Today we leave for Armenia. Both Frank Vibert and Angela Horrocks are returning back to England. We also say goodbye to Nino Chincharauli.

The night had been interesting, between 5 and 7 in the morning there was no water, cynics say this is because Shevardnadze wants to get up and wash. We left the hotel for the border at 7.35, with a water stop on the way. Nino gives us a quiz on the bus to the border. Total failure in the Blasdale family. She gave every couple a stirrup cup-like pottery object, and for the female a wooden bracelet.

At the border rather a long wait, said goodbye to Nino and the driver and then onto a smaller bus for the next part of the journey.

Sanahin Monastery in Alaverdi

Our first stop was Sanahin Monastery in Alaverdi where there were copper mines. No frescos, but amazing Celtic looking carvings and very ornate cross constructions.

Haghartsin Monastery Complex

After the Monastery, we went for lunch in Alaverdi. What lunch. Never been so stuffed in my life. Masses of different salads, cheeses, a plate of fresh herbs including red basil that Ray Law says is the estrogen in the recipes. Then we had masses of barbecued pork, chips, chocolate cake, thick yoghurt melon and Turkish coffee. It was a feast!

Then we were off to the monastery complex of Agarstin, bad roads on the way with few drivers. At the monastery, we encountered a Lebanese choir and fifty followers who sang mass beautifully. The church was beautifully positioned in woods including a 700-year-old walnut tree.

After the monastery, we continued on the way to Lake Sevan. We stopped on the way and Clare had yet another ride on a horse. The views of Lake Sevan, when we saw it were beautiful. The lake has lost several feet of water because of hydroelectric exploitation. This has resulted in some new islands, and the appearance of a tide mark, although an old tide mark.

Lake Sevan

So now to the hotel, a beautiful lake, but a bit of a dump of a hotel. There was hot water for showers, but when the hot water went off, they meant that, no water at all.

The hotel did have small monochrome televisions in the bedrooms, with which we were later able to watch the news about the September 11th war against America. Very difficult to make out what was happening that evening, with Armenian subtitles overlaying the CNN subtitles. We did glean the information that planes had been used to attack the twin towers and the Pentagon. The news was so difficult to understand, with the language and the confusion, we were not sure how many other targets there were.

We first hear the news as we were meeting for supper. Supper was small by our standards, fish, stuff vegetables and salads. Steve also drank some vodka for medicinal purposes.

Rosemary went to bed that night not at all sure whether she would wake up alive again.