The packing list

This is one of those questions, people ask quite a bit. So, what do you pack if you are going to be carrying all your needed earthly possessions on your back for almost two months. The million dollar question. All of a sudden when you realize you will actually be carrying your stuff on your back, you end up having to make some compromises. Do you really need those amazing knee length boots? How often will you wear them? If you carry them, half of the backpack is full, what about all the other stuff you have on the ground that somehow must make it into the bag! 

Below is the list that we came up with for our backpacking trip to Europe. 

-       Toiletries- Such things as Shampoo, conditioner, Soap, Toothbrush, Razor, makeup, contacts etc

-       a shuka (to cover yourself, use as sheet, bathroom wrap)

-       Inflatable Neck Rest- For when you have trouble sleeping in tight spots

-       Small flashlight and batteries- for reading in the dark or just for extra light

-       Plastic Poncho - These are available in a lightweight pocket size

-       Swim Suit with plastic bag

-       Universal Plug Adapters

-       Wash Cloth & hand towel

-       Ear Plugs and Eye Mask, sunglasses

-       Warm Jacket that you will usually wear when you go out, sweatshirt

-       At least 2 pairs of pants+ tights

-       One pair comfortable shoes, slippers for showering, pajamas

-       2-4 Pair of long socks

-       2-4 Long Sleeve Shirts and at least one sweater, warm shirts

-       band aids, panadol

-       book, kindle/ ipad / galaxytab

-       Day Pack (to put things you will take with you during the day)

-       one pair of flats and cute tops for clubbing

-       Deodorant

-       Vaseline

-       Lotion and lip balm

-       Extension cable

-       Mobile phone charger

-       Tooth brush, tooth paste, mouth wash, floss

-       Combs, hair oil, braid sheen

-       Shower gel

-       Head scarf/ Bandana

-       Scarf and gloves

-       Small towel for showering

-       Journal and camera for chronicling

-       Water bottle

-       Cleanser, moisturiser

-       Pen

-   Gum/Tic tacs

If you think this list is complete, then you have revealed yourself as being one of those people who go commando:-) Yep, underwear needs to be on this list. Of course even with such an exhaustive list, there were a few extra items that still made it into our backpacks. I on my part, was guilty of carrying nail polish (nothing worse than having banged up nails,)  and a few lipsticks (every one has a vice, and this is mine.) 

I am sure most of you are looking at the list and thinking, "How can I survive with only that for 1.5 months?" We all had the same questions in the beginning, but by some point in the trip, we almost started throwing things away. I remember one particularly hard day in Paris. The place we were staying in was a small town 20 minutes away from the Paris city centre. We got to the town and found out that our place was half an hour walk away from the train station. We decided to take a taxi, but to our shock, it turned out there are no taxis in that place. Chelles had no taxis! We still don't know why this town had no taxis, but that was that. We were extremely exhausted. Some people told us that we could get a taxi to come from Paris, but we would be charged 40 Euros just for them to get to Chelles. We began the long trek to our place, and I am sure each of us thought, "Do I really need all these 18kgs on my back? Maybe I can survive with fewer clothes?"

One useful lesson I learnt from having few clothes with me, was that we waste a lot of water at home. Clothes do not actually have to be washed after every wear. We had a ritual every evening when we got to our hostel - people would change into their pajamas, air out their clothes by hanging them on cupboard doors, chairs etc, and in the morning each item would undergo the "sniff" test. "Does this top smell sweaty?" "Nope, it smells as right as rain." "Ok, top, you get to see another day." 

When I came back to Kenya, I must confess that it took me quite a few days before I got used to throwing clothes in the wash after only being worn once. My family was not having any of it though, "Put those clothes in the pile! You are not going to air dry them!"

Hibernation and partying in Buenos Aires

Sometimes it's easy to forget how exhausting backpacking can be. 24 hour bus rides, hours of walking round cities, nights of endless partying, living off a backpack - going up and down hills with an 18kg backpack:-) At some point your body reminds you that you are only human. I woke up at 4pm on my second day in Buenos Aires. No shame whatsoever. I found something to eat and wondered what to do with all my new-found energy. 

