Mature Women Visit Lahuj

The photos are of the Mature Women’s get-together at Lahuj. The first picture is of 9 of the participants who hiked on the first day. Listed are their name, site, and home state:
Back row; Linda Gies, Ganja, Illinois/Missouri, Linda Rives, Shirvan, Missouri, Dorothy Colcord, Barda, Massachusetts, Bonnie Campbell, Ganja, Michigan, Front row; Margaret Gale, Ganja, New York, Leslie Schoolfield, Salyan, Texas, Susan Moyer, Qazak, Minnesota, Connie Hayes, Qazak, Arizona, Catherine BrooksKenyon, Yevlakh, N/A.

The other photos are of the trail they hiked, obstacles along that trail, beautiful scenery, and Linda victorious in making it all the way to the waterfall destination.

There are currently 13 Mature Women (women over the age of 50) serving in Azerbaijan. On the first weekend of June, 11 of us traveled to Lahuj, a remote mountain village in the north of Azerbaijan. We all enjoyed seeing one another and talking about our Peace Corps work. The AZ6 mature women helped answer some of the questions that the AZ7 women have encountered during their first months of service. The AZ6 women also talked about our plans after leaving the Peace Corps. Seven of us hiked back into the lower mountains to a small waterfall and then up onto a higher trail and back to the village. It was rather strenuous but we helped each other and enjoyed the activity. We all enjoyed seeing the coppersmith’s handiwork. We purchased gifts for family and ourselves. The people of Lahuj were friendly and welcoming. Another day the group journeyed by 4-wheel-drive vehicle and then walked the remaining way to a small mountain village with no road entrance. The people speak their own language and villagers have no chairs but sit on the floors. All around us were beautiful mountains, cliffs, streams, flora and fauna. This is probably the most unspoiled area I have ever visited.
It is not easy to travel to Lahuj. All of us had to travel one day by several buses, vans and taxis to get to the village. The last of the road is not passable after a rain because of rockslides. On one side you were right next to a mountain wall and on the other side it was a long way down to the river valley below. At times we had to share the road with herds of sheep. We were very exhilarated by the time we arrived in Lahuj. During good weather, there are three vans that leave and arrive in Lahuj each day. In one of the pictures, we are standing in front of the Improtex Travel Bureau. A fine young man from Lahuj has just opened this business for the summer months. As word spreads of this wonderful place there will be more people coming. I like the idea that others come and see this beautiful mountain village but I also fear that it will become commercialized and loose its authentic charm.
One of the best products of the trip was the camaraderie felt among the Peace Corps Mature Women.

While the women were in Lahuj, Bill came to visit with me in Shirvan (see last week's posting). We are the only men over the age of 30 serving in Azerbaijan. All the other AZ6 and AZ7 men over that age Early Terminated, some in pre-training, some in training, and some after no more than 3 months on site. Bill and I have a great friendship.

We will post again after we return from Turkey. There are five of us, Susan, Leslie, Connie, Linda and myself. Hopefully we will share some wonderful experiences.