly flat; wind erosion! Once the sun was hidden away strong winds came up. I went around the tent and stamped a couple of tent pegs into the ground, which luckily was firm sticky earth. And another bit later I heard thunder. When I was picking the spot I thought, that it might be a bit exposed here in the flat, but remembering the weather forecast (for Yerevan) there was not thunder storms and went ahead. I saw the lightnings, but the storm speared me. At some point, after yet another and yet stronger gust hit the tent, the image of me in my tent leaving the ground and flying through space formed. This might sound shocking, but I had more the romantic side of it in mind and I worked like a lullaby.

Day 221: Yerevan

It was not quite planed like this, but the fact that there was no way to properly concentrate yesterday evening and that the internet connection was notoriously overloaded would not let me do my visa homework as planed. So I decided to stay another day, read all the stuff that I have to, get a Russian-English phrase book, and stock up on food.
I tried a couple of times to roam the streets of Yerevan, but I was too tired. Last night it was the last one of the group of English teachers and accordingly they celebrated their last day together before going back to their host families in Georgia. It was already early morning when it was quiet enough to sleep. A bit later I woke up because of a weird dream of a water tap, the noise was as if there was air in the tubes and the water was surging out of the tab and, weirdly enough, splatter on the floor. The far too real noise and the absence of the sink caused all kind of scenarios in my head of a huge mess, so I woke up to see that the water tap was a poor fellow that drunk a bit too much last night. I brought the guy a bowl from the kitchen and got a tad upset that this puking guy did not manage to go to the bathroom nor did he seem to bother to clean up his mess before the smell takes over the entire room. While he continued sleeping this early hour in the morning was the end of the nights rest.
Anyway, I tried, tired as I was, to get a look of the city, went out, walked a couple of blocks and soon turned around to have a nap. Later I tried again, passed a grocery store, bought stuff, brought it back to the hostel and hours passed before the next attempt. However what I saw from the city yesterday when I rode into the centre and from the walk around a couple of blocks surprised me quite a bit. I haven't seen such a shiny city for a while and for whatever reason did not expect it here. Everybody was dressed up, but not because of Easters, because that was last weekend here. There were a lot of expensive cars driving around, everything looked clean, all the buildings in the around the centre were well taken care of and of course a lot of new constructions were taking place here and there. Well, all these attribute a western man associates with wealth and luxury were quite abundant here. I still can't decide if it is the fact that the city did not even remotely meet my expectations is more work my mind more than the actuality about me being surprised by the cities wealth (or shininess, whatever you want to call it)

Day 220: Sevan-Yerevan

The sun rose early over the lake, no mountains would cast shadows over the place I was camping. So I hit the road before nine. After some up and downs The downhill started towards Yerevan and I arrived only three hours later In the city.
The highlight was seeing that still cloud in the sky that turned out to be Ararat. Since I Elbrus can not been seen from Georgia (a fact that I digested rather badly) Ararat is the first fivethousander I saw with my own eyes. The mountain looks quite majestic.
Before I reached the hostel in the city centre I crossed paths with Jaon, a Korean cyclist that grew up in Japan. The growing number of far east cyclists that I get to know really impresses me.
Finally I found the hostel full of English teachers, mostly from the States. It was like jumping in a Hive.

