Enroute to Goris, we got one last view of Mt Ararat behind the Church of Khor Virap, before it disappeared entirely behind a veil of clouds.  As we approached this scene, there was heavy cloud cover overhead, and the monastery was obscured in dark shade.  Watching the clouds, we saw the possibility of better light coming soon.  Sure enough, after waiting about half an hour, the sun reached a hole in the clouds, and the monastery shone through in the scene above.

We made a stop in a small village today, to break up the long drive. I am not sure of the actual name of this town, but it was referred to as “Stork City,” because of the large number of stork nests, at the top of most power poles (center).  Every nest had one stork protecting two chicks (upper left), while the other parent flew off (lower-left and upper-right) to find food.

We stopped for lunch in another small village, and happened upon a rehearsal at a youth dance school. Our guide asked for permission for us to photograph this.  We wandered around town for a short time after the rehearsal, and encountered a few residents in their daily village life.

We frequently came across long lines of newly shorn sheep being herded from their Winter pastures to their Summer feeding grounds. These usually included a cowboy near the front, plus another in the rear, with a few dogs to bring any stray sheep back into line.

We made a brief stop at the Tatev monastery (right column), built on a high cliff to help its defense during the Middle Ages.

Our last stop of this day was at a small monastery in Tatev.  We spent time capturing images from above, then stopped inside the monastery for a visit with the monk. It is run by a single monk (center right), and is actively used for prayer (center and lower-left). The monk blessed our group with a small prayer. Lilit, our Armenian guide, allowed us to photograph her while she prayed here (lower right) as well as shielded us from the building under restoration.