Packing List

What do the Boy Scouts say?  Always be prepared.  And that’s my motto too.  During preparations for our trip, I tried to think through every possible scenario that we may come across, from the truly disastrous, having our car stolen, to the ultimate ideal, carefree days lounging on some tropical beach, and everything in between.  In the end, I figure that it is better to bring something and not need it, than need something and not bring it. 

Sadly, this mentality rarely goes hand in hand with our other goal: light, comfortable traveling.  The truth is you could probably pack half as much stuff as we did and still be perfectly comfortable, especially considering that South America is not some barren, uninhabited wasteland, but in reality there are towns, and villages, and people- most of whom are rather resourceful and helpful- all over the place, which allows for ample opportunity to acquire most necessary items. 

Our packing routine is a constant struggle between these two devils on our shoulders- bring it or leave it?  What to do, what to do?  The final judge in this battle of wills is always the uncompromising question: “will it fit?”  As you can see, we managed to fit quite a lot into the back of our trusty Golden Gringo.  If we had to do it all over again, we would surely have a much smaller mountain of stuff piled in front of us, but even so, this was our first overland expedition, and I think we did a pretty good job.

The following is a list of everything we brought with us.  Admittedly, we did not compile this list until the end of our trip, when we were on the verge of selling our truck and had to get rid of everything we couldn’t carry with us, so there are likely some items that were discarded along the way that might not be represented here, but considering we abandoned them en route, they probably weren’t that important anyways.  We have tried to be as specific as possible, and have included brands and model numbers when we thought it important, but this was more for our own recollection, rather than for recommendations. 

 

##-didn’t use

**- important

^^-got or refilled en route

 

General

  • 2 Foldable camp chairs- make sure to bring comfortable ones, you’ll be using these a lot
  • Small fold out table
  • ##Large picnic blanket- was a good idea, just never used it
  • Fold up beach umbrella- a length of PVC tubing is a great “drill” to bore a hole in the sand for the umbrella pole
  • **Passports with plenty of empty pages
  • Box of trip business cards- handy to give out to other travelers with name and email address
  • Envelopes and writing paper for letters
  • Sticky notes- for tagging important pages in the guide book and such
  • 10 pack colored gel pens- Sarasa (my favorite) can never have too many
  • 3 rolls scotch tape
  • ##Small clamp on desk lamp- thought we might need some bedtime reading light at hotels, but it really isn’t necessary
  • Miscellaneous office supplies- white out, paperclips, pencil sharpener, pens and pencils
  • Dozen clothes pins
  • Dozen small face towels
  • Spray bottle of Downy Wrinkle Releaser- to spruce up our fancy clothes before going out for a night on the town
  • ^^Air spray insecticide- to kill ant infestation we got in Costa Rica
  • Spray bottle of OFF bug spray- add 100% DEET jungle juice to increase DEET percentage to ~50%
  • 4 bottles 100% DEET jungle bug juice- REI
  • Rope- various lengths and thicknesses
  • Climber’s webbing- various lengths
  • 8 ratcheting tie down straps
  • Two man tent- REI Quarterdome UL- make sure to bring ground tarp
  • 2 inflatable sleeping ground pads- ¾ length Thermarest
  • 2 Sleeping bags- down mummy bags
  • Set of bed sheets for mattress in pop-up tent
  • 2 pillows
  • ##Large mosquito net- Outback, only used it once or twice, good in theory, but wasn’t very practical or necessary
  • ##Thumb tacks- to hold up bug net in hostels, but most buildings in central/south America have cement walls, so the thumbtacks didn’t work
  • ##5 gallon solar shower bag- was usually more practical to wait till we stayed at a hostel or hotel
  • Role of duct tape
  • Role of cotton twine
  • String- various lengths and materials
  • Dozen bungee cords
  • 4 climbing carabineers
  • 3 bandanas
  • Small trashcan for cab of truck
  • Hand held compass
  • 2 large internal frame backpacking bags- 1 Mountain Smith, 1 REI
  • Collapsible XL duffle bag- REI
  • Giant rollable duffle bag- REI
  • ##4 dry bags- various sizes, these I would still bring, but we never ended up needing them
  • Small day pack backpack- REI
  • Small nylon fold-up grocery bag
  • Hidden shoulder money pouch for passports and such
  • Laundry bag
  • Small mesh bag for collecting seashells
  • Cardboard box for seashells and rocks
  • Drawing kit- pencils, erasers, ruler, charcoal, sharpener
  • Drawing book
  • ##Water color paper- one of the many hobbies that we brought but didn’t find time for
  • ##Watercolor paint set, with brushes- Marie’s
  • ##Guitar with hard case- Martin, again no time- spent most of my free time trying to keep up on the blog!
  • ##Guitar tuner, picks, and capo, extra strings
  • ##Yarn for crochet
  • ##Crochet needles
  • ##Machete- didn’t use but would still take
  • Hatchet- didn’t have too many camp fires on the trip, but was handy when we did
  • 3 pocket knives
  • 2 multi pliers- Gerber
  • Large hunting knife
  • 2 small travel umbrellas
  • Duel fuel gas lantern- Coleman
  • 20 extra mantels for lantern- they are oh so fragile, and bouncing around on those dirt roads does them in pretty quick
  • Gallon gasoline can for cook stoves and lantern
  • Fuel funnel/filter for Coleman camp stove and lantern
  • Big LED flashlight- Maglite
  • 2 regular size flashlights- Maglite
  • 3 head lamps- 1 MSR, 2 Black Diamond
  • Small collapsible candle lantern
  • Dozen wax candles
  • Large plastic tarp

