I don't have anything to wear!

As you might understand, this post is about packing. The title might be a bit misleading, though. The problem isn't that I haven't got anything to wear, it's the opposite! I have way too much clothes and gear to bring everything, and the most difficult thing so far has been to decide what to bring. I could bring my largest backpack and fill it to the brim, but since I have to carry everything around for several months, I figured I'd be better off with a bit less.

 Experienced backpackers might do with a 30- or 40l backpack, but since I never have done anything like this before, I thought Ì'd play it safe and bring a large bag, my Norrøna 80l. This is quite large when backpacking, but its comfortable to carry, and easy to tighten to reduce the volume. Besides, I have to check it in when flying anyways, and it's always nice to have room for some souvenirs.

When packing for a trip like this, there's one golden rule; "find everything that you think you need, and bring half of it". This I did, but it was rather hard. If I had been going to Asia to spend the months surfing and chillin' at the beach it would have been okay, but I'm not. On this trip I'm going to do quite a lot of different stuff, everything from hiking in the mountains 3- 4000m above sea level , to dive in the Carribbean. I made it easier for myself by not going to Peru and the Andes, but I still need clothes for many situations. Some things are easily bought locally, but not everything. After a lot of thinking, trying and failing,  I ended up with a half full, 12kg backpack containing the following items:

- 1 80l backpack - 1 20l daypack - transport net for the backpack - 1 pair of trekking shoes - 1 pair of sandals - 3 t-shirts - 1 long sleeved shirt - 2 pair of shorts - 1 pair of light pants - 1 pair of swimming trunks - 4 pairs of underwear and socks - 1 fleece - 1 super light rainjacket - 1 caps

- Toileteries, sunscreen ++ - small first-aid kit - multitool - mosquito-net - silk-sleeper - microfiber towel - guide book / spanish dictionary - map - passport and important documents - sunglasses  - water bottle - a padlock - money belt - Ipod - Kindle - Camera - Tablet

 I know I could have skipped a couple of things more as well, the tablet for example, but I figured that the pros outweighs the cons. With the tablet I'll be able to blog, skype and buy tickets much easier, and I'll be able to watch movies, store pictures and stuff as well.

Most of the stuff I already had, and some I got for christmas. Still, I had to buy quite a few things, so this last week I've been all over the place comparing prices, buying stuff and despairing on how much money I had to spend. The insurance was partly covered by my student account in the bank, but I still had to pay almost 3000kr for the last two months. . It's a bit depressing knowing I've spent almost 20% of my budget on the plane ticket to Guatemala, gear, vaccines and insurance, but It's necessary. After all, it would suck if I got malaria just because I didn't pay for the pills. And the next time I'm going on a trip like this, I will know more what to bring and what not.

Anyways, now I'm finally done with all the packing and all the preparations, so now I'm off to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a looong day.

Ciao!

(if you think the images are small, just click on them, and you'll enter "slideshow-mode"')

What I'll be wearing for the next five months....

My clothes after being packed.

All of my cables and adapters

Before...

and after. All ready to go!