Sanahin - Alaverdi

The night of Sunday, October 28, 2018, became increasingly cold towards the morning. So I am very grateful for the first rays of sunshine that reach the tent shortly before nine o'clock. After a warm oatmeal breakfast, I pack up the tent and get back on track with Dicken. We cross the village of Akner, overcome a small gorge, and then climb up to the Sanahin Monastery in Sanahin. In the early afternoon, I can park Rango in the monastery garden and take a leisurely look at the old buildings. After that, we stroll into the center of Sanahin, where I look for a cafe with good wifi, skype with home, upload some pictures, and enjoy a hot drink with some sweets. In the afternoon, I head to a nearby hostel and check in without any problems. I plan to do some major repairs and stay for a day. In the evening, above the Turtle Lake, I overlooked a single thorn and punctured my fairly new mattress (I still have no luck with these things). The result of the makeshift repair is not completely satisfactory and the glue I have already organized needs time to fully cure. In addition, my sleeping bag has lost a few feathers over time. Now I hope to find a down pillow somewhere to fill the sleeping bag again. After settling into the hostel room, I treat myself to a warm shower first. Then I go back to the village. Unfortunately, the cable car to the nearby Alaverdi is out of service, so I won't be able to reach the slightly larger district today. So I take a little detour in Sanahin, manage to find a pillow (unfortunately only filled with synthetic fiber), and retreat to the hostel shortly before dusk. In the evening, Alex from Paris joins us, with whom I can chat a bit about my surgery on the open sleeping bag. Around one o'clock, I finally go to bed for the first time in over 2 months.

On Monday morning, we take it easy. After breakfast, I listen to some music over the hostel wifi and enjoy the sun while rinsing Rango thoroughly under the warm shower to dry. After a cup of coffee, we set off for Alaverdi around noon. A small path leads us, with a wonderful view of a decommissioned copper mine and the surrounding mountain landscape, down to the Sanahin Bridge. From there, we continue towards the center, passing by a theater, a small church, and a post office. At a butcher's, I can buy about 2 kg of beef for Dicken, and next door, I treat myself to a shashlik with bread, cheese, and salad. Both are quite expensive, at least I was fooled with tourist prices for the shashlik. Then we head to the southwest end of Alaverdi and along the main road back up to Sanahin. I spend the evening in the hostel again in good company doing repair work. Around three in the morning, the sleeping bag has its new filling and I go to bed, once again, satisfied.