First up: Cape Town (& big feelings)
Well this week has been an interesting one! It’s been a whirlwind of events including my combined bon voyage and (very early) birthday party, my last day at work, packing up my Brooklyn apartment and moving things to storage, frantically packing and repacking my bags, and to trying to soak up these last couple of days of being with family and friends.
As a result, this week’s been one of mixed emotions - feelings of anxiety, exhilaration, sadness, excitement, gratitude, and just plain being scared. Throughout the past month, and this week especially, I’ve been reminding myself that all of these feelings are normal and as my friends like to remind me, if I wasn’t feeling anxious or scared about a big trip like this, then that’s when there’d be something for them to worry about!
I’m a champion at not dealing with “big emotions” and instead focusing on surface anxieties that are seemingly easier to manage. Here are just some of the more superficial anxieties that have been running through Dino May’s mind (this is what I call the May who goes through analysis paralysis):
Did I pack too little? Did I pack too much?
Both of these questions meant unpacking and repacking and re-rolling my clothes in different shapes, taking out and putting in new items, and consulting my Excel spreadsheet multiple times while Ugly Betty played in the background.
I’ve finally acknowledged that despite all the back and forth, packing and repacking, I will be packing more clothes than I normally would for a regular backpacking trip. During the past several trips I’ve regretted not packing more casual/nice clothes on non-trekking days to feel more “human” (aka not looking like a “backpacker” 24/7). Also I completely forgot how much space a sleeping bag & co (sleeping pad, pillow, liner) take up!
Conclusion: It’s not like I can’t just buy something if I really need it or discard something if it’s weighing me down! There’s no perfect way to pack for a year-long trip to abroad, though I’ll be keeping you posted on whether or not some items discarded/donated in favor of a lighter pack. Current weight is ~27 lbs not including my daypack but does include two large bottles of special contact solution. I did however do a last minute addition of a Smartwool hiking socks because I got panicked after reading REI’s1-2-3-4-5-6 rule for packing light:.
Is my backpack too big?
This happened very recently (two days ago!) and led to frantic and panicked audio messages to my cousin (thank you for letting me rant out loud). Keep in mind that I had done extensive research on backpacks yet the last minute jitters came on strong!
I felt so uncertain that I conducted a last minute dash to REI to consult with a product specialist (shoutout to Kevin) who helped reconfirm that I purchased the right size backpack. I should’ve trusted the May of three months ago rather than the May whose anticipatory anxiety is manifesting right at this moment.
Conclusion: The Osprey Aura AG 65L seems to be the right backpack for me. I was looking for a backpack that would work for a multi-day thru hike, be reservoir compatible, contain a separate sleeping bag compartment, include a rain cover, and have a comfortable yet sturdy harness. The Aura AG consistently came up as one of the best backpacks. It’s also available in the 50L (the size I used to have) so Dino May was trying to decide if she should exchange for the 50L instead a mere three days before flying out of the country.
Fun note: I decided to donate my previous backpacking backpack after a beautiful 8 year long relationship together across 5 continents. I purchased it way back during my GLOBE days in Hong Kong from a random mountaineering store!
Will my checked-in backpack make it through to Cape Town?
The anxiety was heightened when I found out that there is a strike going on at the Heathrow terminal where I’m laying over - welp.
Conclusion: All I can do is trust in the universe - this is entirely out of my control.
And the list continues - “what if, what if, what if?”. A friend and I were laughing over this recently as this is very much an ex-consultant mentality of trying to optimize for every single possible scenario, which is obviously impossible and unhelpful. That’s the inner perfectionist coming out that needs to be tamed!
^ How it feels like it’s going. Photo from the Polar Plunge in Antartica
So what’s up besides big feelings?
First up is Cape Town!
I’ll be flying into Cape Town with a couple of layovers (looking for those budget deals now that I have no income 😅). Keeping your fingers crossed for me that all goes smoothly!
I have several days in Cape Town to adjust to and get comfortable with this next chapter, but I’m also really excited to just explore the city. South Africa has been on my destination bucket list for a while but I’ll only be visiting Cape Town, at least this time around. I’ve had absolutely nothing planned because I’ve been so focused on getting to this point and planning the higher level things such as health insurance (very important lol) and personal finances. But I’m proud of myself for at least researching how to get from the airport to my hostel (in case you’re wondering, best option is Uber or taxi - the airport shuttle got shut down because of lack of ROI).
So far I’ve gotten some great recommendations from friends - thank you Jimmy, Eric, and Hein! If you have any recs or just want to send some well wishes, please share them below.
Bon voyage! 🤞
