This was the week that 75% of the funding went to. Most of the kids here have never been out of Neftchala. I have seen more of this country than my host mom has. It’s unbelievable the amount of travelling that is NOT being done here. We only invited our older students and limited the group to 17 as that was how many seats were in a small van. A fifth day was added when the incredibly generous head director of the sturgeon hatchery we went to offered the company bus to take us to Shirvan National Park, the home of the infamous Azerbaijani flamingos.
Monday June 21: Mushvik
I was surprised when I saw this beach. It wasn’t too… bad. We had rented a big bus for 40 manat which would take us to the beach and wait for us to return. There was a bit of miscommunication so the boys went swimming but the girls didn't. Still everyone had a good time!
Tuesday June 22: Qobostan
Left Neftchala at 8 in the morning for the 2 hour drive to Qobostan: the oldest archaeological site in Azerbaijan. It is a vista of ridges and mountains with rock carvings dating back thousands of years. None of the host country nationals with us had ever been there before. One of the boys even went to Qobostan village every summer because his aunt lived there but had never gone to look at the site. Even while we were there, the only other site seers were foreigners. After our tour we had lunch under a gazebo and climbed one of the ridges for a great view of the desert reaching out to the sea.
Wednesday June 23: Xilli Sturgeon Hatchery
We took public transportation to the hatchery. We met with Zaur, the most generous man I’ve met here and the head director of the hatchery. He gave us a tour of the plant and talked to the kids about the process of raising the fish. The kids were all so excited to see them. Most of them were courageous enough to try to pet them and all got splashed in the process. It was after the tour that Zaur offered the bus to go to Shirvan.
Thursday June 24: Lenkeran
We met at 6:30 and were on the road by 7 in the morning. Our plan was to take a visit to the university but when the university student we met up with asked for permission to let us inside, it was declined. Instead we went to another park that some of the boys had heard of. Took a little mini hike and was lead to this beautiful lake amongst the small hills heading towards Lerik. Then we went to a restaurant to eat levengi, Lenkeran’s famous local dish which consists of chicken stuffed with a puree of walnuts and onions. Then we went for a short walk around the central part of Lenkeran, bought some milkshakes and ice cream, then went home.
Friday June 25: Shirvan Milli Park
The company bus picked us at 1. Had only 13 seats; we squished in 17. Thank god Azeri adolescents are tiny. The bus driver was a grumpy man who had a wedding to go to in the evening and only wanted to stay at the park for an hour. When we arrived a man greeted us and took us on a driving tour through the park. Only in Azerbaijan will you find oil jacks in a national reserve. We weren’t able to see the flamingos (due to the grumpy driver) but we saw herds of gazelles. They were so fast; faster than our car at times. The man said that Azerbaijan had the biggest population of this breed of gazelles in the world. They were magnificent.
On a personal note, I’m zonked. I’m so exhausted, physically, emotionally, and mentally. So looking in hind sight (or maybe towards the future for next year’s camp) I wish we had ended it at three weeks. Although, next week is Arts week and I’ve choreographed a little dance to Kanye West’s Touch the Sky. Kind of fitting… an inspirational song, right? Maybe not, but I’m sure it’ll be fun for the kids and in the long run that’s all that matters.
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