true life planet

Lots of people seem to like these lists, so for all you travelers out there, or want-to eventually travel, here they are:

TOP 10 FAVORITE ITEMS I PACKED:

1. small daypack instead of enormous backpack/bag: when you see people trudging around with enormous bags, that{s when you realize the meaning of the phrase less is more. It really is.

2. macabi skirts: I am such a believer in these skirts-for all the travel books and guides advice of women wearing more conservative clothes on the road, most backpackers I see are in tank tops and yoga pants or jeans. But my skirts are multi-use-they dry in 10 minutes and serve as towels too. They are a bit long and conservative..but I am a believer after being invited to a Mayan religious ceremony last month(the woman like my skirt!) and crossing the Honduran border on foot in one.

3. sunscreen:self explanatory. Besides, it’s ridiculously expensive in Central America

4. raincoat made from goretex

5. lightweight travel shirt thats kind of conservative-I keep it at the top of my bag, and slip it on when I need to for sun protection, for mosquito protection, for dealing with creepy guys.

6. silk sleepsack for dirty hotels: Also good for keeping the mosquitoes-or whatever they are -from biting me all night

7. vitamin c (emergenc-y packets) : good for long bus rides when you are really dehydrated

8. digital camera

9. nalgene bottle for water

10. a couple of pretty scarves/bandanas I brought and have used for everything you can imagine.

TOP TEN THINGS I HAVEN’T USED ONCE:

1. Rei travel clothesline

2. Most of my first aid kit I packed (except Neosporinand alcohol wipes)

3. jewelry: most of what i brought is too nice to travel in-even though I went for simple stuff, fake stuff is best-and anyway, cheap earrings abound

4. antibiotics, and just in case prescriptions

5. brought 3 pairs of socks, only need two

6. brought 1 too many shirts

7. book in English:not needed, lots of used book exchanges around

8. tons of underwear: really only need 4 pairs

9. makeup: not wearing too much

10. razors:um, sorry, not really that necessary after all.!

TOP TEN THINGS I’VE BOUGHT :

1. bright sarong scarf: It’s a blanket, tablecloth, scarf..and it’s really pretty, too. Breaks up the boring wardrobe

2. cheap plastic earrings always make a girl happy

3. maps, maps, maps

4. hot sauce(Guatemalan food is..bland, to me anyway)

5. salt and pepper

6. books in Spanish

7. garbage bags (good to line the inside of backpack when it’s raining)

8. peanut butter (you CAN live on it, actually-good for long bus rides)

9. some kind of cream people use here to put on mosquito bites, because I apparently have very sweet delectable blood, and have bites everywhere, no matter what I spray myself with

10. fireworks…always good to have a few packages of these with you!

gg

Next Route :

Tomarrow leave Copas Ruinas by bus to San Pedro Sula(should be there by 10 am).
Leave San Pedro Sula for Ceiba; then Ceiba to a little town on the coast for the night.
From there, take a little boat to the Pig Islands(no, sorry-apparently no pigs there-or at least not many); The Pig Islands are below the Bay Islands. They are very small, no tourists, and cheap. Apparently the island is run by women-we hear about a womens cooperatively run cheap hotel, so we plan on going there. The island apparently has crystal clear blue water, no mosquitoes….and no tourism infrastructure. Perfect!

Also, it is the only place in the world pink boa constrictors live. Hmmmm…!

Should be sleeping on the island tomarrow night, plan on being there for a few days before bussing thru the countryside of Honduras and along the coast back into Guatemala.

Next destination in Guatmala: I don’t know exactly yet! [read on]

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