We know the indeterminate amount of time is months and we know that we will mostly be in warm to hot climates (except for the mountain climbing).
We decided to use our carry-on TravelPro luggage (a medium sized carry-on in the United States). I debated about the issue that in many places in Africa, we would encounter dirt paths or very uneven surfaces and wouldn’t be able to roll the suitcase, but we also had to bring backpacks that we could use mountain climbing for our personal items, so taking a carry-on suitcase and a 26 liter backpack for me and a 30 liter backpack for Mike made the most sense. So far it hasn’t been too onerous carrying the suitcases when necessary. They weigh a little over 25 pounds, each.
And the old adage of “you can buy what you need where you go”, doesn’t hold up in Africa – especially in the area of electronics. Clothing-wise, I’m not sure where I would go if I needed to buy a bathing suit. I’ve seen bras, shirts, dresses but no bathing suits and nothing made of Merino wool (quick drying), or other more modern fabrics.
I bought very little in the way of clothes for the trip – used mostly what I already had. I replaced my worn out running and walking shoes. I bought 2 tops, 1 pair of shorts and 1 bathing suit (replacing a worn out one).
There are 2 somewhat surprising things I learned since we’ve been away for ~ 1 month.
- Since we were getting rid of “everything” and only keeping the must-keep items for when we’re done traveling, I let most of my clothes go and was wearing only what I was taking for the last couple of weeks before we left. I had to remind myself that although I kept wearing the same things and didn’t have very much to choose from, I needed to adapt. And it freed me from fretting about clothing choices. Clothes have never been super important to me and this phase forced me to stop caring about what I was wearing – clothes became more functional and efficient choices rather than aesthetic choices.
- The other more interesting insight is that many of the clothes and most of the earrings I bought on the trip had some link to loved ones that makes me smile when I wear the clothes/earrings. The pair of earrings I admired in Scotland that my ex-mother-in-law surprised me with; Pairs of earrings given to me by my children; Earrings given to me by Pat (best neighbor and friend); Kuhl shorts that my friend Annette recommended; Swiss shirt that was given to me by Danouk and Bernard for my wedding gift; and really surprisingly, a red neglige that my aunt Biz bought me decades ago – although it is fraying, it is a memory of her that arises when I wear it. It feels like I am connected more to my loved ones with the choices I made of what to bring.
Medicine
The first consideration was medications. I take a daily tablet for managing my slightly high blood pressure. And we need to take malaria medicine. Getting a 9-12 month supply of those took work and persistence. And I had a medical insurance coverage change to deal with once I retired. Getting this done in advance is important due to all the different rules that health insurance applies about refills or extended travel. On top of those, we got many different preventative medicines in case of inflammation, flu, Covid, diarrhea, nausea (is this beginning to sound like the side effects of a medication ad?).
Electronics
After medications, the next important aspect is electronics to be able to stay in touch with the world, connect with family and loved ones, take photos, see animals on safari and write about our adventures.
Mike researched the decision between a small laptop and a tablet. We ended up both getting a Samsung tablet with a case that has a keyboard. And right before the trip, Mike got a mouse for the tablet. I thought I would have a hard time adjusting to a tablet only, but it is working out great! Easy to carry, fast to charge, nice screen and easy for app access. We need WiFi for the tablets to do anything online, which isn’t always available here in Africa, but can hotspot using our phones if we are desperate for WiFi. I **think** the tablet is also pretty good for manipulating photos – editing, compressing, storing – but so far, Mike is the one who knows the secret incantations to get that part working well. We also both got iPhone 16 phones with a Verizon international call and data plan. We can call between USA and anywhere without extra charges but it costs more if we call between two foreign countries (which isn’t going to be common). We both embraced WhatsApp since it is the platform of choice in most foreign countries. Have used it a good deal since we’ve been in Africa.
