a trip to the moon

In the same 7th of June, on a dark cold
rainy night, on broken asphalt, messed up gravel we entered Armenia.
At 23.30. In what is Russia’s base into the Caucasus. We were
completely wet, the heater in the border guard’s shack couldn’t do
much. They were checking us from trailer containers, surreal at that
hour and in that weather. Cri was excited, no fear, no complains. I
thought ther’s something wrong with her, but after a few words changed
I realized that she is so formidabely aware of the situation, that she
had noticed the “black windows” SUV with drunken local barons that
crossed the border before us, the tones in the voices of the border
guards, the lenth that we still had to cover that night, the possible
dangers and precations that we have to take, the limited options. It
was such a relieve to know that she knows and feels what I feel, that
she “smells” the darker corners and has instincts, maybe better than
mines. The same night a “cool” BMW that was driving ahead of us didn’t
see what to me seemed an obvious marked curve and went ahead in the
bushes when the road was going to the right. Drunken I assume. They
made an effort and “cought” us latter, just to horn us and show us
they’ve beaten us to the city of Gyumri. Well, we had it good in the
next days .. and Armenians like to race in their Ladas.

…. we ride out of Ankara late Sunday after a perfect
Brunch.

We visit Amasya and ride high on the oposite hill to get a
stunnin view and we continue to Tesova.

We want to head to Ayvachick, across the Kackar mountains but the people
in Tesova don’t seem to even want to show us the way. It’s dark by now and
they make signs to the sky.
Yeah, it’s gonna rain, we know .. but it’s not gonna be in
the next hours. They take us to the police station, we get Tunc on the
phone and it seems that the policeman are not very aware on how to get
across the mountains, what they can do .. is “show us on the map”. But
what they can also do is arrange for accomodation for tonight in “The
Teacher’s House”. We leave Gnu and the helmets near the police station
and in the next morning the same policeman was guarding them with the
machine gun at his chest. Excellent QoS.

We leave them some polaroid photos and head accross the mountains.
It’s been… the thing!
I bet we didn’t take the straightest way but it was what we were looking
for: rain, no asphalt, altitude, mud, rocks, stunning views, hanged
villages, so very good. It took hours in the 1st and 2nd gear… but
Gnu performed beautifuly. And only 4 drops, at 3-4kmh.

It was an excellent decission to take the hard cases. They saved Cri’s legs a
couple of times. We hit it further to Sumela that day. (they’ll close
soon this Internet Cafe in Yerevan so I have to stop for now but.. we
are safe, in perfect health, well feed, no sore bones, muscles or
anything that side, Gnu is in excellent shape (and she had to work a
lot… last time 2 nights ago when we crossed from Georgia into
Armenia on a dam broken-broken-broken country road, with hard cold
rain pouring into our bones, over a border post that took us back to
the times when we were not borne… b/w TV with long faces into a
truck container, “musama” on the table, machine guns and happy soldier
faces).
Till the next time,… we shall ride.