I woke up at 7:30, finished packing my bag, and slowly had my breakfast.This time it was all ready for me, I had just to sit down and enjoy the sun. My tour leads me to one of my most beloved place on earth: Tatevi Vank. I have been already there some years ago, and I remembered how touched I was from the place, but also how impossible it was to drive there. The road is full af tricky holes, that I would not even which to my worst ennemi to drive.  From the hotel, it is a good 35 km. I had to decide how to reach the place. Since on that road there is no villages, for me the distance is to big to be able to do it in one day.  I then thought that I could go and see an other Monastery that is somewhere lost in the Vorotan gorge, and from there take a taxi to the Wings of Tatev. This Monastery, Vorotnavank is a good 12 km from Sissian. The Hotel Manager kindly drove me until a secret passage, meaning a path that goes a long the river at the button of the gorge. 

I was totally alone in the nature, until I felt lost and I saw a shepherd. For me it was clear that he new the way to that Monastery. He confirmed that I was on right way, but he thought of showing me an old church hanging up in the montains only by its walls. Curious that I am, I followed him. Well I tried! After a while I stoped and fake that I had to blow my nose to take some more oxygen. In fact I am still sick… for sure that is the reason why I couldn’t keep up the past! With great calm, he looked at me and said, I’ll  join you later, I have to gather my sheeps. There where all over, he run and did what a shepherd must do. Me, I continued with my rhythm, thinking  that surely he will even overtake me. What indeed did happen! And I thought that I was in a good shape! So we arrived at that church, only the fondaments of the walls were still there. One had to imagine the rest, which is actually a good exercice to practice some architectural knowledge. Further away, and by further, I mean, a good 1 km away the the other hill was the graveyard of that old church. Of course I also went there. There were beautiful « Khatchkar »: tombstone lying on the ground with amazing ormement of the cross, fruits and sceneries. The shepherd had to run again to his sheeps and I, had to cosinue my way.

The George is really impressive, at least for 10 km I could see those rock formation the Basalt columns. The same kind that I did see at Garni. It so perfectly constructed by nature! I was almost not looking in front of me anymore and only up to my right.

The walk was great, I was feeling like I was floating having a certain with them with my paste and my breathing. Somehow I couldn’t grab my thoughts there were somehow flying having the same liberty as the birds flying over my head. 

Vorotnavank Monastery is somehow lost in this gorge. When one arrives there, one is really surprise of the beauty of the place. It has been constructed by the queen in the year of 1000 and her son did cost talk to second church just besides hers. Queens in Armenia were really important and I could feel the force emerging from the place. I sat there looking at the walls thinking of absolutely nothing until I heard a car coming and it was the hotel manager taking me to the wings of Tatev.

I always wanted to be a bird that’s why I thought of taking the longest teleferic of the wold! Almost 6 km long! It was simply an amazing experience to go to the most beloved place on earth for me. I was able to see from above this beautiful gorge of Vorotan. Tatevi Vank was this time on the big renovations. Since last time I came here a lot have been done to accommodate the tourists. The renovation taking place were somehow disturbing the peace that the monastery is naturally supposed to offer. It’s not that I was disappointed but somehow I had to get away of this mass of tourism and noise. In fact, I did meet two Armenians that were coming from France and we had a great chat. As usual, for Smalltalk we usually ask what we do in life which I had to answer and say that I’m an opera singer. Upon which the man started to sing the quintet of the opera Carmen! You can now understand why I had somehow to get away and look at them on the tree from above. So I walked again up in the mountains until the point that I could sit down and have my rest looking at this beautiful complex, thinking that humankind is somehow crazy to build such thing on the rocks on the edge of the hill!!