I arrived at the edge of Lake Sevan after sun had gone down.  But in the last of the light the clouds falling into the other side of the lake looked like liquid methane rolling down the frozen sides of Titan:

These falling clouds extended for what I guessed was about 30km on the other shore, and with even less light I took a 2nd shot (iso 1600) showing clouds, glacier-like, running down a valley:

The lake covers 5% of modern Armenia, and freezes over in winter.  Legend has it that as the locals huddled in the hilltop Sevanavank monastery awaiting death, the ice cracked and the approaching Arab invaders fell through, leaving the lake black with bodies, hence the name “Black Lake”.

There was an icy wind blowing off the lake, about 0°C, so I thought I better find somewhere to stay quickly.  There was a ‘hotel’ nearby, the only one on the peninsula open in winter, and run, regrettably, by four men.  One of them said, in a heavy accent: “you pay me now, cash.”  This is always a bad sign, as it suggests the guests are usually so unhappy by the next day that they don’t want to pay.  That was certainly the case this time also.

I have always wondered what gets taught at hotel management schools.  Surely hospitality is something your mother teaches you?  I guess some men just have no mothers.

(events 11 Nov 2012)