The Lazy Cherub Enigma: Finding Your Heart in Armenia

There is something undecidedly wonderful when you find yourself falling in love in an unexpected way. A situation, a place, a person (or two!) all converge to make what was suppose to be a quick side trip from the destination into a moment of discovery. This is how I feel about Armenia – a country so riven with psychological baggage it is a wonder it survives at all. In a place where difference and justified rage could very well take hold in insidious ways here is a country that is stunningly beautiful with a people whose fierceness is tempered by a love for life and an overwhelming desire to move forward from the past.

We spent three days in the capital of Yerevan. It is a city that is pushing its way into “Euro-ness” but in a way that remains distinctly Armenia. As one of the oldest cities on the Silk Road (its beginnings traced to around 8 BC), Yerevan is committed to embracing both the old and the new. Public parks, street cafes, live theatre and modern art galleries envelope the city in creativity and zest. This city wants to remain and become beautiful but is trying to do so without gimmicky ostentatious fakery. There are a few places where “North Americanization” has crept in but I get the sense that its tentacles are not going to get far. Armenia is filled with the young and the young are hopeful. That hope excludes the desire for consumerism and a strong need to hold hands with their neighbours. The city was setting up the annual Silk Road Music Festival that would run for 7 days. During this time, the millenials of Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran gather for a week of singing, dancing, loving and connection. “During this week,” explains our Armenia guide, “We come together and love, dance, and sing. We know that soon it will be us who make the decisions and our decision is that we want to move forward and make our world a better place together.” It was fascinating to listen to how young people here view Armenia’s tragic past. “We know there was a genocide. We know there is war with Azerbaijan and us. But WE (the 25 and under crowd) did not do any of those things to each other and we know that. When we get together with others our age from other countries we all think the same – that we are the same! – and we want a better life than one where our countries fight all the time for stupid reasons. What’s done is done. Let’s move on!” <gush! > I listen to this and I realize that being a grown up is often highly over rated. We clearly complicate things more than we should and the older we get the more set in our ways we become including an often burning desire to never let go of old ideals or perceived wrongs.

Armenia also posses some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. Driving through it I was struck by how wonderfully medival it all looked. Tiny villages built on the sides of mountains, green forests peppered with the colors of autumn. Mountain mists and ancient monasteries. Much of Armenia’s ancient past has been destroyed but you cannot take away her untamed spirit or her wild nature. If the driver’s here weren’t so crazy I’d say this is a premier country to road cycle or ride a motor cycle through. Well, maybe the driver’s aren’t the issue. Maybe it is really the fact that you will have a hard time staying focused on the road when so much beauty abounds J

And speaking of driving…

While were were in Yerevan it was common for us to walk all day and evening and by night, we would catch a taxi back to our hotel. This proved to be an interesting experience in that our hotel (and its address) were both unheard of by anyone driving a taxi. The process usually involved us having to ask 4 or 5 taxis if they could take us to the Olympia Hotel. We show them the card and Ken shows them on his phone GPS where it is. They look. The ask a few other drives parked near by and then they come back and say no. Finally we get someone who will agree to take us but has no idea where they are going. This means Ken has to navigate in the back with his GPS trying to direct a guy who does not speak English (and we are not even sure if he can read to be honest) to our hotel. Armenia taxi drivers are CRAZY. It was not out of the ordinary to see 4 or 5 taxi/motor vehicle accidents on the road each night as we made our way back. And we are not talking minor fender benders – they are full on head on collisions!

Our final night in Armenia had us camp on a mountain side near an old monastery. We began this trip in unbearable heat and by that night, we could see our breath and woke up to frost. The hilly pasture was now slick with icy dew and our truck was just not “agile” enough to manage it. Two hours later, with the help of an old Russian military vehicle we began to inch our way down the mountain through pristine grasslands being ripped to shreds from our intrusion. It was a decidedly awkward moment of awareness. The realisation that wherever you go you leave foot prints and an impression – no matter how well intentioned you are.