I intended on being “on top of things” today and post about my packing (something I said I was going to do on Tuesday), but alas that is not going to happen. Even after doing a “packing dry run”, I still packed and repacked my bags several times today.
As I looked at each item and pondered whether I would need it or not, I always seemed to come up with “yes…I’ll most likely need this”. Of course, I know this is not true. I’m sure there will be a lot of items that I don’t use. That will be a good thing when it comes to the “first aide” type items that I packed.
I’ve also come to realize that this photography thing, can be burdensome. I seriously considered leaving my DSLR (and it’s accessories) at home and just taking my point and shoot underwater camera. I knew deep down that I’d have severe regrets if I did, so it made the cut.
One thing that didn’t make the cut…a couple of user manuals. My camera is a new model and I was afraid not to bring the user manual just in case. So, I downloaded the PDF user manuals to my iPad. I have no idea why I hadn’t thought of it earlier. In fact, I didn’t bring any books or magazines…they are all on my iPad. What a huge space safer.
I also didn’t bring my external hard drive to back my photos up. I will be downloading files to my laptop and iPad. And, will most likely keep them on the memory cards as well. Yes…I decided to bring both my laptop and iPad. If I find I don’t need them both, I’ll send one back with my parents from Belize.
In the end, my bag ended up weighing around 40 pounds. I’m sure some of you “epic travelers” may cringe. I consider it a victory that it was under the limit of 50 pounds. And, I’ll have the opportunity to purge items after Belize if I need to.
I promise that I will soon publish a post and photos of my packing adventures.