I made some friends at the hostel and we decided to go out clubbing. Every night the hostel had vouchers for different clubs. On this particular day, the deal was a discount offer at a club close to the hostel that would be playing hiphop, dubstep, electro etc. The best thing about Buenos Aires was that no one gets to the club before 2am. As such you can never run late. We first went to a place close to the hostel for some food and drinks. Hours later we walked to the club (yes, walked - it was that close and that safe.) In the club our tickets let us get quite a few free shots. We danced and danced. At some point everyone else decided they were tired and wanted to go back to the hostel. I was not the least bit exhausted (having woken up at 4pm:-) Left alone, I somehow made my way into VIP where I made some new friends - two Argentinian girls. We had a few drinks and off we went to another club. At 6am we were still partying hard and the girls said we should go to yet another club. By this point I was not in any state to be club hopping. I hopped into a cab to get to my hostel. The cab guy got on my nerves and I was yelling at him in my minimal Spanish. He knew I was a foreigner and was trying to rip me off. I knew we were 2-3 blocks away from my hostel, but he kept on driving round and round in circles to charge me more. He only took me back to my hostel when I threatened to get out and not pay a cent. Note to self: Cab guys will generally try to rip off tourists....I stumbled into my hostel, quietly tried to tiptoe past the 5 other people sleeping in my room and get to the bathroom - to take my lenses off and brush my teeth. I have a suspicion my tiptoe-ing was more like an elephant stumbling through the room. In the bathroom, I took my lenses off at the sink - then the strangest thing happened - the shower curtain grabbed me - from out of nowhere - it just grabbed me - I felt my feet give way and I landed butt first into the little shower behind me with my hands trying to grab the sink to hold my balance. 

Of course I was mortified the next morning when I woke up and was asked by one of my roomies if I was fine after falling in the shower in the morning as I was brushing my teeth in the sink. Of course I was mortified. Who would not be if a shower curtain had sabotaged your morning by trying to make you look like a drunk fool who falls in a shower as they are brushing their teeth in the sink.. Malicious curtain!

Heeee- so this is wine country!

Picking grapes off the "roof" at the hostel patio

The park close to our hostel in Mendoza

In my first official day in Mendoza I woke up at around noon. I was in a 6 person room and was woken up by the sounds of new people moving in. I jumped out of bed. This was late! I had planned to go on a vineyard tour that was to depart around 1pm. My two new roomies turned out to be a really great German guy and girl. We instantly hit it off speaking German and hearing from them about their adventures in South America. I believe the standard list of questions for other backpackers I had met along the way was 1. So where are you coming in from? 2. How long will you be in South America for? 3. What does your itinerary look like. We quickly got up to speed with Max and Barbara. The best advice they gave me was to change the hostel I planned to stay in Buenos Aires. 

Max and Barbara: It is a party hostel

Thekenyanexplorer: Sounds like my type of hostel.

Max and Barbara: No, really! It is full of 18 year olds who don't know how to drink. You will wake up to puke on the floor. You can never sleep as people party 24 hours a day.

Thekenyanexplorer: Uh huh! Ok. Time to cancel my "Milhouse hostel" booking and change to this Eco Pampa place you guys have recommended.

They also had plans of doing the vineyard tour, but we quickly discovered there was a nationwide strike that day. Everything was closed. This actually became quite common during my stay in Argentina - nationwide strikes. The weather was rainy, but we all decided to go to a park nearby that was meant to be quite pretty. We waited at the hostel for a Norwegian friend of theirs and together we went to the park.

It was half an hour's walk away, and we spent an hour or so walking around at the park. I was so thankful for all the speed-walking I have been doing at Jaffreys as this was no normal stroll in the park. We were walking quite fast - which I actually enjoyed a lot. I am one of those people who get irritated when I am in Nairobi CBD and people are walking slowly as if they are in a wedding procession. 