 

Kitchen

  • NOLS Cookery- Claudia Pearson
  • Large plastic box to hold all kitchen gear
  • Electric tea kettle- make sure to get one that will work with your inverter in your vehicle
  • 2-burner duel fuel camp stove- Coleman, good at grilling things, but took forever to boil water
  • Camp stove with stability base and wind screen- MSR Whisperlite, fast and efficient stove, can run off of white gas or gasoline.  I wouldn’t take stoves that require those little green propane cylinders; they are not very abundant south of the border
  • 2 refillable fuel bottles for MSR stove
  • Non-stick camp pot set (2 pots with 2 lids/frying pans)- GSI, but now made by REI
  • Extra grabber for camp pots- great to have one for the lid, and one for the pot
  • 2 plastic bowls
  • 2 plastic camp cups
  • 2 camp mugs
  • ##Large cast iron skillet- was a pain to clean (compared to the non-stick pots), so we never used
  • Plastic spatula
  • 2 sets of plastic knifes, spoons and forks
  • 1 metal fork- better than plastic for cutting up meat!
  • 2 plastic cutting boards
  • 3 kitchen knifes
  • 2 small plastic plates
  • Portable refrigerator- Engle 15
  • 3 large boxes of matches
  • Water purifier pump- MSR Sweetwater
  • 8 Nalgine water bottles- didn’t need this many, maybe only 4
  • 2 flasks- nice to have a victory shot at the top of mountains or long hikes
  • Plastic tuberware containers- various sizes and shapes
  • Ziploc bags- many boxes worth of various sizes- take out of boxes and put all of each size in one bag- these are hard to find/ really expensive if you do find them so bring a lot!
  • Plastic wash bucket
  • ^^Bottle liquid dish soap
  • ^^Dish sponge
  • ^^Paper towels
  • ^^Hot sauce
  • ^^Fresh pepper in jar with grinder top
  • ^^Sea salt in jar with grinder top
  • ^^Large jar of garlic powder
  • ^^Large bottle of olive oil
  • ^^FOOD- lots and lots of food

 

Clothes (per person)

  • Hiking boots
  • Running shoes
  • Walking shoes
  • Regular sandals
  • Shower sandals
  • 2 pair jeans
  • 2 pair shorts
  • 5 under shirts
  • 5-10 shirts
  • Scarf
  • Winter hat
  • Winter gloves
  • 5-10 underwear
  • Sweatshirt
  • Sweater
  • Workout shorts
  • Workout shirt
  • 5 pair socks
  • Rain jacket
  • Puffy down vest
  • Swimming trunks
  • Nice button up shirt (dave)
  • Nice Khaki pants (dave)
  • 2 skirts (Kacey)
  • Nice dress (Kacey)
  • Belt
  • Sunglasses
  • Extra sunglasses
  • Rash guard shirt for surfing

