Our New Year in the mountains of Armenia or "Tamar+. Ah, Tamar!"
Lazily looking through the sea of advertisements about how, where and how to spend the New Year holidays, you rarely see an invitation to the friendly country of the Caucasus - Armenia. Indeed, for us it was an unexpected choice. We cannot complain about the scarcity of the geography of our travels - we were on the other side of the ocean, climbing tall skyscrapers, climbed the castles of the old world, learned the wisdom of the far and the luxury of the Middle East, simply plied the oceans, mountains and roads. And now I wanted something simple and human, close in spirit and not so distant in culture, and even in distance.
Of course, I would be cunning if I said that I just opened the map like that and pointed with my finger: "I'm going there. " There was also a classmate who excitedly talked about her vacation in Armenia, there is also a grandfather who for many years went to hone his skiing skills in the city of Tsakhkadzor, there was more than one liter of five stars with basturma wrapped in pita bread. In general, by typing Tsaghkadzor in a search engine, we went to the Yerevantravel website, talked with Hovhannes, and the next day they brought us vouchers.
Having flown safely, we found ourselves in a modern and spacious Zvartnots airport. Having quickly passed the control and loaded the skis on our shoulders, we went outside and loaded into the minibus. After a short tour of Yerevan, we climbed high into the mountains and settled in the pleasant Jupiter Hotel on the central square of Tsakhkadzor, where we stayed for the next two weeks. Ahead of us was the conquest of mountain peaks, an incendiary New Year, a lot of nice people, delicious food and just a healthy winter vacation. Probably not to list everything, but I will try to formulate a few basic observations and impressions:
1. People are people. I especially remember this trip by the people of the country of Armenia, with whom circumstances brought us together, whether it be: waiters, receptionists, drivers, an instructor or a tour operator. Each of them sincerely tried to help and make our stay better and more enjoyable. I would not call it Western standards of service, probably a lot was not ideal, but the attitude of people was unquestioningly hospitable. They were pleased that we were their guests. Well, what can I say when the waitress forgot about my tea and after half an hour came up and sincerely said: "Sorry, my brain stopped working in the evening and I got confused +". Of course, I immediately stopped being angry at the delay and drank my tea with tenderness with local assorted jams.
2. Mountains. “So leave unnecessary disputes - I have already proved everything to myself: only mountains that I have never been to can be better than mountains, ” but the view of the Ararat Valley and Lake Sevan on a clear day is still before my eyes. Photos can be put up for a landscape competition, but only Turgenev can describe beauty in words +
3. Food. The consumption of huge amounts of lavash, spas soup, Akhtamar cognac and Jemruk mineral water left an exceptionally pleasant feeling. We are not talking about gastronomic ecstasy, but believe me - it is tasty and satisfying, and most importantly, despite the enhanced nutrition, the scales remained unchanged.
4. New Year's Eve. We simply and sincerely lit up with local and foreign hits, first meeting the new year in Armenian time, then in Moscow, and then playing tricks for no reason. There were also nice souvenir gifts from Yerevan Travel, there was a river of festive cognac, and elderly Armenians, whose rhythm of dance I could not keep up with. + It was also the first of January, when even the mountain air did not alleviate the morning suffering, but an old friend came to the rescue Akhtamar+
5. Hotel. We chose a modern hotel with a comfortable and well-equipped room. The owner often sat importantly in the hall, from time to time being interested in our skiing successes and trying to help and suggest somewhere. At parting, he sincerely said that he hoped to see us again.
I don't know if we'll see each other or not, but we don't regret our vacation, which gave a good start to the new year 2010!
P. S. : We thank Yerevan Travel for its assistance in organizing the trip. I would also like to say a huge thank you to our coach Armen, the hotel manager Marianna, the hotel driver Onik and everyone whose names we did not remember, but whose smiles and goodwill were very pleasant.
S. and N. ,
January 2010