IT'S A BOY!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ANNA

AND BORIS!!!

NICE JOB GUYS! WE WISH YOU AND THE BABY ALL THE BEST.

Hiking

There is a beautiful little spot in the Khosrov Nature Reserve called Havuts Tar (literally - Chicken Roost) with a half-ruined monastery/fortress and a church called Amenaprkich (All-Savior). This complex was built in 11-13 centuries and later destroyed by an earthquake. It is located in the most picturesque surrounding you can possibly imagine (see the little arrow on the picture above? That's where the monastery is), with rolling hills on one side, a deep gorge with a river on the bottom - on the other. The village of Garni can be seen across the gorge, and lush greenery surrounds the buildings on all sides. It was to this pretty place we decided to walk last Sunday. To get there, you first need to take a bus to Garni (45 min), then shoulder your backpack and walk down a winding path down to the gorge. From there, you climb up a rocky slope, cross a flat meadow and arrive at a ranger's post. Greeted by a friendly ranger, you rest after the climb, drink ice-cold water from the spring and enter the nature reserve, where a 3-4 mile dirt path takes you to the monastery.

The hike turned out to be full of surprises, which, I am sure, Roxy will soon describe to you in detail. I will just post some pics and hope that I can share at least one percent of the beauty we saw that day.

Here we go - down, down, until we reach the river.

And here is the river, overflowing and muddy, just as it should be in the spring. Usually, it's much more mellow.

Down in the gorge, Roxy and her friend Helen are admiring a small cave.

Then, after crossing over that 11th century bridge down there - a steep climb, and we are already on the other side of the gorge.

There it is, the pagan temple that stands on the outskirts of the village. See how far we came?

The elderly ranger, who really cares about the nature he protects. He lives in this little shack year-round, guarding the gates to the reserve.

This khachkar (cross-stone) is half way between the ranger's shack and the monastery. Can you see the church way back there? That's how far we still have to go :)

There is the village, now seen on the other side of the gorge.

Finally, the monastery.

It's pretty ruined, but there are a lot of interesting details preserved, like this underground chamber.


While we were admiring the sights and having our lunch, the weather changed, it got dark and windy...

and down came hail, followed by a torrential rain...

from which we tried to hide in the only part of the church that still has a roof.

When the hail stopped, we tried to make it back quick, but it was raining cats and dogs, and by the time we made it to the village, you could have squeezed a bucket of water out of our clothes.

Still, I stopped to take this last picture before hopping into a car back to the city. Beautiful, isn't it?

Vernissage

Vernissage is a French word and in the original language it means "the opening day," as in art exhibit opening. In Russian, however, the meaning has changed and the word simply means an art exhibit. And in Yerevan, the Vernissage is not just an exhibit, but a market - art and crafts market.

It is a very fun place, and I just love going there, even if I am not planning to buy anything. It's like an open air museum, where you can find beautiful handmade jewelry, carved wood items, decorated clay pots, handwoven rugs and embroidery. On the outskirts there is, of course, a flea market with clothing, china, books, antiques, furs, musical instruments, puppies and kittens, souvenirs and parts for everything - from flashlight to car. The prices are very acceptable, and are always negotiable. Wanna go shopping?

Growing things

Just a few visual impressions from our visit to the Yerevan Botanical Gardens. Not much to say except that the garden was in a very run-down condition and not very well taken care of, which is understandable considering the government has no money for it and the entrance ticket costs less than 30 cents...

Gross and disgusting

Ya'll know how much I love bugs. They are my hobby and my passion, and I learned to take photos mainly for the sake of "collecting" them without killing them.

Yet every now and then there comes a bug that makes me shudder and lose sleep, especially if I see it in my house, and especially - more than once!

So, when I saw this spider-looking creature crawling on my curtains, I looked closely and noticed that it had six legs and two wings. A fly, and a nasty looking one at that. At first glance it looked like a bloodsucker and that's just what it turned out to be. These are called louse flies, and this specific one usually lives on birds- swifts and swallows. Did I mention there is a swift nest right above my balcony? What's worse is that if they fall off the birds they start crawling around looking for a new host, and have no problem attacking humans. In fact, they can suck 20 mg of blood in 5 minutes!

The next day I found another one, and yesterday - the third. I wonder if they already killed the poor swift fledglings and are now crawling around looking for somebody else to suck the life out of?



I took a close-up pic to identify it, but when I looked at the photo on my computer I found more than I was looking for. That thing coming out of it is not what you think it is - it's larva! These disgusting creatures hatch out of the eggs inside the mother and come out as a larva. Efficient, isn't it?

So, with all due respect to other artropods I just have to say: ew-w-w-w, gross!!!!!!!!