After our cardio session at the park we went back to our hostel and had a few beers as we waited for the 7pm free wine. Now that I think about it, I don't think we ate anything that day other than some yummy chocolates that Jonas (our Norwegian friend) bought us. After the beers, we had lots and lots of wine. More and more people streamed onto the patio and at "free wine time" was when I realized just how many people the hostel had. Friendships were quickly made - lubricated by bottle's of wine and cemented with memories that none of us would clearly remember at a later date. The patio was something from another planet. I only realized that the plants hanging from the patio "roof" were grapevines, when we were provided with bowls to grab as many grapes as we wanted to have with our wine...Yes, true story!

At some point someone mentioned there was a great buffet place that cost around $10. We all walked there - by this point we were a group of around 15 or so very loud tourists. We never found the place and ended up eating somewhere along the way - no real recollection of where exactly. At some point Jonas mentioned he knew a cool hip-hop club in the middle of Mendoza. Off we went! I was out till around 6am and clearly remember hearing Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby got back," in Mendoza:-) Wonders never cease. My one poor decision for the night was having a few shots of some Fernet - an Argentinian liqueur. It was a decision I would really regret all of the next day. 

Going to Argentina baby!!

With a heavy head (terramoto hangover) I left for Valparaiso in Chile for Mendoza in Argentina. I really should learn to read maps. My original plan had me leaving Santiago in Chile for Argentina with Buenos Aires being my first stop, followed by Bariloche then Mendoza (wine country). Anyone who can understand maps would tell you that this made no sort of sense. Mendoza was closest to Chile. While in Chile someone told me how cold and empty Bariloche was, and I scrapped it off my itinerary. My main reason for going there was because I read the beaches were amazing - I had no plans whatsoever to end up in a coastal town during winter.....I also realized that it made most sense to get to Mendoza first then end my trip in Buenos Aires.

From my hostel in Valparaiso I took a cab to the bus-stop around 7am. Within 2 minutes of getting on the bus, I was out cold. I slept all the way till we got to the Chile-Argentina border hours later. The border process was a jistier version of the Kenya-Uganda border. We all got off the bus, went to "exit" from Chile then went to a different queue to "enter" Argentina. It was relatively painless as these were 2 countries in my South America trip I actually had visas for......heeee heeee. Tulivuka border - crossed the border.

At 4pm I got to Mendoza. The hostel was decent and it's main selling point was that they served free Malbec wine every day between 7-8pm. Malbec is a type of red wine whose origin is in Mendoza in Argentina. Think of it as a type as "Cabernet sauvignon", "shiraz", "merlot" etc are types. It's a bit of a big deal, but not found in general shops in our parts of the world. I went out to a nearby restaurant - ate pork, got back to the hostel and enjoyed lots of free wine and made good friends at the hostel. 

I knew I would enjoy my time in Argentina!

The king's quarters

After a few days at Estrella Andina, I remembered I was meant to be on a tight budget. I moved to Hostal Republica (which was the home of one of Bolivia's former presidents.) I loved how such things were possible in Bolivia - staying in a presidential home for a few dollars. The place was comfortable and built in that Spanish way where the rooms were mostly upstairs overlooking a courtyard from which I could imagine a lovestruck lad would sing "Fiiiiiigaro, figaro, figaro!" as the object of his affection peers from her window and sighs, "If only I could leave this room, but my evil stepmother has put a spell on the door. If I touch it I will surely die.....sigh!" 

I always have the random luck of getting to places on people's birthdays. It was the birthday of one of the ladies who worked at the hostel. As soon as I arrived there was cake and snacks. I indulged and joined in the festivities. I instantly liked this hostel and the people working there who made me feel like family. Having eaten, I was told that there was going to be free beer tasting at the hostel all day. "Ati atya??" I instantly knew I was home. I noticed a very beautiful black girl in the group when we were singing happy birthday. She was the first black person I had seen in Bolivia (other than myself:-) and we instantly started chatting. She was great. She was Haitian, a lawyer doing her Masters in Bolivia and working part time at the hostel restaurant. 

The hostel had a tour company across the road. I crossed over and booked a trip for the next day to Copacabana, Isla del Sol and Lake Titicaca (http://www.thekenyanexplorer.com/blog/2014/7/19/miscarried-baby-llamas-and-ancient-godspart-1-of-3). I spent a few hours in the afternoon napping then woke up later to eat what I believe has to be one of the tastiest (and cheapest) steaks I have ever eaten. Hostal republica had a lot of great things to offer. 

