Well, here we
go!! Our adventure is about to begin!!
One year of
talking and planning has finally come to fruition. And while we still don’t have an exact idea of where we’re
going or what we’re doing, we’re still so excited.
Our first stop
en route to South Africa is London.
We decided to stop there for a few days so we could make a pit stop to
visit some friends who live in Europe, and also to break up the flight and deal
with our jet lag a little better.
After 2 days in London, we are flying to Barcelona to visit
the aforementioned friends for a little vino and tapas. We’ll spend about 3 days there, then fly back to London to
set ourselves up for our flight to Johannesburg.
Once we get to
Johannesburg, we’ll be spending a few days with another set of friends we met in the islands before
setting off once again on a plane to Zambia. After Zambia, we’ll drive west through Namibia and
eventually work our way south back into South Africa.
Here’s the
sticky point: we’ll be going through various countries, climates and
conditions. And we’ll be gone
roughly six weeks. And we’ll be
toting our stuff with us every few days to our next destination. Which means since I didn’t make enough
salary this year to hire a porter to travel with us, I’d better learn how to
pack light.
And so, the
challenge begins. One girl, six
weeks, and one duffel bag to carry it all. Not to mention the fact that in Barcelona, the weather will
be summery. In Johannesburg and
Cape Town, it will be wintery. In
Zambia and Namibia, it will be summery during the day, and wintery during the
night. And dusty. Very VERY dusty. We’ll most likely have limited access
to laundry, and therefore will need to pack accordingly so we can “rotate”
clothes and such. Oh, and factor
in the fact that every now and again we’ll gain Internet access, and so we’ll need
want internet from time to time to check in update our Facebook
status, not to mention update our blog with stories and photos. Also, I have a nice, pretty, shiny new
toy, my Nikon D90 SLR camera that I want to play with while I’m traveling so I
have to pack that too. Oh yeah, I
also MUST have a second pair of shoes to wear when we “go out” at night,
right? Hmmm, some gym clothes, for
that spa gym we’ll encounter, and definitely, DEFINITELY my travel journal and
some nice shampoo so I don’t have to rely on that cheap hotel stuff.
Okay, so in
looking at this list, I have 6 weeks of winter AND summer clothes I need to
pack, a laptop, a camera, extra shoes, shampoo, a travel journal, my DLSR For
Dummies book, my Kindle, some odds n’ ends for this n’ that, and my travel
pillow. All in one duffel bag. Hmmmm…
As it turns
out, I managed to be a little smart about my packing so I could accommodate my
laptop, camera and shampoo needs.
3 pairs of shorts, 4 tshirts, 5 long-sleeved shirts (including one “go
out” shirt), a pair of jeans, 2 pairs of khaki-type safari pants (one also
doubles as a pair of shorts-BONUS!), 7 pairs of socks, one pair of wooly warm
shoes for those cold nights, some running shoes for our walks, a pair of casual
shoes for my “go out” times (flats, easy to pack), 2 fleece jackets (1 long
sleeved, one sleeveless) and some pajama pants.
ALL IN ONE
CARRYON DUFFEL BAG.
I compromised,
and packed a backpack with my laptop, camera, DLSR For Dummies book, my kindle
and all the various chargers for each item (they REALLY need to work in a new
universal charger system for all these gadgets!!). I managed to find a couple of 3oz shampoo bottles and filled
up my precious fancy shampoo so that it should last me at least half the time
I’m there, and minimized my toiletries to bring only the “necessary” items:
stain remover, Kleenex, Qtips, nail clippers, cold/sinus meds, Pepto Bismol,
facewash, spare razors, and some makeup…
…(hey, a girl’s
gotta draw the “roughing it” line SOMEWHERE!!!)
 |
| Everything I need (?) for 6 weeks, tucked nicely away in 2 little bags... |
Anyway, when it
was all said and done, I managed to whittle down my original overstuffed duffel
bag into a respectable and even not-so-heavy carryon bag…it only weighed 29
pounds! My backpack, while heavy
with the laptop and camera, is also not horrible. I have to admit, I’m a little proud of myself!!
Now, let’s just
see if I packed right…
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