Packing

I am NOT a light packer. For evidence, check last summer’s blog where I filled a minivan to road trip around the country. So this summer’s goal to squeeze everything into a backpack was a daunting task.

Why not just pack in a rolling bag? Well, there’s the trek through the jungle, the multi-day tour across the salt flats in an SUV, and the Island of the Sun where, if we are lucky, a donkey may help us carry our belongings up the mountain to our hotel.

The challenge is compounded by weather. It is winter there, so clothes I’ll wear are thicker. Most days look like they’ll be in the high 50s and low 60s with night time temperatures in the high 30s. There are our days in the jungle where it will feel closer to the Alabama summers I’m accustomed to and nights on the salt flats that could dip below 0.

It is amazing how packing concerns have changed as I have aged. Sure, clothes have always been essential. As a child, Polly Pockets took up the rest of the room. CDs took up most of my extra space as a teenager. In my 20s, I feel it was things to entertain me like games and detailed coloring books. Now, my main concern beyond clothes is medications and chargers. I know, this not only shows my age but also how much fun I am!

There was lots of organizing, carefully planned layers, trips around town looking for the tiniest serving of the item I needed and lots of squishing, but it worked. Now, should I find lots of treasures along the way, I’m not opposed to shipping a box home, and I go knowing that this is a very real possibility.

So, with all of that being said, when all of my photos have me in the same outfit, don’t judge me. And be thankful you can’t smell photos!