So much to do to get ready for this trip. It would seem that with all of my travelling that the preparations would get easier, but each trip is unique. For this one, I have to deal with temperatures ranging from the upper 30s to the upper 80s, as well as "city" clothes for London and Capetown and "safari" clothes for the bush, and packing them all into the provided duffle bag and a carry one and the combined weight can not exceed 44 pounds. For the past week I've been adding and subtracting clothes, and one day I actually loaded the items into the duffle and weighed it. I'm not sure that it was a good thing when the scales indicated that it weighed just about 25 pounds. Now, I am having to resist the temptation to take more stuff. One way I'm dealing with the weight limitations is my new travel vest. It actually has 19 pockets and can hold a lot of things that are usually in my carry-on. There is a large pocket across the back that can hold my Netbook computer, but it is very uncomfortable to try to sit with computer in the middle of my back. There is a pocket for travel documents, and once that will hold a water bottle, another one for glasses (complete with a polishing cloth. The pocket for a digital camera also has a pouch for memory cards and there are two pockets that will accomodate a smart phone with see-through touch friendly covers, and a special system for running the earbuds up the back and through the collar. It is all very organized, but I may have to make a diagram to track whre I have stashed things.
Stashing things has a special importance since I need US dollars for Botswanna, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, and other than Victoria Falls, we won't have access to ATMs
. Also, it must all be small bills and nothing earlier than 2000 or worn, wrinkled or torn. When I visited my local bank and asked for a lot of m,oney in new, small bills I got a lot of funny looks until I explained my travel plans. Then they were very helpful and the next day I was able to pick up several stacks of money. Most of it is managable except the $100 in $1 bills. Now most of it is tucked awy in the hidden pockets of my travel vest. It will be interesting seeing what happens at airport security.
One other issue is that Benedryl is illegal in Zimbabwe, so I've had to go through my travel medicine containers and remove the little pink Benedryl tablets and also the Tylanol PM (since it contains the benedryl drug) just to be on the safe side. I'm not sure why it is illegal, but I've heard that Zimbabwe jails are not a lot of fun.
This trip will be different from my previous blogs since while I'm in the bush there will be no internet and very little cell phone access, so will I will try to journal regularly, the blog posts will occur while I'm in Johannesburg, Victoria Falls or Capetown. With just over 24 hours before departure, I still have lots to do. So I better get this posted and get back to work.
One Day To Go
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Columbia, Maryland, United States
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2025-02-06