ARMENIA
Social life at 3Gs Camping
29th July - 4th August | 2023
The next day, we had breakfast together with the Dutch couple and the food was again far too much and so delicious. Today we want to get to 3Gs camping (www.campingarmenia.com), just East of Yerevan. We took the road up to the mountains to Dilijan, where we had a cafe. It was nice to be back into the cold mountains (18ºC), before we came back to the heat.
We arrived late afternoon at 3Gs camping, where we got a lovely welcome from Sandra, the Dutch owner. What an amazing and luxurious place: with a swimming pool, various levels and fitted kitchen, lounging and sitting areas and shaded camping spots, where you can park your bike as well. And they got a washing machine, so finally, we can get our laundry done! The reason why we already came here was that a Dutch Overlander couple (IG: Milady Landy) brought me my jerseys. Yesss, finally I got the jersey in my hands that Katrina created for me in Skopje and her friend Alexandre in Belarus printed for me! Wow, how amazing is that!!! I was super happy to hold them finally in my hands! A BIG Thank you to you all for being involved in the project!
In the evening we got talking to our camping neighbours, German Jens travelling with his Yamaha T7, and German Thomas travelling with his Land Rover around the world. It was a really nice evening, and when I went to my sleeping bag I was asleep as soon as I hit the pillow! And no barking or fighting dogs around!! The next day was a very well-deserved lazy day, nearly doing nothing! Only in the evening, when it got cooler did I get into the swing to hit the keyboard on my laptop. It was so nice, and I really needed these rest days. In the meantime James looked after our bikes as they got a lot rattled around on these mountain passes and off-road sections!
The last night, from 3, ended up in a very long one with Thomas, Jens and Yoke from Berlin, a new arrival. The wine tasted so good, we also got some snacks on the table and more wine until it was suddenly 3am!! The poor other campers, I hope they got some sleep…
The next morning, after saying Goodbye to everybody we started to head South towards Goris. After consulting Sandra from 3Gs camping, we should be able to take the road south of Kapan to loop through the South.
We passed a boring stretch of road once out of the mountains, and a short night didn't help either ;-) Further along, the landscape got more mountainous, which made it less boring. However, you have to be really cautious as the Armenian drivers overtake where they can, regardless of upcoming traffic or blind corners!!
We also wanted to drive into the crater of a volcano. The offroad track was really bumpy and at one uphill James had to take my bike as I knew I would not be able to get it around the corner and up the hill on the loose stones. And all that offroad track was called "Highway" with a number! So far about Highways in Armenia then ... However, unfortunately, the last kilometre into the crater was even not possible for James as it was far too rutted, so we had to give it a miss.
About 60km before Goris, at the Spandaryan Reservoir, we found a wild camping spot for the night. Except for some local fishermen, it was very peaceful and quiet. The only thing was, no trees for shade in the morning or some necessary “businesses”. The next morning we carried on to Goris to get fuel first as our bikes were running a bit low on fuel as “premium” fuel is not everywhere on sale. We then went to visit the cave village Khndzoresk which you can only visit via a swinging bridge. James found a track directly down to the entrance to a parking lot. Unfortunately, that track was not Steffi-friendly at all; I dropped the bike twice, so in the end, James basically had to take the bike nearly all the way down. So 500m before the end I just parked my bike on a grassy patch and walked the rest. After visiting the village, I remembered the Lada Niva taxi that overtook us and was at the parking lot. I asked him how much the drive up and down would cost so that James could get both bikes up - it was 2000 AMD, which was equivalent to about €4.50. For that money, I couldn’t be asked to drop another x-times my bike at 35ºC! And it was a bit of fun driving in a Lada Niva a bumpy track up!
After that little adventure, we carried on towards the South of Armenia. We were planning to hug the border of Azerbaijan to drive the loop Goris-Kapan-Meghri-Goris as the other overlander at 3Gs camping recommended the beauty of the landscape. We managed to pass the road along the border to Azerbaijan after Kapan as the new road stays on the Armenian side, but then we got stopped by a military check. As they only spoke Russian we figured out with google translate that we could not go further South as too dangerous on a motorbike. Obviously, you can in a car (Armenian registered?). Whilst we had to show our passports a military jeep came with someone speaking a bit of English. He explained that further down, nearly at the bottom of Armenia would be a Russian Military checkpoint, and we wouldn't be able to pass that. As it was only for our security we turned around and back in Kapan we made a new plan about a wild camping spot. Quickly we found something on iOverlander and after 20km we had a nice camping spot with a fantastic panoramic view over the high mountains of Armenia - a bit noisy due to the nearby road though.
The next morning we headed back to Goris and the same national road we did 2 days ago as the only connection to the South. In Goris, we fueled up again and had some food before we headed to Crossway Camping (www.campinginarmenia.com) in Getap. A very nicely decorated camping place, but not as luxurious as 3Gs; which will be difficult to compete with I think! Unfortunately, my motorcycle started to make a squeaking noise and we think it is the bearing of the rear shock from TFX … it sounds like an old bed frame! James assured me that I should be fine until Athens, but then I should get it serviced and fixed. As I still got the contact from TFX (www.tfxsuspension.com) in Holland after they serviced the rear shock last year I sent them a message and they were really helpful with their answers.
The next day, Steffi wanted to visit the Areni-1 cave as there is evidence of a very old wine press (the eldest in the world?) and human beings from the times of homo erectus! As we went in without a guide, it was difficult for us to make sense of the whole thing, unfortunately. James had then the tip to go into the same gorge to visit the Noravank Monastery as a fantastic view over the valley - indeed!
The next highlight of the morning was the road M10 from Getap to Lake Servan, such a stunning panoramic road! And finally some fresh air up in the mountains!! At Martuni we tried to find some food for lunch, which is again not easy as either shops advertise to do food and don't do food or you cannot identify the shops that do have food! Finally, we found a small shop serving a sort of pizza. There we decided, also after consulting the weather apps, to better book a guesthouse in Dilijan. Again a very good decision, as whilst driving along the lake it got darker and darker. On the way to Dilijan, after we came out of the tunnel it started to rain. By the time we arrived at the Guesthouse, it started to pour down in a thunderstorm. We couldn't have timed it better! The best was that the owner of “Green Garden Guesthouse” as he has his own distillery so we had to test his homemade cognac and firewater - prior to dinner!
I hope you enjoyed the time in Armenia as much as I did! I really miss the flat-out Ladas racing along! In the next blog, we will be back in Georgia, discovering the "western" part of the country. In the meantime, have a glass of Armenian wine.
Places | Cities:
Dilijan, Goght, Goris, Tatev, Kapan, Getap.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 15780 km
Information Border Crossings (in July 2023):
./.
Maintenance | Breakdown:
BMW rear shock clicking noise; most probably bearings will need replacing.
Health issues:
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Special thanks to:
Sandra and 3Gs Camping to have a fantastic overlander-hub.
Armenia being such a beautiful, mountainous country.