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It feels like a lot has changed in the past month since I wrote Less Than Two Months til my RTW trip, but at the same time like almost nothing has changed. As far as progress on my trip planning goes, its been pretty much set and untouched for ages now. I’ve made a few purchases this past month, but not nearly as many as I should have – hopefully will do that …. tonight??
Purchases & Decisions made this past month:
Purchased ASUS Android Tablet / Lap Top
Case for ASUS
Purchased Olympus Tough TG-810
Extra camera battery / accessories
Decided, I think, on taking my 40 liter pack
Two more pairs of Exoficio boxers – to bring my trip total to four
MSR Travel Towel
16GB SD Card – Decided against getting an Eye-Fi card
Purchases I need to make still: (Would love your advice / opinion on all these)
A day pack to attach to my pack – or bring an old school backpack?
Two more moisture wicking shirts – to bring my trip total to four
Chacos / Tevas Sandals vs. my Rainbow Flip Flops – I LOVE them and already own, but unsure how suitable they are for off the beaten path
Zinetic Pocket Slippers – to let my feet breathe on long bus rides
GoPro 2 or GoPro3 – Will likely wait for price drop on the new GoPro3, hope for it as a gift, and also see if I find myself in many situation where I wish I had one vs. only my Olympus
Utility Knife
Whistle / Compass / LED Light – All in One
First Aid Kit
External HD Case
Head Torch?
Travel Lock
Duct Tape? (Seriously, I’ve heard of so many travelers swearing by it for anything)
Travelers Health Insurance – yikes, just remembered that now!
Flickr vs. Picasa?
I will update you with my packing list and pictures in the next few days…in theory anyway, I have so much I need to do still, and I leave in SIX days.
I’ve been saying my good-byes for a bit more than a week now, starting with one of my sister’s leaving for university, I had my farewell, Kyle Goes Global, party last Saturday and saw all sorts of friendly faces – I really appreciate you all coming out! I’ve been getting drinks with other friends and former RTW travelers who I met at Meet, Plan, Go – thank you Bessie, from @OurOwnPath for all of your Latin America insight!
My pic for “10 Days to Go til My Trip!!” with downtown Chicago in the background
As a note to upcoming extended travelers – the last few weeks are expensive, buying gear / last minute supplies, and all of the dinners/drinks add up quick too! Account for this in your budgets.
Other things going on this week – I managed to self host my blog, and you will see minor changes in the near future – as long as I’m able to successfully transfer for my domain and articles. I also upgraded themes, and then realized that I was stressing far too much about all of its formatting and learning an entirely new theme, that I’m going to postpone any theme updates for a few months and try and utilize plug-ins to make my blog as user friendly and interactive as I can. I would love ANY advice in this regard!
On this note too – please resubscribe to my blog via email at the top of the right side bar, in the self-host transfer, I lost all of my website views as well as subscribers, and I’d love for you to stay up to date with each and everyone of my adventures!
On Saturday afternoon, I Skyped with a new friend, Lauren, @LaurRAINS - an amazing girl, lover of micro-adventures and always on her feet living an active lifestyle! She is the editor and founder of www.OutdoorMindedMag.com. OMM is filled photo essays, interviews, stories, and exclusive series from individuals who see outdoor travel as more than just an activity, but an identity and lifestyle. I will be featured as the Latin America Ambassador on OMM, contributing regularly about my escapades and adventures. Be on the look out, I’m really looking forward to it!
Now… I leave in 6 days – kind of crazy. I went out with friends who have known me for 20 years last night and one of them asked me if I was worried/stressed. I insta-responded, “Nope.” I’m not really stressed at all, minus when I was trying to transfer my blog to its new theme, but I’m not stressed because I know everything will fall into place. And if it doesn’t, I’m going on the journey of a lifetime!
A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.
-Lao-Tzu
I have a few more things to sell, I’m hoping to sell my bed on Craigslist this evening, let’s hope the person doesn’t flake like so many other Craigslisters have. As a whole though, it’s been a great experience, and I will have made over $1,500 by Selling My Life on Craigslist over these past four months. In addition, you can meet some great people – two awesome tales – I sold an old suitcase that I had acquired to a girl who was leaving in the morning for six weeks in Africa. This past weekend, I sold my dresser to a couple, and his former coworker quit his job to motorcycle around South America for three years. Who knew CL could provide so much networking?!
I hope you’ve been able to follow this post – I’m well aware it’s been all over the place, but that’s a direct correlation to how my life has been these past few weeks. Between giving my two weeks notice, I’m working right up until this Friday and leave Tuesday morning, to selling my things, to moving unexpectedly- it’s just been crazy! I’ll cap off my post with my first week of travel plans….
(nothing… nothing… nothing…)
Chichen Itza, Mexico
Tulum, Mexico
Oh that’s right, I don’t really have plans? I’m flying into Cancun, arriving at 1pm, so I’m debating not even booking a hostel for night one. Kick off my adventure with a bang, why not?! Over the next few days, My plan is to trek out to Chichen Itza, possibly Merida, a quick pit stop in Playa del Carmen where I may have connections there through the Dunkin Donuts manager (What a great story in itself!), and heading towards Tulum. I’m going to try and make a few more posts this week, capture my thoughts, whether they’re at a mile a minute or not.
Any last minute tips or advice? I’d love to hear it! Wish me luck!
Hey, Kyle, sounds like you’re pretty much set to go! Only thought I have to offer is on the question of Flickr vs. Picasa. I chose Picasa because it came with integration to the installable Picasa editor; I can process my photos, tag and describe them all offline and then press a single button and those ones I’ve chosen get uploaded to a web album. It makes life a lot easier if you don’t have to upload them and *then* add the image meta-data while online; it makes the best use of online time and bandwidth which may be limited, slow or costly
KYLLEEE!!! YOU MADE IT! I know this post is from the end of October, so my comment is a bit late, but man am I So excited for you! And thank you so so so much for the kind words and I’m so stoked your excited to be writing on OMM! I can’t tell you how stoked I am to be sharing your stuff!!!
Enjoy Mexico my friend!
– Lauren
I’ve loved your enthusiasm since day 1, it’s been contagious! So tough keeping up to date on everything, but I’m looking forward to staying in touch and watching the development of www.outdoormindedmag.com each day! It looks fantastic!
Hey, Kyle, sounds like you’re pretty much set to go! Only thought I have to offer is on the question of Flickr vs. Picasa. I chose Picasa because it came with integration to the installable Picasa editor; I can process my photos, tag and describe them all offline and then press a single button and those ones I’ve chosen get uploaded to a web album. It makes life a lot easier if you don’t have to upload them and *then* add the image meta-data while online; it makes the best use of online time and bandwidth which may be limited, slow or costly
Liam,
I went with Picasa, instant upload is fantastic! Thanks for your advice, I have so much to learn still in this blog-o-sphere and social media world!
-Kyle
KYLLEEE!!! YOU MADE IT! I know this post is from the end of October, so my comment is a bit late, but man am I So excited for you! And thank you so so so much for the kind words and I’m so stoked your excited to be writing on OMM! I can’t tell you how stoked I am to be sharing your stuff!!!
Enjoy Mexico my friend!
– Lauren
Lauren!
I’ve loved your enthusiasm since day 1, it’s been contagious! So tough keeping up to date on everything, but I’m looking forward to staying in touch and watching the development of www.outdoormindedmag.com each day! It looks fantastic!
-Kyle