AUGUST 8-10 ASHOTSK



Artur, Alla and Mika



Ashotsk is an awesome place and I'm so fortunate to be here in this village of 2,000 people in Northern Armenia just below the Georgia border. I just saw a little paragraph in the Lonely Planet Book about Artur Mikayelyan and his family and contacted them. They have a B&B here and have year-round activities. Artur is the six-time cross-country skiing champion for Armenia, his wife, Alla, was six times the Russian cross-country ski champ and their twenty-year old son, Sergei, is also an Armenian champaion.  All three have competed in the Olympics.  Artur trains the Armenian National team. Their thirteen-year old son, Mika, and I have been having a great time together. It's like hanging out with Kyle when he was 13 and we were learning to ski and back pack. By the way, everyone in the family speaks Armenian, Russian and some English and German.



My Pal



Our big expedition yesterday was to mountain bike 22 kilometers to Lake Arpa.  Artur and Samvel, a friend of Mika's, drove the car with the kayaks and made sure we were OK during the trip.  Mika was my trail buddy. We had a great time talking, joking and biking.

Representing Peninsula College in Northern Armenia.



Cow dung is stacked to dry everywhere. It is burned in the winter for heat. But don't get the idea that this region is separated from the modern world.  Atur and Alla's house has TV, video, internet , Skype etc.etc.  They just have had years of knowing to survive and to not waste anything. 



We then arrived at Lake Arpa which is just a few K below the Georgia border.  We inflated the kayaks - Mika and I in one; Artur and Samvel in the other. We paddled about 3K to an island where we proceeded to play in the rocks and vegetation.  I was thinking about Kristina as we saw familiar (Yarrow and Cow Parsley) and unfamiliar flowers and plants and had a picnic.



Finally, Mika and I headed back to Ashotsk.  Our entire trip was 7 hours long, we biked 45K and paddled about 6K.  I was pretty tired when I got back, but a nap, a sauna and dinner - well, I was a new man.  I love being here and being with this family so much that I'm going to stay an extra day instead of going to Gyumri or back to Yerevan. I needed to be out of the city for a while.

Samvel and me.

Yesterday, when Mika and I were kayaking - he said,"I love my Ashotsk!" He said how beautiful it is, how cold but how much fun it is in the Winter.  How many 13 year olds would say that?  Today, we are going to the forest for an afternoon picnic.  Artur's mother, Nellie, specifically asked if I was coming.  Yes, this is a good place.