Yesterday marked independence day for the 1918 Republic of Armenia, a national holiday. I did not really wander about town much, but in the evening at a friends house there seemed to be a number of good programs on TV about this subject, and fireworks after dark.

On Sunday I joined a group of guys visiting Kobayr Monastery. This is one of Armenia's greatest spots at any time of year, but in the spring it is just magical. The exposed wall frescoes, building after building with beautiful reliefs, the Armenian as well as Georgian inscriptions, the large cave with a spring, the river gorge it is located in, the green of the Lori region compounded by the extra-rainy spring all contributed to making it an awesome Sunday. Almost nobody visits this monastery, which is just a 15 minute walk from the main highway. Very few people know about it, so we had the entire place to ourselves the whole day. Six hours of exploration, singing, and of course khorovadz (bbq) and perfect weather all day before we had to pack it up and make the 3 hour drive back to Yerevan. Today it is back to remodeling issues...