After our previous day of adventure in Dilijan, Jessica and I had a wonderful sleep and then were treated to a massive breakfast in the hotel restaurant (sausage omelette, friend potatoes, bread, cheese, cold cuts, cookies, pancakes, apples, persimmons, Armenian coffee, and rosehip juice).

We asked the hotel reception if they could arrange a taxi to take us to the nearby churches of Haghartsin and Goshavank, which are two of the most popular sites in the region. A taxi was arranged to take us to Goshavank, but we were told that the road to Haghartsin wasn’t passable by a regular taxi because of snow and ice. The joys of travelling in Armenia in winter.

Our taxi driver was young, and unlike most of the drivers here in Armenia, he spoke some English. The drive to the town of Gosh, where Goshavank monastery is located, took about 25 minutes. After reaching the town, a group of about 20 or so middle aged men stared at the taxi as we turned the final corner up to the monastery. “Who are the crazy tourists here in the middle of winter” they must have been asking themselves.

We had the monastery to ourselves, and we explored the various buildings, sometimes just stopping to soak in the silence and to enjoy the views.

After Goshavank, we began our drive back to Yerevan. On the way, we stopped at Lake Sevan, the largest lake in Armenia. We visited the iconic Sevanavank church, which originally was on an island, but after the partial draining of the lake it is now on a peninsula.

Sevanavank showed more signs of tourist activity than other places we have visited in Armenia so far this winter. There was a large parking lot at the bottom of the hill, and a bunch of restaurants that were actually open!

We followed signs to the public bathroom, but unlike the restaurants, it was closed. Some guys suggested we ask to use the toilet at one of the restaurants on the way up the hill to the church. We found a waiter and explained that the public restrooms were closed, so he brought us through the restaurant to its bathroom, but signalled for us to be quiet and pointed to a backdoor that we should use to leave.

Unfortunately, this back door ended up being locked, so we had to walk back through the restaurant and out the front door. Just as we were walking outside, a woman came out and started yelling at us for using the bathroom! We tried to explain that the public washroom was closed and that a waiter had told us to use their bathroom, but she didn’t seem to care and was absolutely furious with us. I can’t remember the last time I was yelled at so much!

Although the tourist infrastructure was (mostly) still open, we only encountered a couple of people in the monastery grounds. Before entering the church itself, we walked out to the point of the peninsula, accompanied once again by a friendly dog who led the way. We are getting used to having dogs joining us for our treks, and we need to start packing some snacks.

The point of the peninsula offered a nice panorama of the snow covered hills surrounding the lake. It was also windy and cold, and my hands almost froze off every time I tried to take a picture.

We returned to the church and a man standing outside who had the key opened the door for us. Once inside we lit the candle we had found on the ground outside, and then the man asked where we were from. Upon answering Canada, he said something about a ‘toonie’, and we said yes, there is a $2 coin in Canada that is called a toonie. He then pulled up a photo on his phone and explained that he collects coins, and asked if we had one to give. Unfortunately we weren’t carrying any Canadian currency to give him.

As we walked back to our taxi, we found several other dogs, including some cute puppies eating garbage. They must be the next generation of Sevanavank guide dogs.

We would have stayed longer with the puppies, but then a whole bunch of adult dogs appeared out of nowhere, and some started barking. We resumed our walk to the taxi, this time at a brisk pace, and were followed by about five dogs. As we got to the edge of the parking lot, our driver noticed that we were being followed and quickly pulled up so we could hop into the car and make our getaway! So long Sevanavank and your great guide dog, your adorable puppies, and slightly intimidating pack of dogs.