TRAVERSE Issue 45 - December 2024 | Page 115

TRAVERSE 115
doggie things . I couldn ’ t stop to talk to them all as I was going to Armenia for the day .
Only a ninety-minute drive south we reached the border , and the crossing was simple , Armenia is so good , mountainous , plenty of twisties , overgrown green , vibrant , full of springtime wildflowers which made it simply astonishing . Armenia like Georgia was a former Soviet state and the style of building , especially high-density housing is a dead giveaway ... oh and the Lada cars that occupy the roads .
Like Georgia , Armenia has suffered its fair share of tragedy and it ’ s still ongoing with its neighbour , Azerbaijan . The former Soviet days are obvious here with the many abandoned homes and derelict factories that dot the landscape . The north of Armenia , I am told is the poorest and its visually evident . The economy here has suffered blow by blow and life became very hard for those that called this country home . A lot fled for a better life , and some stayed trying to make a living in agriculture and more recently selling trinkets to tourists . My heart was heavy , learning about the difficult times and still to this day the
TRAVERSE 115