Medical and Hygiene

  • Large plastic box for medical gear
  • Earplugs
  • Digital thermometer
  • Water purification tablets
  • Water proof matches case
  • Sudafed PE pills
  • Cough drops
  • 3 packs of heat pads
  • 7 packs of 4”x4” gauze sponges
  • Tube antibiotic ointment
  • Tube Hydrocortisone cream
  • Bottle Ibuprofen pills
  • Bottle Aspirin pills
  • Bottle Acetaminophen pain reliever pills
  • Band-aids- various sizes and some waterproof
  • Role of brown stretchy bandage material
  • 12 month supply birth control
  • Small pill box for purse
  • 10 chapstick tubes
  • Bottle of OxiClean
  • Bottle of ALL super concentrated laundry soap
  • ^^Shampoo and conditioner
  • 2 bottles contact solution
  • ^^Liquid hand soap
  • 5 sticks of deodorant- Old Spice pure sport
  • 500 q-tips
  • Bottle of hydrogen peroxide
  • Bottle of Nyquil
  • ^^Sunscreen
  • 2 extra contact cases
  • ^^Baby wipe moist towlettes – some call these a “waterless bidet”, very handy out in the wild
  • Small refillable bottles for shampoo and conditioner to take into hostels/hotels
  • Large jar of Excedrin Migraine pills
  • Bottle of baby powder- essential to relieve chaffing in hot humid jungle environments, especially if you are going to be doing a lot of walking
  • 3 rolls medical tape
  • Toiletries bag
  • Electric waterproof shaver- Norelco
  • Electric beard trimmer- Norelco
  • Manicure set- Fingernail clippers, file, small scissors
  • Glasses
  • Year supply of contact lenses
  • Tooth brushes
  • ^^ Tooth paste
  • Extra tooth brushes
  • Quick dry shower towels
  • ^^Bar soap
  • ^^Liquid hand soap
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Large hair brush
  • 1 bottle cologne
  • 1 bottle perfume

 

Guide Books and Maps

  • Central America on a Budget- Rough Guides
  • Central America on a Shoestring- Lonely Planet
  • South American Handbook 2009- Footprint Guides
  • South America on a Budget- Rough Guides
  • 1000 Places to See Before You Die- Patricia Scheltz
  • First Time around the World- Rough Guide

**A note about maps- we spent a lot of time searching the internet for the best maps.  Most maps got mixed reviews.  Likewise, different maps by the same company would get reviews from great to terrible.  Considering this, we decided to hedge our bets, and buy maps from a variety of different companies (they couldn’t all be terrible, right?) as well as try to buy regional maps that overlapped the country maps.  We also invested in GPS electronic maps.  Using as reference the paper country maps, regional maps, electronic maps, and maps shown in the guide books, we thought we would have a pretty good chance of not getting lost.  Unfortunately, some errors or omissions were carried over on all forms of the maps and we still had to ask directions occasionally.**

  • Central America map- AAA
  • South America map- AAA
  • World map- AAA
  • Mexico Road Atlas- AAA
  • Mexico Atlas- “Turistico y de Carreteras” by Ediciones Independencia
  • Belize map 1:560,000 – Insight Fleximap
  • Guatemala map 1:470,000 – ITMB
  • El Salvador map 1:250,000 – ITMB
  • Honduras map 1:750,000 – ITMB
  • Nicaragua map 1:755,000 – ITMB
  • Costa Rica and Panama Travel Atlas 1:300,000- ITMB
  • Colombia and Ecuador Map 1:2,500,000- Nelles Maps
  • Venezuela Map 1:1,750,000- ITMB (didn’t end up going to Venezuela)
  • Peru Map 1:1,600,000- Globetrotter
  • Bolivia and Paraguay Map 1:2,500,000- Nelles Maps
  • Southern South America Super Atlas- Zagier & Urruty
  • ChileTur 2010 Rutas de Chile- Awesome Northern and Southern Chile road atlases published by and available at COPEC gas stations throughout Chile
  • Uruguay Map 1:800,000- ITMB
  • South Africa Map 1:2,400,000- Globetrotter (where going to fly to SA for the 2010 World Cup at the end of our trip, but didn’t make it, darn it!)
  • Peru Cordilleras Blanca y Huayhuash topo map- Felipe Diaz (bought in Peru when planning our hike)

 

Other Books- You should obviously take plenty of reading material that suits your tastes, and acknowledging that everyone’s tastes are different, a list of the reading books we took is probably pretty irrelevant.  Even so, I have included them here for posterity’s sake.

