Hello, all! Today was a day of preparation. We spent the day at home organizing and ironing out details. For example, suspending cell phone service, alerting credit cards that we're leaving the country, and making sure we have a bunch of cool travel apps on my iPod. But also, we packed our backpacks and made sure we had everything. So, here it comes, a detailed list of everything in my backpack that will live with me for the next six months, or, at least until it's done or broken.
In my backpack:
So this is what the innards of my backpack will look like at any given moment. Obviously, some of it will be on my person. Now, let's break it down:
These are pack it cubes by eagle creek. They are made of a super light weight material and they are translucent, so you can kind of see what's inside. But, let me show you what's inside:
These are all my clothes.
2 lightweight quick dry dresses (1 Patagonia, 1 random)
1 long underwear (Smartwool) shirt
2 pairs quick dry pants (1 North Face, 1 Exofficio)
1 short sleeved Patagonia merino wool shirt
1 long sleeved Patagonia merino wool shirt
1 convertible long/short sleeve Columbia shirt
1 Patagonia rain jacket (will also be used as windbreaker)
1 Exofficio undershirt
1 bikini
8 pair Patagonia quick dry underwear
2 bras (1 Patagonia, 1 Travelsmith)
1 sports bra (brand unknown)
8 pairs Smartwool quick dry socks
1 pair of Columbia shoes
1 pair of Teva sandals
That is all I'm bringing to wear. Since i had such a hard time finding information about ladies' undergarments for travel online, I'm going to show you just how seductive they can be:
So, here it is. I bought, wore, and returned so many bras and underwear to land with these. The Patagonia underwear is amazing. You can do anything in it. I've been using it at the gym and it stays put. They, also, dry really fast so I could, potentially, wash them in a sink and wear then shortly thereafter. Te he… The bras were difficult. I don't think there are enough options out there for travel bras that are quick dry and functional. But most of all, they need to be cuter. They are not sexy at all. Someone needs to get on top of that.
Then, there's my bathroom kit. All of the stuff on the right easily fits into the beautiful Eddie Bauer bag on the left. I'd give you a breakdown of what is in it, but I believe it is quite self explanatory. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask.
Make up? A topic of contention with many of my lady friends. This is all of my make up I will be bringing.
That is all. It may be too much and some may be tossed/donated along the way.
This is my fun stuff bag. It includes:
A journal (blue)
Deck of cards
Earbuds
iPod touch
Kindle
Sunglasses
dice
belt
headlamp
Cocoon travel sheets
Agenda
PacSafe purse/wallet with my important documents
We have prescriptions in a water tight bag, but I haven't shown those. If you would like to see our super cool medication organizer, for things like pills to combat malaria, Delhi belly, and altitude, see our earlier posts.
And that is my backpack's innards. It really was a lot of work to come to these decisions. If you have any questions at all, just throw them at me!