Yesterday I climbed Haytis, a mountain that is just over 2000 m. I joined a group of climbers who are training to climb Mount Ararat (5000 + m) at the end of this week. At the base of the mountain is a beautiful, small Armenian church. I will put some of these pictures up to view on Flickr. You can just click Armenian Pictures on the right.
One of the climbers in the group was a sprightly 80 year old man. He doesn't drink or smoke and is in fantastic shape. Early in the week I met a Canadian guy who looked at most 28 years old. He was 41. He has been biking across Armenia. It got me thinking about longevity. Maybe the fountain of youth is to bike and climb your way through life?
Heavy fog greeted us as we climbed. Out of nowhere we heard young voices laughing and from the fog appeared a group of Armenian teenagers (in the above picture)carrying the Armenian flag and singing Armenian songs.
At the top of the Haytis, Ara, the leader of the group who will trek to Ararat, took us into his manmade cave for a light lunch of apples, bread, cheese, cake, and tea.
After 30 minutes or so of eating, we left the cave only to be whipped by howling winds and a major drop in temperature. I enjoyed going up more than descending. Lots of stones to be mindful of -- one of the English speaking climbers kept reminding me, Armenia is a country full of stones.
I could handle a lunch like that every day. Hike sounds great!
ReplyDelete