Packed Up Good
Ola! Our long awaited, 8-month trip finally took fruition yesterday (yes, September11th)! Our flight on Air Canada from Toronto to Bogota, Columbia was actaully 1/2 hour quicker than the 5 hours expected due to strong tail winds helping us out. Luckily, no turbulence, a seat with lots of legroom, and an abundance of personal viewing options (a novelty for us, since we have become accustomed to flying on charter flights). After a quick, one-hour transit, we were on our way on Avianca Airlines for the 1 hr 10 min flight to Quito, Ecuador. We arrived @ midnight to 12 degree C temperatures but awoke this morning at 7:30 a.m. to clear, sunny skies and 24 degree temperatures.
We are staying at a really neat spot, “The Magic Bean” with a terrific restaurant (with outdoor patio) and spacious rooms upstairs. For $30, we get a large room, private bath, hot water, with breakfast and Wi-Fi included 🙂 I enjoyed a tasty ham/cheese omlette and creamy coffee “with milk” this a.m. I’m now enjoying some Chilean wine as I type this blog on the outdoor patio, listening to a female Spanish pop singer.
Our first item of business this a.m. was going to the “Happy Gringo” travel agency. We booked two “budget-busters”: a Sunday – Sunday flight (2.5 hrs) to the Galapagos Islands. We will be on a 16 passenger boat called “Monserrat I” from Sunday – Thursday, then spending a few days on our own, exploring a couple of the islands. We already met a lady from Sydney who will be on the same boat as us – she will be an excellent source of knowledge since she has just spent @ 4 months traveling from Argentina north to Ecuador. Our second splurge is a 5 day stay at the extremely remote “Kalawi Lodge” in the very southeastern area of Ecuador. The nearest indigenous village is a 10 day walk and there are some arduous jungle treks through barely cleared paths which we plan to hike – finally, the amazon experience I have always been waiting for! We can “camp” overnight too….I can just hear all the night creatures now!
Tomorrow, we are off to the famous Otavalo market. We plan on taking the local bus ($2.50) for the 1.5 hour ride north. Somehow, I am going to have to resist the urge and splurge of market shopping! Which brings me back to my blog title, “Packed Up Good” (after my horse Jacked Up Good). My backpack weighed in at 22.5 lbs and my day pack weighed 9 lbs for a grand total of 31.5 lbs. Fred’s luggage (on wheels) weighed in at 39 lbs. For those who have asked me how to pack for 8 months, here are my contents:
- Asolo 70L backpack with detachable daypack
- Lightweight silk sleep liner
- travel quick-dry towel
- mosquito net protected with deet
- umbrella
- small flashlight
CLOTHING
- 3 pairs of North Face/Royal Robbins zip off pants with lots of zippered pockets (tan, grey, brown) – wore a pair on the flight – all are wick-free, quick-drying, and wrinkle-free
- 6 short sleeved & 2 long sleeved North Face tops (all wick-free, quick-drying, wrinkle-free)
- 5 pairs of lightweight socks
- 10 pairs of superlight underwear
- Nike splashpants (for extra warmth or rain protection)
- North Face zip up lightweight sweater
- North Face “Primaloft” insulated jacket
- 2 swimsuits
- Roots winter toque
- SSG Thinsulate gloves
- Croc sandals
- Hiking Sandals
- Hiking Shoes
ELECTRONICS
- Asus Eee PC 900 Series
- one 2GB USB key
- Canon Powershot A700 6.0 megaapixel camera
- 3 flash cards for camera (one 1GB and two 2GB)
- extra “AA” batteries for camera
MEDICINE
- Advil
- Tylenol regular strength
- Gravol (for rough boat transport)
- Deet bug spray
- 175 Malerone pills (anti-malarial pills)
- Neosporin
OTHER:
- toiletries
- chapstick
- SPF 45, SPF 30, SPF 8
- Footprints Guidebook – Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
- Lonely Planet – Chile
- Skip Bo card game
- deck of cards (can’t go anywhere without them!)
- 2 pens
- address book
- photo of Mom and Dad
- 2 small packages of Kleenex
- sunglasses
- wristwatch
- alarm clock
- Swiss Army knife
- FLAT STANLEY (if you really must know, check out www.flatstanley.com)
As you can see, there is not much room left for souveniers. It’s a good thing I’m over the “knick-knack” stage. Our main momentos will be our photos.
Until next time,
Lisa n Fred
Tags: Travel
frednlisa
What??, no Metropolitan hat??
Enjoy you trip
Ola Keith & Jacqui!
Of course I have my Metropolitan Home Comfort Solutions baseball cap! The only reason I forgot to mention it was because it was on top of my head! Congratulations Team Metropolitan on our Amateur Team Tournament Championship!!!