Combining a service project and touring makes for a memorable vacation for these Alaskans

We had a beautiful summer day last week — perfect for cruising on the bike trail down by Taku Lake.

I rounded the corner by Campbell Creek when a friend shouted for me to pull over.

Jess Gutzwiler was on a speed-walking circuit, going the opposite way on the trail. We both were getting some sun but decided it was a great time to stop and talk travel.

Jess and her husband, Aaron Gutzwiler, live in Clam Gulch but recently returned from the Maldives, in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

“We celebrated our 10th anniversary and Aaron wanted to stay in a bungalow over the water,” she said.

“But what made the trip extra special is we paid for the whole trip with miles and points.”

I loved hearing this story just as much as Jess loved telling it. Jess and Aaron saved their Alaska Airlines miles and redeemed them for business-class seats on Qatar Airways from Seattle to Doha, Qatar, continuing to Malé in the Maldives. The award also included the connecting flight on Alaska Airlines between Anchorage and Seattle.

As the couple built their home in Clam Gulch, they charged everything on the Bonvoy rewards credit card from Marriott. Then they cashed in their points to stay at the super-deluxe W Maldives resort on a private island about 25 miles west of the airport.

Jess was full of travel news. She invited me to a presentation she was making at a Rotary Club about a recent trip to Egypt. She and 36 other Rotarians were assisting in an outreach campaign for the Egyptian Liver Research Institute and Hospital.

Apart from being an avid traveler, Jess is the director of community relations for Aurora Integrated Oncology Foundation. So outreach is a big part of her job in Alaska, particularly regarding cancer prevention, treatment and care.

“I found out about this trip through a Rotary group of global travelers,” said Jess.

Jess is active in her Rotary Club in Soldotna and served as president of her club in Anchorage before moving to the Kenai Peninsula.

Part of the appeal for the Egypt trip, aside from visiting the incredible monuments and sailing on the Nile, was the chance to help with an ongoing health crisis regarding hepatitis C.

Rotary International boasts more than 1 million members worldwide. The service organization is well-known for its work in health-related crises, particularly regarding the eradication of polio.

The hepatitis C infections in Egypt are widespread — and can lead to liver cancer. That’s why the screenings are so important. Still, “Rotary could do a big thing,” said Jess.

At the hospital, the Rotary Global Travel group worked hand-in-hand with one of the Rotary clubs in Cairo to ensure that the outreach and screenings could continue after they left.

“We spent six nights in Cairo, which included the day dedicated (to) outreach at the hospital. The hospital was located north of Cairo in the Nile Delta,” said Jess.

While in Cairo, the itinerary included a full slate of visiting pyramids and museums. An Egyptologist accompanied the group to explain the significance of the pyramids and highlights in the museums.

“Aaron was impressed with Ahmed, our Egyptologist. He taught school for 28 years and did a great job explaining the design and construction of the pyramids,” said Jess.

“We had an armed, federal security officer with us at all times,” said Jess. “And when we drove north to the hospital, we had a police escort.”

After leaving Cairo, the group flew to Luxor, where they boarded a riverboat to cruise upstream to Aswan.

“The cruise was fantastic. The food and the service (were) great and everything was so clean,” said Jess.

Cruising along this section of the Nile afforded the group easy access to the Valley of the Kings (and Queens), the Karnak and Luxor Temples. The group also traveled to within 12 miles of the border with Sudan to see the giant Abu Simbel complex built by Ramses II. Because of the construction of the Aswan High Dam, this giant temple was taken apart and reassembled on higher ground.

The hotel and cruise portion of the Gutzwilers’ trip was pre-arranged. All 36 participants were met at the airport and traveled by private coach. But air transportation was not included. Again, the Gutzwilers cashed in a bunch of Alaska Airlines miles to fly business class (lie-flat) on Qatar Airways.

“I’m not sure I can ever go back to flying coach,” Jess said with a sigh.

“This trip was more of a vacation than a project,” confessed Jess. But it’s not the only trip she’s taken to work on a service project.

“I really like to dig into a project,” she said.

Back in 2017, she and a group from Anchorage South Rotary Club traveled to Manzanillo on Mexico’s Pacific coast. From there, they traveled up in the hills to the city of Colima to support an effort called Project Amigo.

Program attendees spend a week supporting Project Amigo’s efforts to educate the children of west-central Mexico. Sometimes that means painting or cleaning up a school or staffing a food bank. On the last trip to Colima, Jess’s group brought 17 extra suitcases of donated clothing to pass out while they were there.

Jess and Aaron have their sights set on other service-oriented trips, including a project to build dams in India. This project is organized in part by another Anchorage Rotarian, Adam Hays.

There are many opportunities for travelers to volunteer for service projects while traveling, including Habitat for Humanity or African Impact, among others.