Early lessons

As a traveller, well, let's be honest, as a human, I'm a weird tension between being detail-oriented and flying by the seat of my pants. So, though, I've planned for this adventure, I've discovered I've made some good choices and some less than good choices already.

Since all my flights will require me to check my smaller, international sized carry-on bag due to weight, it may not have been the right bag to bring on this trip. Right before I left, I mentioned to friends that perhaps I should switch to a slightly larger bag to reduce the weight of what I carried around an airport before flying out. I didn't. I was wrong. I found myself struggling with my bulky backpack and over-stuffed daypack. So now I'm in Ecuador trying to figure out how to pivot. It will likely be the theme of this trip. I thought about buying a bigger bag and shipping my carry-on bag back to the states along with a few items I don't think I really need after all. I thought about getting a duffle bag for my check-in and keeping my carry-on. Or maybe use the duffle as the carry-on and check the heavy stuff in the hard-shelled Delsey. I tried to find the right solution and in the end I bought a $20 duffle which once I started packing, had a questionable zipper. It did ok from Ecuador to Argentina but is definitely not my final solution.

Speaking of pivoting, Ecuador is in the midst of daily blackouts due to drought. So the Goal Zero Nomad 10 portable solar charger I brought with me has already been put to use. As has the Kizen solar camping lantern. It's been really helpful but I noticed that my friends have an even better choice, the LuminAID, which I may switch to along the way. It's lighter and brighter. Today the black outs are from 10am-2pm and then again from 6 pm to midnight. Note to self: make sure the light switch is off in the bedroom otherwise you'll have an unpleasant surprise at midnight!

More lessons are coming but my biggest takeaway is that I definitely need to figure out a better way to be organized.