More From Armenia

And another two weeks has gone by with yet another group of unforgettable experiences and impressions to be embedded in the mind for a lifetime. In two weeks we experienced the slaughter of a lamb in our honour, had a chauffer who drove a Volga with a BMW steering wheel and had to roll start our car, smoked a cigarette every 20 minutes, and engaged in gathering his phlegm and spitting out the window every 20 minutes. We've been to the crowded cafes in Yerevan where you can get a delicious Lahmajo at Tufenkian's "Mer Taghe" on Toumanian Street to the fresh kill of Marts where I avoided witnessing the slaughter and couldn't get any of the meal down my throat! What might have been a two hour trip to the village turned into a 6 hour ordeal with teh experience of milking cows and shots of Vodka all around.
Armenia is the land where the word "makeshift" must have been invented. It is here that all the unexpected happens and you become witness to the strangest things. We witnessed about 20 people trying to get into a "Yeraz" the green van in the picture below (previous blog) and a guy on the end stuffing in what looked like an 80 year old woman in the back of the car....
We explored the shores of Lake Sevan in the freezing cold and revisited some of my favourite places in the North. The monasteries of Sanahin, Haghpat and Kobayr. I shall add more pictures tomorrow.
On the music front I am getting prepared to start recording by the end of next week. Fingers crossed all will go well. It seems the preparation is endless and I am eager to start the recording process. As for the work in the village, the t's are being crossed and the i's dotted so that we are ready to roll by June. I have been preparing what is to come for the last two months and am looking forward to the action.
Promise to be back shortly!