World traveler, bike enthusiast, TV broadcast engineer, footloose and fancy free, man of humor, Raffi Youredjian, 31, was at AGBU Toronto on Jan. 23 for the book launch of his “Tour de Armenia”.

Some 60 people came to hear him, despite the arctic temperature and snow. Their interest paid off as Raffi regaled them with anecdotes, interesting facts, personal experiences, and jokes from his month- long bike tour of Armenia two years ago–from Echmiadzin to Shushi with stops in a dozen towns and cities including Spitak, Jermuk, Alaverdi, Haghpat, Sevan, Martuni…

The arduous adventure tour covered the Armenia most tourists don’t see. He deplored that so many tourists confine themselves to tours of Yerevan, Garni, Datev and Echmiadzin. Raffi made it clear that to experience the “real” Armenia visitors have to tour the countryside, sit down with the locals, talk with them, eat with them… and down bracing vodka with them.

The son of a Jerusalemite father and a Cypriot mother, Raffi was born in London and grew up in California, returning to London at 16. He said his job as the headquarters of the Discovery channel gives him ample opportunity to travel. He has been to Peru, China, New Zealand, India… but his favorite place, he said, is the Antarctica.

The 1,000-kilometer tour (through the countryside, mountain,valley and dale)–on his hardy bike baptized “Sayat Nova”, wasn’t Raffi’s first trip to Armenia. He has been in Hayastan a number of times, usually as a volunteer worker.

After his bike tour of Armenia, Raffi headed to Artsakh, wrapping the adventure in Stepanakert where he gave his loyal companion–Sayat Nova–to a young woman.

Running throughout Raffi’s narrative were his humorous asides about locals who tried to find him a wife. Finding excuses, feinting, changing the subject, averting his eyes, Raffi navigated the hospitable offers without rejecting them outright.

Next on his North American tour with AGBU is Montreal and then Boston (March 3), Philadelphia (March 5), Washington (March 10), Chicago (March 13), San Francisco (March 19), Fresno (March 22), Los Angeles (March 24), Glendale (March 24), San Fernando (March 27).

Raffi, who took questions from the Toronto audience, said undiscovered Ughtasar was the place he liked best on his trip. The mountains, the clean air, the green landscape, the snow, the quiet was heavenly, said Raffi.