Day 1
Our three-day excursion to Dilijan began with me waking up before everyone else, already running on adrenaline because, as usual, I had not packed yet. I quickly threw everything together, made myself a patots with cucumber, feta cheese and bread, and hurried into the van.
I spent most of the drive playing tavloo, or nardi, a game Sebu had taught me pretty early in the internship. I quickly became hooked, mostly because I was determined to practice enough to finally beat my dad, a “renowned” tavloo champion when during his time in Lebanon, as he would say, when I returned home.
Our first stop was the Armenian Alphabet Monument, where I immediately went looking for the Armenian letter “Ն” for Natalie. Nora and Nareg soon joined me, and naturally, the three N names had to get a picture together. N names united.
From there, we visited the grave of Armenian military leader Drastamat Kanayan, better known as Dro. His grave sat on a hill overlooking the surrounding town, with music playing in the distance from the nearby training grounds. With the music in the background and the view from the hill, everything about the stop just came together.
Afterward came one of the parts of the trip I had been most excited about: whitewater rafting. The interns were split between two rafts, and my group consisted of Alex, Sebu, Alek, Nora, Haig, our director Paylag, and me. Paylag, however, spent most of the ride taking pictures on his phone and yelling “abowww” while the rest of us actually paddled.
It did not take long for rafting to become a competition. Whenever the other raft came close, we paddled faster, splashed them with water and did everything we could to pass them. Somewhere along the way, we also started yelling “roo” in unison as we paddled, imagining ourselves as Norwegian Vikings. Just look up their rowing videos. That was how we envisioned ourselves, maybe just a tiny bit slower.
By the time we reached the Hobbit-style houses where we would be staying that night, it was pouring rain. We headed to Ker u Sus in Dilijan for dinner, where we watched our tour guides, Armen and Artur, somehow manage to eat around 25 khinkali. Later that evening, we found a small café that was still open. Paylag picked up the guitar that was there, and so Paylag, Haig, the café owner and I spent hours singing while the other interns listened, played games and hung out. It was nothing crazy, just all of us together in a café in Dilijan after a long day, singing and laughing until it was time to go back. It was one of my favorite nights of the trip.
Day 2
We began our second day at Lake Parz, where we walked around the lake and, most importantly, saw a bunch of ducks. From there, we headed to Goshavank Monastery, where we had our crosses blessed and spoke with the priest.
Our conversation eventually turned to the diaspora and returning to Armenia. After already spending so much of the summer here, it was interesting to hear his perspective and talk about what returning to Armenia means for Armenians from the diaspora.
From Goshavank, we began our hike toward the Lastiver campground. Somewhere along the way, our group gained another member: a shoonig named Archuk, who lived in the area and apparently decided we needed some help. He followed us along the trail as we played music to get ourselves through the hike and became our unofficial guide. Cutest trail guide ever!
Once we reached the campground, we explored for a bit before starting on dinner. Earlier that day, we had stopped to buy all the ingredients we need to make kebab. Armen and Artur took charge of grilling, while the rest of us helped collect firewood, chop vegetables, prepare the salad, help with the kebab and get everything else ready.
After hiking all the way there, having to make our own dinner made the meal feel even more earned. Everyone helped with something, and eventually we all sat down together to eat what we had made. Maybe it was because we were starving after the hike, or maybe Armen and Artur are secretly professional chefs, but the kebab tasted amazing. Sitting together at the campground eating a meal we had all helped prepare was simple, but it felt homey.
Later that night came the sauna. Armen had plenty of sauna experience from his time in Russia, so naturally, we trusted him as a professional. His strategy was to sit inside until we got too hot, run outside into the dark, jump into the freezing water and then go back inside and repeat. So, obviously, that is exactly what we did.
Eventually, it started pouring rain, and we all ran for cover and tried to wait it out. Once we realized the rain was not stopping anytime soon, we called it a night and headed to our tree houses. We fell asleep during a thunderstorm with the rain coming down around the campground, which was definitely an interesting way to end an already very eventful day.
Day 3
Our final morning at Lastiver started off more slowly. We explored the campground a little more and had coffee with the family who owned it. While we were there, I started talking with their 12-year-old son and learned that he was raising a donkey that he hoped to eventually use to take visitors on tours of the campground.
There was only one problem: The donkey was the one bossing him around.
No matter how much he tugged and tried to lead it, the donkey was practically dragging him instead. I am sure one day he will get stronger and be able to use it for those tours, but for now, the donkey definitely has the upper hand.
The campground also had two kittens, a rabbit and a dog, so we spent some time with the family and their animals before leaving. I really appreciated getting to talk to the people who actually lived there and seeing what their everyday life was like. Everything at the campground felt simple and peaceful, and after constantly being on the move throughout the internship, it was nice to spend some time surrounded by nature.
We eventually said goodbye to the family and continued our hike toward Yell Extreme Park in Yenokavan for our last activity of the trip: zip lining.
I had always wanted to ride a zip line, and now I was finally getting the chance to do it — in Armenia, no less. I was beyond excited. Paylag also surprised us with a photographer to take pictures of us throughout the course.
When my turn came, I ran off the platform and immediately loved it. From the zip line, I could see the landscape all around me, feel the fresh air and just enjoy being up there. It was one of those experiences where I genuinely just felt alive and wanted to take in as much of the view as I could.
We went on several zip lines to complete the longest route, and on one of the two-person zip lines, Haig and I naturally turned it into another competition. I am pretty sure I won. Haig claims that being heavier somehow slowed him down, but whatever his reasoning, I got to the end first. So that still means I won!
Looking back, some of my favorite memories from the excursion ended up being the random moments in between everything we had planned: yelling “roo” while trying to beat the other raft, Paylag taking pictures instead of paddling, Archuk joining our hike, making dinner together after finally reaching the campground, running from the sauna into freezing water and singing together in a random café in Dilijan.
More than anything, though, this trip made me appreciate the group I got to share it with. We had spent so much time together throughout the internship, but three days of hiking, rafting, cooking, singing, getting caught in the rain and turning almost everything into some kind of competition brought us even closer.
I came to Armenia wanting to see more of the country and grow closer to it, and this trip gave me that in a way I did not expect. I got to see places I had never been, try things I had always wanted to do and experience all of it with a group of people who had become some of my closest friends over the summer.
This excursion is something I will cherish forever. I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to experience it, but even more grateful for the people I shared it with and the friendships I formed along the way.