As I ate my steak I met some other friendly tourists - an Italian guy and a German girl. I was telling them about my bad luck trying to go to Peru and they almost convinced me to try get there on road...."They don't really check documents at the border when you are on a bus..." I almost got tempted, until I had a vision of myself sitting in a Bolivian or Peruvian jail waiting for the non-existent Kenyan embassy to bail me out. It is never that serious.

The italian guy told us the most humorous story about this one Swedish backpacker he met during his South America journeys. They traveled together for a few days and the guy only had a small bag with him (despite the fact that he had been backpacking for months.) He did not have a change of clothes either. Every time they got to a river or lake, he would take off his clothes, wash them and walk around naked waiting for them to dry. One day they went to the beach and out of his little bag, he took out a shovel to build a sandcastle. The guy didn't have a change of clothes, but he had a shovel? Misplaced priorities anyone?

I slept well that night.

Day one of Carnival in Rio - partying is a very hard job

I know it's been a few days since I blogged, so I will jump straight into Carnival stories and update you later about what I was doing before that. The night before Carnival started, my friend informed me, "We need to be up at 6am to go for the first Carnival party." My heart almost stopped. Anyone who knows me, knows that early mornings are to me, what Kryptonite is to superman. I wondered to myself, "What type of party starts that early?" He said one of the best troops would be starting to perform in another part of town at 7am and they were among the best. I slept and was promptly awake at 6am. It took us a while to get into costume - mine wasn't too complicated. I had a kitenge crop top that I got made by my amazing tailor in Nairobi and I was wearing some tiny shorts that I bought on the beach the previous day. My friend was going as the devil and his costume was pretty low maintenance (a speedo, horns, a cape and a tail), but he needed to be covered in red paint to really look the part. His girlfriend was not wearing a specific costume as she had not had time to buy one before Carnival.

We left the house by 6:45am. We hopped on the bus and that's when I realized I was hungry. We couldn't stop to eat, but thankfully we had carried quite a few beers. So I had a few for breakfast....on the bus. We made friends on the bus and the 30 minute bus ride felt short. My friend had warned me not to carry any bag. Anything we needed had to be discreetly stored on your body. It kind of felt like we were going to a reggae concert in Kenya....except the performers actually showed up (Tarrus Riley, anyone:-) We got to the carnival party and it was all sorts of chaos. Our first bus got us to the bottom of a hill (mountain?) and the carnival troupe was at the very top. A second bus got us to the next one. The waiting point at the bottom of the hill was full of very many, very happy and very drunk and very loud people (I really wish I spoke Portuguese..I am sure I missed some amazing stories.) We got to the top and there were thousands of people all lined up on a very narrow street. We were all moving forward very slowly to the source of music, but never quite made it.

By around 9am, my friend, his girlfriend and I had finished the few beers we had brought with us and started buying some off the street peddlers. At some point we also had little cools of caipirinha - very much like the cools we used to have when we were kids except for the fact that instead of sugar, color and ice, they had rum and sugar. By around 10am, I began to feel overwhelmed by the heat, the drinks, the crowd, the drumbeats. I remember taking lots of pictures and getting anxious because my camera started acting up (and I didn't want to use my phone and have it die on me.)

At 10:30am, my friend said there was another carnival party close to our house that we needed to go to. We went there and it was amazing! This one was less crowded so we could see the musicians and hear the drum beats. The music felt very African. Even though I didn't understand a word, I knew how to dance to it. We stayed there for an hour and danced to our heart's content. Around noon, my friend said we should go to the beach. I couldn't imagine dealing with any more heat. Rio is hot on a completely different level. Temperatures can rise up to 40 degrees celcius and the humidity is even crazier than Mombasa or Boston in the summer. My friend and his girlfriend went to the beach and I came home to recuperate.