  • Trip Book- where we recorded all information related to the trip including places we stayed, driving log, list of things to see in each country, packing lists, route planning, etc.
  • Money Book- where we recorded all the money we spent on the entire trip
  • Address book-Moleskin
  • 2 personal journals
  • 3 extra journals
  • 10 magazines (5 for both of us)
  • Soldiers in a Narrow Land- Mary Helen Spooner
  • Things I Want My Daughter to Know- Elizabeth Noble
  • The Log from the Sea of Cortez- John Steinbeck
  • The Sands of Sakkara- Glenn Meade
  • The Last Cowboys at the End of the World- Nick Reding
  • Sails Full and By- Degnon
  • Flirting with Mermaids- John Kretschmer
  • Jupiter’s Travels- Ted Simon
  • Seraffyn’s Mediterranean Adventure- Pardey and Pardey
  • Swan, the Second Voyage- Jim Moore
  • Sailing Alone Around the World- Joshua Slocum
  • The Voyage of the Liberdade- Joshua Slocum
  • Travels with Charley- John Steinbeck
  • Cruising in Seraffyn- Pardey and Pardey
  • Everyone Worth Knowing- Lauren Weisberger
  • El Oro Del Depredador- Philip Reeve (Children’s Spanish book for practice)
  • Maquinas Mortales- Philip Reeve (Children’s Spanish book for practice)
  • Sudoku puzzle book
  • 501 Spanish Verbs- Barron’s Education Series
  • Spanish/English dictionary
  • Spanish/English Grammar book- Farrell
  • The Official Scrabble Dictionary
  • Crochet instruction booklet
  • Binder full of guitar tabs saved from the internet
  • **Binder full of copies of all important documents- passports, truck title and  registration, import and visa paperwork, etc.

 

Technology

  • Canon Rebel T1i (main camera)
  • Canon Rebel Xti (back-up camera)
  • Canon 10-22mm EF-S USM lens
  • Canon 100mm macro EF USM lens
  • Canon 75-300mm EF zoom lens
  • Canon 18-55mm EF-S lens
  • Canon 18-55mm EF-S IS lens
  • Waterproof padded pouches for each camera lens (Vara Bradley makeup bags work perfect)
  • 360 Degree lens- 0-360.com
  • Shoe mounted camera flash with diffuser- Phoenix DZBIS-112CII
  • Canon Power Shot SD780IS
  • Olympus Stylus Tough 1030SW waterproof camera with rubber case
  • Sony Handycam
  • UV filters for all lenses (to protect lenses from getting scratched more than anything else)
  • Small travel tripod- Manfrotto 785-SHB
  • Mini tripod for point and shoot cameras
  • Wall chargers for batteries for all cameras and Handycam
  • At least 2 extra batteries for each camera and Handycam
  • Extra SD and compact flash cards (2 to 8GB)
  • 3 Lens cloths
  • Shutter release cable fro canon DSLRs
  • Remote control for canon DSLRs
  • Instruction books for cameras
  • 2 Acer eeePC 910 (started with 2 but one broke)
  • HP Mini 210 laptop (got as replacement for broken eeePC- much better!)
  • Extra battery for eeePC
  • Power cords for computers
  • External DVD/CD player burner- Samsung
  • Microsoft Office 2007 disks- incase need to reload to computer
  • Adobe Photoshop CS3- incase need to reload to computer
  • Sony Handycam software CD
  • 4 external hard drives (two 320Gb and two 500 GB)- Western Digital- back up all photos on separate hard drives
  • 2 soft shell hard drive cases (fit 2 hard drives per case)- Case Logic
  • Bluetooth mouse
  • Internet cable
  • Multi USB adapter
  • Extra USB cords
  • 2 iPods (1 got stolen in Colombia)
  • 2 iPod charging cords
  • Satellite tracking device- Spot Messenger
  • 2 hand held radios with 25 mile radius- Motorola
  • World cell phone
  • Headset microphone for skype
  • 4 pair earbud headphones (2 extra)
  • Waterproof iPod speaker case
  • Male-male headphone cable (to hook computer to iPod speakers)
  • 5 blank CDs
  • Power strip (most hotels don’t have a ton of  outlets, so this helps if  you need to charge all your things at once)
  • Adapters for electrical plugs
  • AA Batteries
  • AAA Batteries
  • C Batteries
  • Bag to carry all technology that would be taken into hotels/hostels
  • Camera/day pack- Mountain Smith

