Wow! I can't believe I already leave two days from now! I did some last minute shopping for this trip. You know, last minute toiletries and the like. I also contacted the friends I'm crashing with to see what they needed from the U.S. of A. I don't have very much time left so speak now, or forever hold your peace, peoople! This travel journal thing is pretty nifty! Why wasn't this available when I did my other epic trips like the Trans-Siberian or Cuba. Hell, for the Cuba trip we didn't even have digital cameras, let alone wifi or smartphones!
Right now I have to sift through my clothes to see what I'll be taking in my backpack. We go a long way, my backpack and I. I bought it to go on the Trans-Siberian and it's gone with me to many, many places after that. Sometimes I feel like trading it for a new one. One with a side-loading compartment because this top-loading stuff drives me absolutely bananas! Why, oh why does anything you need seem to ALWAYS find itself at the bottom of the bag???
I'm going to Iceland, Norway and Italy. Three very different places with very different weather, so I have to be prepared for cold, rain, wind, sun, sand, water... you name it! I also can't forget good walking or hiking shoes. I'm seriously debating whether or not I want to take shoes for going out. They take up valuable bag real estate and I almost always end up not using them. The only place where I'm thinking of doing anything remotely clubby is Reykjavík and I hear people get dressed to the nines... to go barhopping and eat a hot dog? "When in Rome..." I guess!
I also just bought myself some travel insurance. I previously only did that when I've been required to (when applying for visas, for example), but I'm not an invincible young buck anymore and I think $75 goes a long way in avoiding thousands of dollars in unexpected medical expenses. I'm hoping for this insurance policy to be a complete waste of money. :-)
Time to go look for batteries, adapters, extension cords, USB cables, camera, padlock, bag lock...
See you real soon!
Osvaldo
