The time has come to pack that bag and mentally prepare yourself that it will become an extra body part for the foreseeable future. The numerous things you will do a lotttt are open it up, rummage around for what to wear, unpack/pack, close it and throw it about from shoulder to floor. What will make your life easier is to choose a backpack that is comfortable to carry and one that can take some battering along the way.
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- Hiking the ‘W trek’ – Torres del Paine
The idea of packing can be exciting as you know that your adventure is close, but the excitement tends to wear off quickly once you lay out all the things you want to take questioning how it will all fit into that what now seems like a tiny backpack. My mother’s advice would be to lay everything out on the floor and then split it in half, leaving one half at home – of course I never listened to this advice and my less ruthless approach would be to pack as much as you possibly want, making sure it doesn’t weigh more than 12kg; simple!
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Geyser at Sol de Manana – Salar de Uyuni
I had a belief that South America was a tropical continent and I would be in the sun all year round, therefore I had packed 1 pair of jeans, 1 hoody and no coat. In hindsight I should have done a quick google search before packing and I would’ve learned that there are numerous places in South America that you need trousers, a jumper, coat and even a hat & scarf for. All it took was for us to spend 1 week in Bolivia & Peru and we had purchased ourselves a coat and scarf!
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Now I’m not going to advise you of how many t-shirts or pairs of underwear to pack, that would be pointless and quite frankly a bit weird. I thought I would use this post to identify the top items that I thought were the most useful and I will definitely pack first in my future travels;
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What to include
- Luggage compartments
- Bumbag; hand sanitizer, tissues
- Padlock
- Travel towel
- Toiletries bag – I had numerous shampoo explosions in transit
- Sleeping bag liner
- Earphones splitter if travelling with someone
- Tablet to watch things on whilst sat on one of many buses
- Eye mask
- First aid kit; dioralyte, antiseptic wipes, painkillers, plasters, mosquito repellent
- Diary & pen
- Comfortable sandals/shoes as you will most likely walk 20k+ steps daily
- A bit of currency for all the countries you plan to travel as it makes life much easier when you first arrive somewhere
By including some/all of the above items, your passport, wallet and some clothes then you are ready to start the adventure of a lifetime!
