This Saturday, 22 Aug, ARK Armenia will be hosting a party at the campsite! 
Everyone is welcome to join us for khorovats, music, dancing, games, learning about Kapan's potential for eco-tourism, and ARK's current projects.

See the full invitation HERE or copy/paste https://www.facebook.com/events/617582105011270/

This weekend ARK camp had a few visitors from Birthright Armenia and Armenia Volunteer Corp. Looking for an escape from Yerevan, they decided Kapan, with its beautiful mountains and nature, was the perfect place for a break from the city life.

Nareh (Boston), Nora (Montreal), and Peter (Toronto), arrived at ARK Camp for some relaxation in the mountains... unbeknownst to them it would be one of the hottest weekends of the summer: Sunday reached a high of 42! 

Despite the heat, they had a short tour of Kapan with Armen, saw the monuments close to the camp, and hiked to Halidzor Fortress and Vahanavank Monastery. 

When the sun goes down behind the mountains and ARK Camp gets dark, it's the perfect time for a fire and star gazing. The Perseid meteor shower ended a few days ago, but you could still spot some shooting stars from the camp site, and the Milky Way was visible across the sky. 

In the morning, you wake to heat slowly creeping in and the sound of wild horses coming down the mountain, and enjoy some coffee in the fresh morning air. 

Today some surprise visitors also turned up a the ARK office; a German couple biking from Australia to Germany. They were led to the office by some of ARK's neighbors. Claudia and Johann, more friendly international travelers passing through Kapan! They were suntanned and road-weary, but had smiles on their faces as they walked their bikes in the heat to  buy a SIM card. They had just come from Iran and are headed to Georgia next. You can follow all their interesting adventures on their Facebook page and their blog. 

Last week our new volunteer arrived! Sophie Vranian is ARK's first Birthright Armenia volunteer (and hopefully not the last!) She was in Gyumri for 2 and a half months before finding ARK and deciding to come to Kapan, and she will be here until 23 August. 

Come by the campsite to say hi to Sophie!