Getting closer to Hanna’s first birthday, we spend some days in northwestern Azerbaijan, where rivers are not made by water but stones.
After crossing the border with Georgia in Lagodekhi we were ready for new adventures. We took the road along the border with Dagestan and spend every night even closer to the border, up in mountains. While sleeping in Ilisu (near Qax), Kis (near old Shaki), Laza (close to Qabala) and on some hill around Samaxi, visiting sweet mountain village Lahic – we noticed how different rivers exist in Azerbaijan. Millions of stones, carried there and back. It’s the river who decides to eat up the bridge, park or mountain. Where river came – there is a huge path of huge stones.
We also find an answer for our riddle, still from Georgia: why many bridges are half covered by the shit? Because cows, when it’s so hot, like to sit on the “windy” side of the bridge. The other half is used, as it should be, by cars. So cows are sitting on one half all day long and shit of course also there.
Another surprise! On Azeri roads there sell even more watermelons than in Georgia (was really hard to believe!).
Places which will for sure stay in our memories is small village Lahic, in mountains, after 20km long stony road with cliff aside. Legend says that it was founded more than thousand years ago by Persian shah. Now many carpet makers and metal-workshops in this quite touristic place (with tiny tourists information where we didn’t get any information). A pity that way through mountains to Quba and Qusar are only possible with a horse. We will have to drive to Baku and totally around to those places.
In Qabala we were exactly in the time of International Music Festival, known in whole country. We even got an invitation to take part in it but from listening to Chopin on Hanna’s 1st birthday we chosen calm place at the river. Finally also didn’t work out because we were invited to somebodies house (and in Azerbaijan there is no “no” answer in such a situation).
So first birthday of our small traveler we celebrated with Magnum ice cream (not that easy to get some things in some parts of some countries) and lunch in old caravanserai in Shaki, one of the oldest settlement in south Caucasus. Hanna got a swing, so now we are looking for good trees to fix it on!
Our first book is out!
We have published our first book (for now just in Polish:) about our Central America Trip.
See, read and order here »