Making our way back from Yerevan north towards the Georgian border (and on to Tbilisi), we were slightly bracing ourselves for the usual scrum and game of charades at the bus-station to find ourselves a minibus headed to our next destination, Dilijan. In fact it proved to be a neither and was instead a breeze. We handed over 1000AMD (£1.40) each for the 59 mile/1.5 hour trip, and waited 20 or so minutes for all 16 seats to be filled.
In Dilijan in time for lunch and then a taxi to 13th century Haghartsin Monastery, nestled in a temperate rainforest on a mountainside.
Being Sunday, there were a fair few visitors (most of whom solemnly reversed out of the churches, genuflecting or kissing the wall), and a resident priest who approached and greeted everyone.
The monastery complex comprises three church-cum-chapels, with fine stonework on the inner and exterior walls and around the conical roofs.
Tomorrow, more monasteries! But meanwhile we're in a comfy little guesthouse which is hosting a BBQ. So if anything is guaranteed to make it rain...
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