Here is the inventory of electronics we have:
- Two Samsung tablets with cases that have a built in keyboard
- Bluetooth mouse
- Two Bluetooth ear buds
- Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones
- Two iPhone 16’s with International data and calling plan
- Fire Stick for streaming movies and TV shows
- Two charging blocks for when we don’t have access to electricity (these are slim and compact)
- Adapters & mega-charging “station” with lots of ports and a 6 foot cord – USB and USB-C and ones that take adapters
- 1 very good pair of binoculars and 1 monocular (very small)
- Two headlamps
Eyewear, Toiletries
Before leaving we both went for annual checkups – doctor, dentist, optometrist, dermatologist. It is important to have the right eyewear and to get backup pairs of eyeglasses. I also use contact lenses for running and need enough 30-day contact lenses for using them ½ time. I only brought one pair of sunglasses and the frame broke about 2 weeks into our trip. The lodge we were staying at fixed them up with some glue and so far they have stayed intact. I will probably need to replace those sometime further into the trip.
Here is the inventory of my toiletry kit:
- Hair bands, hair pins, small hair brush
- Three toothbrushes & some small toothpastes & dental tape
- Mouthguard when sleeping
- Body lotion
- Mascara and vaseline for removing mascara
- Chap stick
- Fingernail scissors and clippers
- Miniature sewing kit
- Deodorant
- Contact lens solution and saline drops
- Small shampoos
All of the contents had to be small, so we will run out of some of these items and need some more, eventually.
Clothes!!!
Last but not least are what clothes and how many to bring
- Shoes (these are the hardest to figure out, aren’t they – they take up a lot of space!)
- Altra trail running shoes that I use for mountain climbing, hiking, and longer walking days
- Skechers walking shoes
- Water shoes that are light and are wearable for short walks
- Outerwear – fleece jacket, rain jacket, sun hoodie
- the fleece jacket is more for the mountains but could be handy in a coolish area
- Tops
- 3 long sleeves, very lightweight; one Merino wool shirt that Danouk and Bernard bought for me as a wedding present. So I think about them hugging me everytime I wear it
- 4 short or no sleeve shirts, one is Merino wool
- Bottoms
- convertible pair of pants – zipper off the bottom legs and they are shorts
- Kuhl shorts
- Skort (skirt over shorts) that Pat gave me
- One pair leggings
- One pair of jeans
- Misc.
- Prana dress
- 4 pair of underwear
- running shorts and running shirt, 2 working-out bras
- regular bra
- 3 pair of running socks
- Tankini swimsuit
- small, compact nightgown and robe
- swim goggles
- miniature towel
- bandanna
- earrings
- Packing Cubes – they compress your clothes, giving you more room in your suitcase. I use one “large” size one for bottoms and one “medium” size for tops and one shoe size for the water shoes, swim goggles, kayak gloves and a belt.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that climbing tall mountains requires clothes for sub-freezing weather and this definitely complicated things for us. We decided to take a duffle bag with cold weather clothing that we would try to leave somewhere when we weren’t in need of it. And the clothes we chose to bring, had to be expendable, i.e. we would donate them instead of take them home, once we were finished with them. Anything else we needed, we would rent. This worked out fine for our Mount Kilimanjaro climb and our duffle bag is waiting for us at a hotel in Dar es Salaam. It has my mountain boots, ski pants, camp booties, thermal shirt and pants, warm beanie and a neck buff. I had to rent a down jacket, gloves and rain pants.
Entertainment besides electronics
- One small book that Kathy gave me “Around the World in 80 Days” by Jules Verne; I had read it before, a long time ago. When reading it again in our tent on Mt. Kilimanjaro, it struck me that Phineas Fogg had the opposite constraints than us: He had limited time and lots of money. We have unlimited time but are being frugal about money so it will last to see the entire world (or before we get tired of being nomads). Fun book – ❤️ Love is the answer! 😉
- Some physical crossword puzzles – a small book of NY Times Stress Free crosswords. What does that mean stress-free? Still trying to figure that out but trying not to stress about it…
- Some scrap paper to use for solving the weekly Sunday NPR puzzle and for keeping score when we play cards.
- 3 decks of playing cards – 2 normal ones (with jokers) and 1 pinochle deck
- games we regularly play: Frustration, Pinochle, Cribbage and Rummy
There you go! The nitty gritty of how we packed. And I finally learned the special incantations from Mike for adding photos to my posts!