I got home and fiddled with my camera for an hour or more before finally getting it to work. Just when I was about to take a nap, my friend and his girlfriend came home. We chatted a bit, and again just as I was about to take a nap, our new roommates from Sao Paolo got in. They had lots of energy and we took some drinks to welcome them. Around 4pm I finally took a nap. My friend and his girlfriend had tickets to an official carnival procession that was taking place in the evening. I planned to party with our new roommates. Around 7pm one of them woke me up to say they were leaving. I told them I would meet them in an hour. I set my alarm but didn't hear it at all. I woke up around 12:30am when my new roommates were staggering back into the house.

Partying is a really really hard job:-) Especially when it starts at 6am. I have no idea how anyone manages to party from 6am to past midnight, but that is quite common here during carnival. I need to build my stamina.

South America Itinerary (part 1)

I was lucky enough to talk to a Kenyan last year who had once backpacked through South America. She is the one who convinced me that this was a great idea, and that it could be done easily and affordably even by someone who has little if any experience in the region. She also saved me from making one major mistake I made when planning the 2012 Eurotrip - being overambitious. In the 6 weeks we spent in Europe, we went to 14 cities in 12 countries. It was madness. Sometimes I would wake up so exhausted and have to remember what country I was in. Is this Czech Republic? Hungary? We would get off trains, rush into the city to see the main attractions, eat as we walked, head back to the hostels to quickly shower and change - go out and party like maniacs, and very likely go straight from the club via the hostel to catch our next train. Madness, I tell you.

I feel like my South American trip will be slightly less chaotic from a time standpoint, but probably more chaotic from an everything else standpoint given that I have traveled quite a bit through Europe, speak English and German, but have never been to South America, and I know only a few words and phrases in Spanish.

So what does my itinerary look like? I leave Nairobi for Rio via Dubai this Monday. I get to Rio on Tuesday afternoon. I will thankfully be staying with a friend, which is pretty great given I don't know any portuguese.......at all. I will be in Rio for 8 nights experiencing the sights and sounds, and more importantly going for Carnival:-) I have no words to explain how excited I feel when I say "I am going for Carnival." I instantly hear music playing, see people in exciting costumes and imagine all the fun we are going to have. Sigh...After that I somehow get to Salvador in Bahia - which is way on the other end of the country. When I am in Brazil, I will figure out whether the best option is to take a really long bus there or to fly. I heard I can get some pretty cheap flights if I look in the right places. You are probably wondering where Bahia is and why it is in my itinerary. Before 2004, I had no idea about Bahia.One day I was listening to my friend's Anjelique Kidjo CD "Black Ivory Soul" and the first song was titled "Bahia." It fascinated me and I started reading up on Bahia.

Bahia is the most African state in Brazil. It was the center of the early Brazilian slave trade and close to 80% of its current population has black ancestry. Yoruba derived traditional religions are still followed in some parts. It is the home of capoeira - a unique dance that consists of martial arts and minimal body contact (someone recently told me that the reason the dancers don't touch is because historically slaves could do capoeira only on Sundays and they wore white on Sundays. One had to avoid getting dirty..) Bahia is also the home of Samba and is also said to have one of the best cuisines in Brazil.

After Bahia, I will travel to Peru. This is the part I have little clarity on. I am sure the journey will entail something along the lines of a 24-48 hour bus ride and a 2-3 day boat ride on the Amazon river. I love traveling and I can sleep anywhere so I am not particularly worried about it. I am sure I will figure it all out once in Brazil. In Peru, I am most excited about going to Machu Picchu. I will be in the country for 8 nights so I am sure I will get to see loads. I have not booked any housing in Peru as I can't really predict when I will get there and what exact places I will be. I am toying with the idea of couchsurfing rather than staying in hostels when there.

After Peru, I will go to Ecuador. There is lots to see in Ecuador, but I am most fascinated with going to the Galapagos Islands where Darwin conducted quite a bit of his research on evolutionary theory.

That covers the first half of the trip, but I am sure reality will be more exciting than the plan. The one thing I keep reminding myself is that the best laid plans of mice of and men often go awry, but as long as I am enjoying the journey it doesn't really matter to me if I am not sticking to my itinerary.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and suggestions.

So I am compiling a list of some of the questions that keep coming up every time I say I am going to South America backpacking alone. 

