Below you will find my (surprisingly long) packing list. Of course, I worked through my own various lists during the preparation, as well as some lists from the internet, but in the end, everyone has to decide for themselves what is important enough to bring. Space and weight are very limited, but this time not due to airline regulations but simply because I have to carry everything with me. Sometimes even over long distances.
As always, I procrastinated packing until the last moment so that it wouldn't get boring at the last minute. And also because I had a lot of respect for it. As a perfectionist, I naturally want to be prepared for all cases, but unfortunately, this is simply impossible for such a diverse journey over such a long period of time. So I had to make compromises. The hardest part for me was the clothing. In the end, I mainly took functional clothing with me because it stinks less, repels dirt, is light, and dries quickly. For the city, I also packed an old pair of jeans, a nice t-shirt, and a plain black long sleeve. (Addition: In Madrid, I also added black jeans in case you want to go out for a nice meal, etc.)
So two days before departure, I piled everything on my bed and started checking off and adding to my list. For the night, the pile was quickly stacked in a box so that I could sleep in my bed again. Here came the first shock: the box was bigger than the backpack and overflowed on top. The next day, everything was neatly placed back on the bed and had to be sorted out again. It was hard. But in the end, everything somehow fit in.
For the clothes, I found compression bags that make everything a bit more compact and also protect against water. I transferred most of the care products to smaller containers to save space. I'll just fill them up again and again.
A final check on the scale revealed that the large backpack weighs about 15 kilograms and the small one weighs just under 4 kilograms. More than I had hoped, but my travel backpack is already very heavy at 3.2 kilograms. Of course, there are now lighter, more modern versions, but that was too expensive for me.
I'm very curious to see how the contents of my backpack will change over time. Here we go!
Equipment:
Large backpack (60+10 liters), rain cover 2x small foldable backpack Inflatable pillow Headlamp Sleeping bag for huts Clothesline with clothespins Tupperware
Sony a37 camera, 35mm lens, 2x battery, charger SD cards (2x 64GB, 1x 16GB) Disposable waterproof analog camera Mini tripod eBook reader Power bank Notebook, pen Lonely Planet South America travel guide
Care & Health:
Travel laundry detergent Large & small towel Washcloth Electric toothbrush & normal toothbrush Toothpaste Hairbrush Organic & normal shampoo Conditioner Sunscreen SPF 50 After sun lotion Face cream
