She puts a little 'zip' in her trips

By Linda Fields
MILFORD — Ann Goldstein has a serious case of wanderlust. And she's not your typical tourist.
The Warwick resident, who's had a second home in Milford since 1980, enjoys what she calls “travel with a purpose.” She's been trekking all over the world, volunteering for different non-profit organizations.
She recently returned from a three-week journey to Mongolia that required four days of travel. But that didn’t faze her. In fact, Goldstein has camped in a tent in Zaire, where she went looking for the bones of early humans.
“Lions came roaring at night and the toilet was a hole in the ground where a snake was lurking," she said of that experience.
She also recalled having guards protect her from the hippos in Kenya, where she was researching aquatic reeds, and having soldiers on watch in Sri Lanka during the conflict with Tamil rebels.
Some unplanned glitches had her sleeping at trucks stops “with ladies of the night," or living on a dock in Indonesia without running water.
Many of these adventures were with her late husband, Saul Goldstein, whom she met at age 17, when they were junior counselors at Indian Trails Camp in Milford. They were married for almost 50 years when he died in 2009. Now, Ann continues her tradition of purposeful travel, even though she is alone.
“I despise typical tours,” she said. “I like to give back, meet the people and live with them. I need a little ‘zip.' It’s better than sitting on a bus.”
On several of her trips, Goldstein worked with young children, drawing from her background as a clinical social worker. She described her time earlier this year in Guatemala, with Discover Corps. Discover Corps supports Peace Corps' ideals and operates trips for the National Peace Corps Association, which is separate and independent of the Peace Corps.
“We were in school helping the children learn English and giving them piggyback rides during recess in the playground," said. "We bought them soccer balls. These are children from very poor families. The food they’re given in the morning is not very substantial. By the age of seven, they have to leave school to work because their families have no money.”
Many but not all of her travels were dedicated to children.
Goldstein has counted butterflies in Vietnam, walked with lions in Zimbabwe, caught and measured sea turtles in the Bahamas, and much more. She has taken part in projects with Global Volunteers, Cross Cultural Solutions, Earthwatch Institute, and Overseas Adventure Travels in approximately 25 different countries.
Her next trip: Belize with Discover Corps to research manatees.
“If you don’t need a five-star hotel and want to do some good, it’s a perfect way to travel," she said.
Editor's note: This article has been updated from the original.