1. Aren't you scared? Well, honestly I am a bit nervous, but I wouldn't really use the word scared. In fact my biggest worry is that I will not be able to pick up Spanish as quickly as I wish and I will be that person at the table who just smiles and nods.....because they don't understand anything. My other worries are more mundane - how do I actually get from Brazil to Ecuador? How will I make sure my gadgets (phone, samsung galaxy tab, kindle etc) don't get wet as I sleep on a hammock on the amazon river for three days? What is the longest I will have to go without wifi? What will life be like without whatsapp when I am offline?
2. Make sure you don't end up being given drugs to transport! While many have inadvertently become drug mules I think I am one of the least likely options. Seriously who thinks giving the lone African girl with dreadlocks and a funny accent your very expensive drugs is a good idea? I am sure I will be under close scrutiny at all entry points - if for nothing else, for kind of sticking out:-) I do however assure all that I will be extremely cautious. "No, I cannot carry your cute little bunny to Bolivia to give to your long lost niece." I will also ensure that my backpack is sufficiently disorganized so as to deter anyone from sneaking in drugs in there - for fear that they will surely disappear
3. Wow! South America! I hear the men are hot - like the ones on those shows on TV! I will have to report back on this. My previous experience abroad always makes me a bit wary of trusting TV. If we believe everything we see on TV then the average person on the streets in the US should look like Morris Chestnut or Angeline Jolie....
4. Your mum gave you permission to go? Yep, she's cool like that. I also don't like to think of it as "permission" but more of "her blessings" to go on with the trip. 
5. Bolivia? Why? Lots of reasons to go to Bolivia. First, it is the highest altitude country in the world. Rumor has it that I will need to take altitude sickness meds when there or have headaches and nausea. Apparently Bolivia has a terrible football team, but they always defeat other countries in their home territory.....cause they can't breathe:-) Second, it has the largest salt flat in the world (think Lake Magadi on steroids). Third, it is really really cheap - a consequence of being the poorest country in South America. Fourth, it has the largest indigenous population of any South American country with 60% indigenous population and over 30 ethnic groups (I guess in some books I am referred to as "native" and we have 42 tribes in Kenya.....so I can dig this.......support for my other indigenous people! Wooop wooop! 
6. Was it easy getting visas? No, not at all. It was a serious pain in the butt actually - and I only needed three of the six. There was one particular embassy I went to at least 7 times. I almost gave up when they asked for my great-great-grandmother's palm print.....just kidding, but really it was a process and a half for one of the countries while the other two were quite quick to get. I can't imagine if I had needed all 6 of them. Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador don't have embassies in Kenya so you get your visas on arrival.
7. Will you wear one of those Brazilian bikinis and tiny clothes people wear at Carnival? In public? Ngai, I wish:-) I have African parents though, I live here in Nairobi and I have a serious job too when I am not globe-trotting. I will have to live vicariously through the other revelers. Maybe I will wear thong sandals:-)
8. South America? Are there any black people there? Loads actually, but most did not get there on their own volition. 
9. Do you speak Spanish? Well, it really depends on what you mean by speak. I know stuff like "Hasta la vista baby", "Tengo la camisa negra", "living la vida loca" etc. I am listening to a few CDs and trying to pick up some basics in the mean time. I worry though since my first country will be Portuguese speaking Brazil. Will all these words and phrases I am cramming into my mind really survive through the two weeks of disuse? Only time will tell.
10. Wow, South America? You might even come back with a husband! A rich one with a huge cattle ranch in Argentina! No comment. 
11. I wish I could do a similar trip! You can. I am hoping that through this trip, I can show loads of people (especially Kenyans) that such trips are possible on a shoestring budget. Backpacking culture hasn't yet taken off here and so people always think that such trips are only for the wealthy. I will be staying in hostels (not hotels) and also possibly couchsurf in some of the countries. I will be using public transportation to get around, eat at the most local places (everyone knows that's where the good food is found anyway), drink the local drinks and ensure that I do not get charged "tourist prices" anywhere. I will bargain in my limited Spanish. I will walk, I will hike, I will travel on small boats........and you can too. 

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