The Africa Journals, Ch. 2, The Greatest Purge

The Africa Journals

Chapter 2

The Greatest Purge

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. – Susan Heller

Africa would be my seventh continent in as many years.   I had this packing thing down to a fine art.

I spread a sheet over the bed the guest room and starting selecting things I would take.   Clothing I hung in the closet.   Trying on that clothing eliminated many items before they even saw the inside of a suitcase.  

Weight (luggage weight, not my weight) cut down the number even more.  We had several flights within Africa with a 44 lb. maximum weight for one checked bag, and 17 lbs. for one hand carry.

 Melting icefalls crashing to the highway.

Then I put all the accessories on the sheet—travel umbrella, waterproof hiking boots, lightweight camera tripod, small binoculars, a few other items,  and something I debated several times a day—a water treatment gadget.

I could have left all of those at home.   The electronics filled more room.

I also had a new passport wallet, the kind that prevents illegal scanning of your passport and credit cards.   It went in and out of the suitcase numerous times and it would lead to 24 hours of sheer terror soon.

I added; I purged.   I replaced; I purged again.  Eventually, the night before my departure, I made my final, brutal decisions.   My suitcase weighed 41 lbs., and my hand-carry was 15.  Abetting me in this was my new Scottevest travel vest with a gazillion interior pockets.   If need be, the  heavy stuff like my Surface Pro computer and Kindle Fire could be carried in the vest pockets and would keep my bags from being overweight.

And off I went, all the way to Anchorage where I overnighted in a motel after doing a few necessary chores.   The next morning, my truck was covered in ice.   Good day to leave Alaska with its ridiculous non-winter.

Outta there on an Alaska Airlines jet.