Two Months of Stuff: The Packing Blog, Part I

This will be our last blog about planning.  On Thursday, we will be on our way to South America.  There really isn't anything I can say that can express how excited I feel.  This blog we will finally show what we are taking.  Yes, this is the long awaited packing blog.

We will start with Karis.

All of my stuff for two months will have to fit into this 40L bag.  The reason we are only taking such small bags is so that everything can be carry-on sized.  The plan is to not check any baggage ever on any flight.  So what's in here?

This is in here.  That stuff sack to the left contains all my clothes, minus what I will be wearing on the day of travel.  Be prepared - this will be a long one.  I'll try to be brief.  Both my list and Tanya's took a lot of thought, additions, subtractions, and research.  It sounds silly, but it's true.  We researched - Tanya more extensively - what to pack.  So here we go.

Tech Stuff First.  So this is like, Picture pre-1:
- Alarm clock
- Travel adapter
- Headlamp
- Charger for my tablet
- Floaty for my camera
- Not shown: Charger for my camera batteries

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This stuff will be the most accessible, packed in the front pockets of my pack.  I'm actually thinking of taking a small satchel to carry all this in.

Picture 1:
- Tissue (mostly to be used as toilet paper, as it may not be found on buses)
- Gorilla pod camera stand (it's flexible! So we can wrap it around stuff, set it up on uneven surfaces, and it will still take level pictures.)
- First aid kit (band-aids, gauze, general first aid kit stuff)
- Bug dope stick
- Sunscreen stick
- Little Alaska stickers to give to people we meet along the way :)

Picture 2:
- My tablet (duh) - Nexus 7

Picture 3:
- Journals
- Pens and refills
- Ipod with charger
- Headphones
- Headphone splitter
- Airplane headphone jack

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Next, the toiletries.  I feel like this is an area where men have a significant advantage.  But that's okay.  I still like being a woman.

Picture 4: All liquids have to be in a clear, quart-sized bag, and they have to be taken out when we check in at the airport.  So these are all my liquids.
- Lotion
- Toothpaste (2)
- Soap
- Hand sanitizer
- Sunscreen

Picture 5: Tanya got us these great little Sea to Summit bags :)
- Solid soap (1 for face, 1 for hair/body)
- Folding in hairbrush with mirror
- Toothbrush
- Sunscreen stick (yes, I have 3 sunscreens, but my ginger genes make it an absolute necessity)
- Razors (2)
- Nail clippers
- Bath wipes
- Face wipes
- Hand sanitizer wipes

Picture 6: If I was less vain, this might not be included.
- Cover-up stick
- Eye liner
- Mascara
- Face powder

Picture 7: This might be personal, but ladies, let's get real. Two months? So yes, I'm taking these.
- Feminine Hygiene Products

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Some miscellaneous items...

Picture 8: We'll be done with snorkeling after the Galapagos, so this will be mailed back.

- Snorkel

- Goggles

Picture 9:

- Sunglasses with the tie thingies to make them harder to lose (helpful for backpacking)

- Sunglasses case Nope, not taking this. Not enough room.

- Hat Not taking this either, both because there's no room, and because I don't wear this kind of hat enough to make me think I will wear it here.  Or well... it might be nice to have on the water... I don't know yet.

Picture 10:

- Clothes line (the rubber kind that you can put clothes in between)

- Drain plug (some sinks don't have them in hostels)

- Door stop (to put on our side of the door, just in case)

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Picture 11:

- Day pack (very small, easy to flatten inside of the big pack)

- Bladder

- Tied on clippy light

- P-cord bracelet

Picture 12: Oh Shit Kit

- Titanium straw (use less plastic!)

- Black plastic bag

- Sewing kit

- Whistle

- P-cord bracelet

- Tenacious tape with hair ties on it

- Spork

- Multi-tool

- Electrolyte tablets

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Picture 13: Meds

- Travel medicine book, including a pamphlet with different languages

- Ibuprofen

- Dramamine

- Bug bite ointment

- Pepto Bismol chewables (eat with each meal at the beginning, reduces sickness)

- Prescription meds for traveler's diahrrea

- Prescription meds for altitude sickness

Picture 14:

- Silk sleeping bag liner

- Towel (travel micro fiber kind, small, super absorbent - I used one when I lived in a yurt, and it was great.)

- Bandanas (2)

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Picture 15: Clothes! These are my bottoms

- Hiking pants (they fold up into capris)

- Jeans

- Skirt (super CUTE skirt)

- Spandex (for the chub rub)

- Shorts (for sleeping)

Picture 16: Clothes! The idea is that all my tops can be worn with all my bottoms, but still maintain some variety in a small amount of options

- T-shirts - 1 blue (quick dry), 1 purple, 1 ivory and a little nicer

- Long sleeve shirts - 1 gray (bugs away), 1 white (quick dry)

- Tank tops (1 green, 1 white)

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Picture 17:

- Bras (3, all sports) (This is another way men have it a liiiiittle easier.)

- Socks (5 - 2 Smart Wool, 3 ankle)

- Undies (5 - 2 Exofficio, 3 quick dry)

Picture 18:

- Swimsuit

- Rash guard

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 Picture 19 & 20: Shoes!

- Hiking shoes

- Sandals for walking

- Flip flops (for showering)

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Picture 21:

- Hat

- Scarf (to add warmth or fashion or whatever)

Picture 22:

- Rain jacket (ScotteVest - lots of pockets!)

- Zip up sweatshirt

This is what I will be wearing on the day of travel.  Mostly, I chose the heavier things (rain jacket, jeans, hiking shoes, sweatshirt), while also something that's comfortable and easy to shed or put back on.  And I chose the white shirt because it hides my bloated belly that I inevitably get while flying.  I hear this is common.  Am I wrong?

One more thing that is not pictured here is my camera, because I was taking all the pictures with it.  I have the Panasonic Lumix TS5.

This is a really great little camera.  It is waterproof, freeze proof, shock proof, pressure resistant, dust proof, and has an anti-fog glass lens.  Besides all the great settings it has for cool pictures (including an underwater mode), it also has GPS (so it can label all your pictures by location AND date), it has WiFi and WiFi direct, so I can upload my pictures online OR (and this is the easiest way I have found) I can transfer them to my tablet even when I don't have internet.  I also found the countdown feature, so my camera is counting down the days to our trip departure day. :)

I have a hard case for my camera, as well as 3 batteries total and a screen cleaner, and a floating device for when we're snorkeling.

So that's it!  This is what I will be wearing on the plane - the heaviest stuff.  And all of this is all I will have for two months.

I know this is a lot of stuff... but other people's lists were so helpful, so hopefully this will help someone else as they try to simplify their packing list.  Truthfully, I'm really looking forward to having so few options for clothes.  I'll just have to wear what I have, and I can't take more than I can carry.  So this is it. :)

Our next blog will come from somewhere in South America.  Probably Santiago, Chile.  That's pretty awesome.