 

Sport/game equipment

  • 2 pair scuba fins- Plana Avanti X-3
  • 2 pair neoprene dive boots
  • 2 pair neoprene dive gloves
  • 2 pair dive masks
  • 2 pair swim goggles
  • 2 100% Dry Snorkels- Oceanic
  • Small dive knife- U.S. Diver
  • Large Dive knife- PROMate
  • 2 bottles anti-fog spray for masks
  • 2 mesh carrying bags for dive equipment
  • Collapsible pole spear
  • Open Water Diver Manual- PADI
  • ##2 rubber inner tubes- for river tubing
  • ## paddle board game with ball
  • ##soccer ball
  • ##frisbee
  • ##foldout beach checkers game- gift from the grandma, had to bring it
  • Deck of cards- Bicycle
  • Deck of Pinochle cards- Bicycle
  • Scrabble board game
  • Hacky Sack
  • 2 surfboards
  • Surfboard fins, wax, leashes, fin key

 

Truck Maintenance, Repair, and Accessories

  • Jumper cables
  • Fire extinguisher
  • 2 extra rear shock absorbers
  • Come-along cable puller
  • The Club- steering wheel lock
  • Small 12v air compressor
  • Small shovel
  • 3 gallon gas jug
  • Car cover tarp- used as rain fly for pup up tent
  • **Collapsible safety road triangle- Make sure to have at least 1 of these handy, especially in Honduras- if not the police will use this as an easy way to give you a ticket- unless you want to pay them a bribe of course
  •  Foam/metallic fold up sun shade for front window- used for security when parking the truck
  • 2 spare oil filters
  • 10 quarts 10w-30 motor oil
  • Small funnel for oil
  • Large cross shaped tire iron
  • Piston Jack
  • Wood block to put under jack so you don’t have to extend it all the way
  • Rotary jack handle for jack and to lower spare tire
  • Haynes Repair Manual for Toyota Tacoma
  • Cable and lock for spare tire
  • Lever bar for opening pop up tent
  • 2 canisters of fix-a-flat
  • Replacement radiator hoses
  • Replacement belts
  • Replacement spark plugs and wires
  • Spare hose clamps
  • Extra 10, 15 and 20amp fuses for truck
  • 3 extra lug nuts
  • Locking lug nut key
  • Jug of antifreeze
  • Bottle of water for engine coolant

 

Tool Box

  • Metal tool box
  • Extra tent pegs
  • Hammer
  • Drill bit set
  • Extendable magnet grabber
  • Large, medium and small adjustable wrenches
  • Feeler gauges
  • Soldering iron and flux wire
  • Ratcheting wrench set
  • Full set of screw drivers
  • Set of dentist picks
  • Set of miniature files
  • Exacto knife with extra blades
  • Tire plug puncture repair kit with extra tar plugs
  • Zip ties
  • Matches
  • Lighter
  • Ruler
  • Caliper
  • Mini screw driver set for electronics
  • Various electrical wire nuts
  • Various screws and bolts
  • Extendable mechanics mirror
  • 3 roles electrical tape
  • Set of chisels for rock hounding
  • Various electrical wires- different lengths and gauges
  • Leather work gloves
  • Multimeter
  • Two 3” c-clamps
  • Small hand saw
  • Bottle of rain-x windshield water repellent
  • Can of WD-40
  • Set of miniature pliers and shears
  • Hex wrench set
  • Large pliers
  • Laytex gloves
  • Role of steel wire
  • Role of plastic coated steel cable with crimping components
  • Monkey wrench
  • Large shears
  • Large file
  • Sharpie markers
  • Wood chisel
  • 2 combination locks
  • Tire pressure gauge
  • Foldable hack saw
  • Socket wrench set
  • Cordless drill and battery charger for drill
  • Rubber cement and patch repair kit for tent
  • Oil shop rag
  • Glasses repair kit with tiny screw driver

 

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