Tbilisi towards Armenia
Days 22, 23 and 24, 6600 km
Day 22 - Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants. Independence means freedom from control by an external power. For an individual, for a nation. Yesterday, on May 26, Georgia commemorates the 26 May 1918 adoption of the Act of Independence, which established the Democratic Republic of Georgia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Three years later, in February 1921, the Bolshevik’s Red Army invaded the country. Georgia declared restoration of its independence on April 9, 1991. We took the day off to visit Tbilisi, enjoy its amazing vibes and get our gear washed and cleaned. We had a wonderful stay in the Elia Boutique Hostel, a pearl in the city, and tasted some seriously good Georgian food such as Khachapuri and Khinkali.
Day 23 - The three Russians in their green old school Lada were slightly nervous at the border crossing from Georgia to Armenia. Half a pack of smokes later, the officer opened the gate to enter the Gogavan border post. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for them, just like it did for us. The border police was super nice, “Welcome to Armenia”. Unfortunately this could not be said of the weather. Still sunny in Tbilisi, it started pouring just as we entered the Republic of Armenia, this landlocked nation in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. After grabbing a quick hot coffee to dry up, we decided still to look for a camping spot and made our way to the town of Stepanavan, where we set up camp near the old fortress of Lori Berd.
Day 24 - It seems we've covered all the national days from Turkey to Georgia, and so today, May 28, again, marks a national holiday in Armenia. In 1991, the Armenian SSR (one of the Soviet Republics) declared its independence, and May 28 is officially recognized in Armenia as First Republic Day. Unfortunately, our journey today was less spectacular: the weather was rainy and overcast, with fog so dense that we could barely see our front tire. I could have shared three blank images, as that’s pretty much the view we had of the normally stunning Lake Sevan while driving towards Yerevan. Eventually, we passed through Gagarin, which we mistakenly thought was the birthplace of Yuri, the first human to journey into space. However, the city is simply named after him, and that’s the story. Regardless, we snapped a photo of the memorial to ensure we had at least ONE picture in our collection for today. Yes, bad weather days like this are part of the adventure, so let’s keep going.
