WaterWired and Campanastan Head for the South Caucasus

WaterWired needs a little break, so along with my alter ego Campanastan, I am heading to the oily shores of the Caspian Sea for a five-day stop in Baku, Azerbaijan, then an overnight stay in Tbilisi, Georgia, and finally to Yerevan, Armenia, for five days. I return home on Memorial Day evening.

So is this a true vacation? Not really. I am going over in my role as the director of the South Caucasus River Monitoring project, which is funded by NATO and OSCE. It's our sixth and final year.

I work with some great people over there - Professor Nodar Kekelidze (Georgia), Dr. Bahruz Suleymanov (Azerbaijan), and Dr. Armen Saghatelyan in Armenia. They and their colleagues do all the heavy lifting, along with NATO experts Dr. Freddy Adams (Belgium; analytical chemistry) and Dr. Eiliv Steinnes (Norway; environmental chemistry).

I doubt I'll be posting daily, but should be able to get a few out. At least I'll have some travel tales when I return home.

"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere." -- Ronald Reagan, cover of Fortune, 15 September 1986