I’m not a big traveler. When I did travel a lot, it was for work. Choosing attire was easy: appropriate for business activities in one locale.

But as I considered the range of climates and activities that were part of the travels of NG and EG, I couldn’t help but ask: how do you pack? You’d need an entire wardrobe to accommodate their cruise. Wouldn’t you? So I asked, and NG was happy to explain!

“Funny that you asked about how we dressed for this momentous task of our trip around South America!  I started packing 3 weeks before we left so I had plenty of time to scour thru my closet and, if necessary, wash and iron a few things! We had to pack enough clothes to “dress” for 2 travel days, 8 excursions, 2 holidays days, 15 ship days, and clothing for 22 “elegant resort casual” dress codes for evening dining, plus something for swimming and/or exercise duds. Shoes included, dressy heels, pair of sandals, fit-flops (for pool/as slippers/in hot weather), slip-casual, and comfy walking shoes.

“With regards to keeping warm, while on the Antarctic we had to resort to layering for warmth for the three days we were touring the Antarctic Peninsula.  I packed silk long johns, smart wool tops and socks, a pair of leggings, an old pair of jeans that were too big to wear otherwise, a zippered high neck Patagonia (right in style, as we toured the Patagonia region in Chile) fleece jacket, waterproof Gore-tex jacket for wind resistance, and hat, gloves, scarf.  We packed rain pants, too (but luckliy did not need).  In short, I had 5 layers on top (core warmth!!) and 2 layers covering arms and legs, plus the accessory items.  I wore the same thing for 3 days…well. ok. That is not quite true.  I did change socks and under clothing those days!

“How do you select what to wear? Easy:

1) Find out what the temperature(s) will be for where you are traveling.

2) Find out what activities you will have while you are gone.

3) Then pick a basic color(s) in your closet for jackets, pants and skirts so you can mix and match tops with them; long sleeve vs short sleeve. Dressy vs sportswear. Sometimes you will find that the same blouse can serve 2 purposes.

4)  Use scarves and jewelry to dress up or dress down the same outfit.  Scarves and jewelry also help change your accent colors 

We had 6 pieces of luggage: each had our own medium sized suitcase (2), we shared a carry-on piece for shoes and the like (1), we each had our own piece of hand luggage for personal items (2), and a tote for toiletries (1) .

TRAVEL TIPS:

– Flying business class on the longest leg of our trip (9 hours) helped absorb any additional luggage charges.  

– I also carry a baggalini, not a purse for travel.  I put it into my tote as hand luggage that I take on board the flight. The airlines have not balked yet!”

Thanks, NG! I was tired just reading about the packing! Hope your trip continues to be memorable, and we’ll look forward to new updates!