News

Hello! Long time no post. Just wanted to remind you about my school's blog, the link to which in on my right. There are new posts and they're worth taking a look at. If you got time and feel like reading some essays, stop by.

About cops and traffic laws

I am sure there are traffic laws in Armenia written somewhere. After all, this is a civilized country. Maybe the people who wrote them know the laws. Cops should know them. How else would they know what to stop the drivers for? Unfortunately, that's about it. Most of the drivers have never really taken a test, because it is easier to pay a little extra and get your driver license without one. And those who do not own a car might suspect there are some regulations somewhere, but have no proof.

So, what you get is chaos. Here are some conversations with our drivers that show how difficult it will be to bring our streets to order.

"You know, in the States the pedestrians have the right of way regardless of whether or not they are crossing at the crosswalk or not. You might get a ticket for jaywalking, but the cars will stop the minute you leave the sidewalk, even if you shouldn't be crossing there." That's me talking to our young driver.
"Why is that?" asks he. "The car is harder to control than one's own legs. The cars should have the right of way.
"A car shouldn't be hard to control, if it's technically sound," - says I. - "Besides, a pedestrian can't do much to a car, even if they kick it. The car on the other hand, could kill a person if it runs over them."
"So, I would have to stop every second and give way to everyone who wants to cross? That's stupid",,- insists the driver.
"No, the law works both ways, and if most drivers drive by the rules, most people cross streets at assigned crossings, too. They will get fined if they don't."

The problem is not only that the drivers don't drive by the rules, but also that many intersections are set up so that there is virtually no chance to cross them. Either there is red light, and the cars are coming from the opposite direction, or, when the green is on and you try to cross, they turn your way from behind the corner. One has to cross one line at a time, always wondering if one day they won't make it. Small wonder that most people jaywalk all they want. If the crossings are no better than the middle of the street, what's the point of keeping to them?

Here is another dialog with the same young man, who, by the way, has a certificate of a master of sportsmanship in driving.
"I got pulled over yesterday," - he tells me. - "The cop told me I was blocking the intersection."
"Were you?"
"Well, I was trying to cross, but the traffic got too dense and I was stuck way beyond the white line when the light changed."
"So you were."
"What could I do?"
"Wait until it clears out on the other side of the intersection before proceeding".
"Yeah, right! If I drive by the rules, I will never get anywhere!"
"If everybody drives by the rules, you will get there faster."
"Yeah, but no one esle does."
"So, did you get a ticket?"
"Of course not!"
"How come?"
"I just told the policeman who my father was and he let me go."

His father is some big shot in what you might call an Automobile Association. An organization which ultimately is called to enforce the safe and regulated driving.

News in brief

The long-anticipated parliamentary elections finally happened last Saturday. Seems everything went as predicted - the parties that could afford to buy the most votes, won. The observers say that the process went smoothly this year (I assume, as compared to some of the past elections, when the voters were influenced by brutal force.) I am glad it's all over, maybe now the huge pictures of leaders-wanna-be will come off the walls, the bus windows and the TV screens. I am also glad that a very worthy candidate whom I would have supported if I were an Armenian citizen, got into Parliament.

In other news, some areas in the North-East were flooded last week. "One person is dead and five hundred households are severely affected as a result of massive flooding in several villages of Tavush region in north-east Armenia. The four rivers of Tavush overflowed due to thawing of excessive amounts of snow in the mountains after abrupt changes in temperatures this month," - that's from the news.

It has been a very wet spring altogether, with precipitation probably at a record level. As in, it snowed on and off all winter, still snowed several times in April and the beginning of May (!) and now it rains every other day. Considering the other alternative is scorching heat, I would rather have rain and snow, but the flooding wasn't called for at all.


On a more personal note, Vicky got a job again (after more than two months of being unemployed and bored.) We were all taking turns getting sick this month; Roxy just got better after I don't even know what with a sore throat into the bargain, and now Vicky is under the weather again. And the cat is shedding. Must be spring...

What happens when snow melts?

In the city melting snow creates nothing but a mess, mud and puddles. But in countryside it means flowers. The first flowers of the spring start sprouting out of the ground the moment the snow comes off. Piercing the layer of leaves left from the fall they hurry to come out and bloom while the soil is still moist from the melting snow. Most of them are tiny, but all are beautiful (and well worth getting soaked and muddy).

Funny pics

Just a few moments pulled out of the stream of life, captured and presented here for your entertainment.


Solving the national problems? Discussing politics? soccer? olden days? I don't know, but it was quite a heated discussion.


The many uses of packing tape...

No comment on this one - think of one yourself.

"Can I have a balloon, too?"