"Voluntourism": Volunteer Work Plus Tourism

I love to combine pleasure with work when I travel by doing volunteer work along with tourism, a kind of travel called "voluntourism" by some.

You feel that you are accomplishing something and you also get to see the world in a completely different way than that of a mere tourist. Thus, I signed up for an Elderhostel trail work service program in the Adirondacks ten years ago. After having taken many hikes it was my way to thank all those that made this possible.

We were nine senior citizen volunteers, with no knowledge of trail building but willing to work hard, two young people, who knew what to do and were stronger than us, and Mary, the group coordinator, more in charge of logistics than of physical work.

The camp we stayed in was an old farmhouse, clean and comfortable, but with Spartan facilities: shared bathrooms, no maid service and no TV. We ate our breakfasts and dinners at the mess hall and took our packed lunches with us to the trail. It was a wholesome and simple fare.

We were to repair a segment of hiking trail in a nature area near Schroon Lake, NY. Since it is a nature area, no power tools were allowed. The first task was to learn the safety rules and a brief glossary. Duff is the loose material and dried leaves that cover the forest floor; Pulaski, hazel hoe, mattock are types of hoes; Sandvik is a Swedish safety brush axe. There were also peavey hooks, cant hooks and a few other things.

We made a cheerful work crew, with chatting and bantering sprinkled among the heavy work. After two days, we were beginning to see some progress. On the third day, we were waiting for Mary to take us to the head of the trail.

It was a glorious September day, with crystal clear air, sunny sky and a delicious gentle breeze. She arrived a little late and stepped out of the van with a worried expression while holding a cell phone.

"There has been a terrible accident in New York" Mary told us. She had the skimpiest of information and said the words that we would hear many times later on: twin towers, two planes, crash.

Our mood was subdued that morning. Three hours later, Mary arrived again; this time her expression was beyond worry. She was able to give us a few more details. The words four planes and terrorism were added now. "I want you all back in camp; there is no way to know what else may happen next" she added. She told us that a member of the local community had lent a TV set and another one was rigging a long cable so that we could watch the news at our camp.

We spent the next few hours along with the rest of the nation watching in horror the collapse of the towers amid a cloud of dust and debris, again and again and again. We took turns at the pay phone calling loved ones in our need to be in touch.

The next day, we resumed our work. What else was there to do? We toiled silently, furiously, with heavy hearts.

Gradually a sense of serenity entered my soul. I developed a new appreciation for volunteer work. In our tiny, humble way we were helping counteract the monstrous evil committed the previous day.