Packing

One of the most frequent questions that we were asked since we decided to embark on our travels was “How do you pack for such a long journey?”

Surprisingly, that aspect of our trip was quite straightforward. We decided all of the things that we thought we would need and then discarded half of them! And the discipline for travelling light is self enforcing: If you take it - you have to carry it – and that would probably mean entire days of hiking with all of our possessions strapped to our back.

With hindsight the mistake I made was to buy a rucksack with too much capacity. I was advised to opt for a 70 litre pack but in true male testosterone fuelled fashion, I decided that I needed a bigger one and bought a 90 litre pack: Consequently, I had more space than I needed and had to keep resisting the temptation to 'pack another sweater, just in case the two I had weren't warm enough' or 'pack another pair of socks just in case we got invited to a party where all the men had to wear yellow football socks'. Unlikely.

So after just two hours we were ready to go: Our packing list was as follows:

Essentials: 3 t-shirts, 3 tops, walking trousers, jeans, trainers, flip flops, walking boots, 2 pairs thermal underwear, waterproof coat, waterproof trousers, 5 pairs pants, 5 pairs socks, fleece, beanie, compass, camera, sun protection, toiletries (must haves only, so Karen's glittery eye make up went back in the cupboard!! ), sleeping bag, stuff sack pillow, first-aid kit, tickets, passports, visas, & money

Luxuries: Swiss army knife (my favourite thing!), sunglasses, torch, cutlery (titanium no less!), pack of cards, bandanna, notebook computer (so that we can blog en-route), mobile phones, reading books, travel guides, travel scrabble (thanks Alison!) & gifts for the people we meet on our travels (whisky and chocolates).