Back
through the village and to the Erebuni fortress museum. Arriving at
the fortress, we were not allowed in as we had not purchased a ticket
at the museum…. so just left. This
area to the south of the city is the car market mecca, cars and or bits of cars for sale
everywhere one looks.
Parking
in Yerevan was a bit of a night mare. We went in one street to far
and there was suddenly traffic everywhere. After a few U turns and
false alarms found a park on the street.
The
cascade which is a set of 300 steps joining the lower and upper parts
of the city. On each level it has fountains and art work. Also
inside it has escalators and steps for those in need or in the rain.
Below
in the square were numerous pieces of artwork from blue kiwi’s
(American artist) to fat women – Johns favorite.
We
had lunch in the square a bit more western and was uninteresting. I
did have a glass of wine with lunch and John a beer.
EC22
was still there where we had left her. It is always a worry when we
leave her unattended in a street park never sure what condition she
will be in when we return. So far we have not had any issues apart
form some graffiti in Argentina (A local crossed off the name
Falklands and wrote Maldivia on our map).
Continuing
with our day we arrived at Garni fortress The Pagan temple had been
reconstructed and gave one the feeling of how huge all these old
buildings were. The Palace had fantastic views down the gorge and the
hot baths were a bit different to others in that they incorporated
the smoke under the floors.
Sadly
the orange road were to take on our map did not actually exist so
we ended up on very rough tracks finding our way towards last nights
camp.
We
retraced this section of road 3 times which we do not often do.
Although
our next point of interest is near the contested border with Azerbaijan, we
decided to travel there. It is on the tourist itineraries so thought
it safe enough.
The
drive down was a mixture of very poorly maintained roads and new high
way.
We
did not have time for the cave as we arrived about 18:30. Driving up the gorge to Noravank church, where a lot of people were visiting and
watching the sun set, we found a
lovely peaceful spot but I think with the number of car parks and
camping ground it would be overcrowded in summer.
184km
