I write to you all during my layover in the Charles De Gaulle airport, en route to Yerevan. Enough of you have said “I’m looking forward to reading your blog!” that I feel obligated to update it more frequently during this trip than in the last couple of years. Given, this is new territory for me, and I know I will appreciate looking back at these posts later in life, as I thought when I first started my travel blog four years ago.
Packing went pretty smoothly this year- I recycled my Balkan packing list from last year, give or take a few items. If you’re interested you can see it here. I pulled out a few things last minute in an attempt to lighten my load, which is already pretty light- at the airport it weighed 22 pounds, about half the weight of the bag I lugged around Europe for 15 months several years ago. For a two month trip, I’m feeling pretty good about it, and of course I can always pick up things along the way.
(Fast forwarding to Wednesday, my first full day in Yerevan. I boarded my flight before I finished my blog.)
Annnnnd I definitely spoke too soon on that whole packing everything I need and being able to purchase what I forgot.
But first, a few reflections on this flight from Paris to Yerevan. We sat on the tarmac for an hour and a half before we took off. I’m not even sure why, as I was dozing in and out while listening to the newest S. Carey album, something I downloaded before I left the states. I struck up a conversation with my seatmate, a woman in her late thirties who was returning to Armenia for the first time since she and her family immigrated to Quebec two years ago. She hadn’t seen her parents since she left, and was very anxious to go home.
The man next to her joined the conversation. He had also immigrated to Canada (Ottawa), six years ago, but returned to Armenia every summer. His name I eventually learned was Arsot, and we struck up a conversation about food in Armenia. Arsot told me that apricots are in season now, and the ones in Armenia are of the plumpest, juiciest, sweetest variety that exists. I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear this. Every time I buy apricots in the states I am disappointed, and I am nostalgic for the time I was in Sofia, Bulgaria in early June in 2016, went to the Zenski (Women’s) Market, bought the biggest bag of apricots, and ate them while walking around the city. They were so amazing and delicious, and I’ve never had that experience again.
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| I was so excited to buy apricots in Sofia in 2016 that I definitely took pictures. |
Arsot also told me about the types of tomatoes to look for (greenhouse-grown are better than field-grown this time of year), that cucumbers are cheap and, cut up and sprinkled with salt, help prevent dehydration. Same goes for small green apples, minus the salt. He also said that the Armenian cheese is salty and tasty, and to look for the kind that has herbs mixed in. His favorite summer meal is tomatoes, cheese, and “black bread”, which I’m guessing is a variety of rye. I dutifully took notes on everything except the sausage he recommended. I wonder how difficult it’s going to be to eat out while I’m traveling in this part of the world as a vegetarian. My fallback is always self-catering, as the produce so much more affordable, tasty, and accessible in this part of the world compared to the United States.
Our flight is definitely going to be late, and we don’t arrive in Yerevan until 10pm. Arsot offered to give me a ride to my hostel as it was close to his house in the center. I of course accepted- I had heard that Armenians (and Georgians) go way out of their way to be hospitable, so I wasn’t hesitant at all. I also didn’t want to figure out how the late-night bus to the center worked, which was fortunate since I couldn’t get any cash at the airport despite ATMs all around.
That’s right- we got off the plane and started making our way towards border control. I spot an ATM and head over to it- I’ve learned that my first stops in a country are always the ATM and cell service kiosk so I can pick up a cheap SIM card. I pull out my wallet and I realize that I LEFT MY DEBIT CARD AT HOME.
Of all things. Something that I can’t buy in a supermarket or borrow from another traveler. Whoops.
I think this would have stressed me out more had this been my first time around, but I also probably would have remembered to bring it had I been more attentive to the things not on my packing list.
Never to fear- I have a credit card that can be used at the ATM. I didn’t have the pin number memorized and couldn’t log onto the website to change it, so I WhatsApped my sister from the border control line. Jane is conveniently hanging out at my apartment for a few days and was able to find the PIN number on a sheet of paper that I brought with me in 2015 on my trip and never needed to use.
I (almost) always bring my Affinity Plus debit card with me because there are no ATM fees and only a 1% foreign transaction fee on withdrawals from an ATM. My Bank of America card has a $5 ATM fee and 3% foreign transaction fee. So I’ll be paying a little bit more to withdraw money this trip, but it’s not the end of the world. I didn't kick myself too much over my mistake, and I will for sure never forget my debit card again.
Arsot's friend (brother? taxi driver? idk) met us at the airport. It was a 20 minute ride into the city center. I sat in the back with the window down and soaked everything in- the old Soviet-era apartment blocks, neon signs announcing casinos, furniture stores, pubs, small kiosks still open with their glowing cases of Coca-Cola, half-finished concrete buildings, the errant stone monument, pretty much anything I could expect from a post-Communist country. I almost teared up- it's hard to describe what travel means to me. To see new places, meet new people and experience their kindness- there's really nothing like it. It feels so freeing. I'm so happy to be here.
I'll update you all soon on my first day in Yerevan!
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| View of the sunset as we ascended into the sky after flying out of Minneapolis. |
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