Dank jullie wel en tot ziens

Dag iedereen!

On Tuesday afternoon, on the 23th of July, a group of Belgian volunteers came in Tartu. Through the organisation Bouworde, they had the opportunity to come here in Estonia for two weeks of environmental work (and some tourism as well). 

We all gathered and went on our merry way to Haanja National Park, in the south of the country (close to the border of Latvia). Joined there by our saw- minister and another volunteer (others would join in while they left before the end), we settled in a cosy little house with sauna and lovely yard. 

We relaxed, playing cards and a game Kadri (our group leader for the first day) made us. She played us some animal cries, and we had to guess from a list which was which. It was (not) very easy. The other evening we would play other games, in particular The Werewolf (which delighted me, one of my favourite board games).

On Wednesday we started to work. Ponds were traditionally used by farmers, which allowed for several species to thrive in them. However, most of them got abandoned and invasive species grew around and in them, threating the (some of them endangered) species living there.


What happens when a bomb goes off? Boom!

Our saw- minister cut down the trees and tall plants, we formed a chain to move them to a pile, while some of us cut down smaller trees with machetes and pliers. 

We also (the second and third day) went straight into the ponds to pull all these bastards out. One of us may or may not have fallen into the water, completely filling his their fisherman's suit with water. 

After a hard day of work, the owners of the pond we worked on offered us l'apéro as well as the warmth of both their company and their sauna. They also offered us some veggies straight from their garden, as well as a soap coming from the soviet times. And they had a cat!

Malgré les contraintes, on a finit dans l'étang!

On the second day, Thursday, we went to a town called Rõuge and visited the place, enjoying the very beautiful view a bird tower offered us. 

We had ice cream and I took a nap. Why? I suffered from a throat pain since the beginning of the week, and it got worse every day, making every night shorter. Our saw minister was kind enough to bring me to the hospital on Friday, and the doctors told me I had a bacterial infection (probably streptococcus). Their antibiotics were way more efficient than ibuprofen, though I'm saddened the lack of sleep and pain tarnished the stay for me.

On Sunday, I drove the Belgians and one other volunteer (who helped me find my way) to Tartu.

On Saturday, we went to Võru, enjoyed a local festival (I bought a very lovely hat), enjoyed a nice swim in the lake and bought some food and drinks for our final evening together, where we sang (I mostly listened, I must confess) together around a campfire, after a refreshing sauna.