What to pack…

After spending countless hours surfing the net, reading forums and blogs, we are finally ready to pack our bags. “Travel light”… we’ve seen that phrase a million times, but what is light? When you plan on living out of a backpack for at least a year.

Here is our best attempt at a packing list. We’ll let you know how it pans out! We picked mostly light weight and quick drying materials. The idea being we can wash things in the evening and they will be dry by morning. No jeans (gasp!)…   They are heavy, hot, and slow drying.

Ben:
2 pairs of quick-dry running pants
1 pair of swim shorts
6 pairs of socks
6 pairs of underwear
1 long sleeve quick-dry shirt
2 short sleeve quick-dry shirts
1 regular tshirt
1 pull over fleece
1 water resistant/windbraking jacket
1 onesie (for cold nights, hostels and hotels in SA are short on blanets)
a leatherman
a ultraportable laptop (plus power source)
iPod (plus power source)
kindle (plus power source)
camera (plus power source)
universal outlet adapter (shared)
international cell phone
medical kit (antibiotic cream and wipes, painkillers, antibiotics, hand sanitizer, band aids, vitamins, diarrhea blocker,  laxatives, cold medicine)
personal hygenie items (shared: shampoo, conditioner, cleaner, toothpaste, cotton swabs)
quick drying super absorbing towel
sleeping bag liner
pillow case (to use as a dirty laundry bag, general sack to carry things, or stuffed with clothes to use as a pillow)
toilet paper (because you never know)
mini flash light (shared)
batteries (shared)
calculator (to keep track of what we were spending in US Dollars)
flip flops – for hostel showers
birkenstocks or sandels with hard soles for walking around in
tennis shoes for trekking
sun block and chap stick (shared)
sunglasses
bandanas
umbrella (shared)
travel guides (shared)
pad locks for locking up pack
travel laundry soap and laundry line (shared)
money belt for passport, credit cards, money
notebook and pen for keep track thoughts and money spent

Ben packed everything into a 40L travel pack

Leah:
Same as above minus the leatherman and onesie. With the addition of a couple sundresses, basic makeup kit, and some additional feminine necessities and medication.
I also brought more underwear since hey there are small and a head scarf.

I have a daypack but have yet to use it since I have a money belt and pockets, but it come in handy when we need to go to cafes to use the internet and will need the pack to carry our laptops in.

A great website that helped us out a bunch was: http://www.travelindependent.info/whattopack.htm#Essential%20clothing

Travel Suggestions: Put all bottles like shampoo, moisturizer, toothpaste into zip lock baggies incase something explodes. Also pills like vitamins and painkillers take up less room in zip lock baggies verses bottles. It is also wise roll up your clothes, do not fold them, so they take up less space in your pack.

Leah packed everything in a 85 L pack, room to spare.

We also photo-copied important documents and put them on google docs: Copies of our birth certificates, passports, drivers licenses, social security cards, any travel insurance documents, and personal letters, etc.

Important before you leave! Get all your vaccinations, visas to countries that require them in advance (like Brazil), and travelers insurance.

Since we are traveling indefinitely we only have  a general idea of where we want to visit and booked hostels and had places to stay only 3 weeks out. We plan on booking and planning as we go.

And remember if you forgot it!!!! Buy it!!!! It’s probably cheaper to get it on the road anyways.

Happy Travels! =)