Day 119: Lermontov-Sevan

The second day of climbing... but before I could enjoy what I earned yesterday. I descended from the pass towards Dilijan. But I knew that Sevan, today's destination was also on 2000m, so everything I ride down now I will have to climb up later.
I had lunch in Dilijan, an extended one, since I skipped yesterdays dinner. Then I started climbing again. This time it was not following a river, but it was a serpentine road that cut into the steep hillside. I prefer serpentines since they usually go up steady instead of going up a bit and then down again but just a little less than you just went up. Once the main road to Sevan I was following went into a tunnel, I too a smaller road leading further up to the pass and over the mountain instead of through it. This stretch was the most beautiful of the day. From the pass there was an amazing view over Sevan National park and its huge lake. Arriving in Sevan though was disappointing. There were Hotel complexes and on every inch of that beautiful patch of earth there was a building or there was a fence around or it was full of trash. This go me in a pretty shitty mood on this beautiful day and the thread of thoughts went like: 'no I don't hate humans, I just seem to feel better when they are not around.' (borrowed Bukowski) And probably the rest of the earth must feel the same sometimes. But as thoughts are, they wonder and so they went on... I realized also that one of the disadvantages of cycling (probably the first one I found and that has some weight) is that the roads do not lead you to the few remaining quiet places on this earth. A cyclist is, so I interpret the behaviour of many drivers, is not even a respectable part of the traffic. The paved roads belong to motorized vehicles and whatever lands they tap, those lads become noisy and full of lazy greedy people. Such were the dark thoughts...
Then I found myself a spot between the empty cabins and the trash close to the lake to spend the night. The lake lay there calm in the sun, surrounded by the mountains with their white hats, its surface was calm and looked like a mirror. I cleaned a spot from the trash and pitched my tent, eager to hide myself in it and wait for the sleep turning dark thoughts into random dreams.

Day 118: Akhtala-Lermontov

I slept deep and sound last night and when the alarm went off early, I turned it off after only one ringtone and slept another two hours into the morning. Then I finally got up to climbing day.
During lunch break an Ratsch (sorry the spelling), a guy from the village joined me. He said to be 85 years old but he did not look anything like it. First he proposed to drink vodka which I refused, instead we had a couple of beers. He told me all kinds of stories mostly with mimics and he had a couple of magic tricks to show.
The rest was climbing again. After crossing 1000m a.s.l. the trees were not yet green and it was a bit like turning back time to and earlier state of spring.
I spent the night on the pass. To get from 400m up to 1800m I had to climb about 2000m. There was some big house where I decided to ask if I could camp around here. It turned out to be a hotel and the lady showed me a room and wanted to charge some 30 dollars. After some discussion with hand and feet I could camp and use the shower for little money. She also showed me a lot of bear skins, saying that camping in the wild would not be a good idea. But I though, seeing the many remains of dead bears that there could be hardly any left by now. A little highlight were the cats of the house. The mother just had three little ones maybe a weeks old, they all had white fur and one green and one blue eye. I was tempted to go to Van in Turkey just to see these cats, but now I found them here, in, the middle of the Armenian mountains.

Day 217: Tblisi-Akhtala

Since I tried to do all the administrative stuff in, one evening and the bags needed to be packed too I did not get much sleep last night. However I managed toi get up at eight and after breakfast it was time to say goodbye to my fellow cyclists and our wonderful hosts. Its never easy and even though I had a lot of practice the last months, I probably will never get used to it. We kept it short, there is not much to be said, it was written in our faces anyway.
The clouds threatened with showers but eventually not a drop fell on my head. Later in the afternoon the sun pierced the clouds. It actually was perfect weather, 17°, no wind and a moderate sun.
Once I got out of the city I headed for small roads and landed on a dirt track leading through the plane. The earth was dry and hard, no real bumps in the road, just waves. On the fields there were huge sheep herds, some cows, a couple of horses and a few dogs usually close to the shepherds. I loved this scenery and me and wolter flying through it.
Then I faced the mountains again back on the main road which went around the first hills and then dived into the valley. Along the river most of the trees were in bloom now, mountains covered in forests turned from braun-black-gray to green and sometimes a breeze would blow some flower perfume into my nose.
Crossing the border in Sadakhlo to Armenia was very quick. This is the first country I needed a visa on this trip. Next to the passport control was a seperate booth where I got the visa for 21 days by filling out a form and paying 3000 dram within minutes.
Right after the border I stocked up, then rode another couple of kilometres into the country before getting a spot for the night.
The first impressions I got from the people were very friendly, the officers at the border were cracking jokes about my dudish facial hear, alomst every single car was greeting by a friendly short honk or by waving out of the window, even people far away from the street on the hillsides would shout and wave with both arms. Since there was not much traffic the drivers appeared respectful, except when they were about to passt other cars or if two cars crossed on my hight. Then they honk a bit differently and to avoid commotion or worse I had to get of the road. but by now I have accepted that I won't change the mentality that bicycles are like pedestrians, so with my mirror I do these manoeuvres very routinely and relaxed, instead of getting obset.