Packing and Gear

My son and I took an Antarctic cruise, Jan. 10-22, ’06, on Orient Lines’ Marco Polo. We paid a total of $6,026 each for the cruise.

Getting bitten by insects is no fun. Bites itch, they hurt and they may transmit diseases, some of which may be deadly. Not all diseases are curable with medications, nor are they all preventable with vaccinations. You can have a healthier, more enjoyable trip by avoiding troublesome bites in the first place.

Erhart Demand wrote about traveling with carry-on luggage only, washing clothes by hand and using a salad spinner to extract water from his laundry so it would dry faster (March ’06, pg. 102). He’s a man after my own heart, and creative as well!

I also travel with carry-on only. I usually do laundry after I’ve taken a shower. After having dried myself, I spread out my towel, lay my wet laundry on it and roll it up tightly, then twist it to wring the clothes. This removes enough water so that almost everything dries overnight except knit shirts.

We asked you to tell us places (outside of North America and the Caribbean) where you couldn’t resist buying an article of clothing — high-priced or bargain, fashionable or practical. In addition to describing the garment, we wanted you to pinpoint where you got the item, about how much it cost and when you were there. Clothes-buying shopping tips were encouraged. Following are replies received.

In 2005, my wife and I were two of the estimated 60,000 visitors to the Galápagos Islands. Our trip, which we found out about through Bridgerland Audubon Society (BAS Mini-Grants, 1738 Country Club Dr., Logan, UT 84321; 435/753-7744 or www.bridgerlandaudubon.org), took place May 28-June 7 and cost $2001 per person, including everything except international airfare.

We wanted to share a very positive experience we had with our tour boat and guide and also alert readers about an airline’s actions.

To limit luggage to “carry-on” only when traveling over an extended period, I pack three shirts, three sets of underwear and three pairs of socks and wash soiled items nightly. Washing is easy, but wringing sufficient water from my wash has been a problem. I now extract water using a lettuce spinner. This method removes sufficient water to eliminate dripping when I hang the clothes to dry.

A lettuce spinner in one’s suitcase doesn’t present a space problem, as it can be filled with small items and thus uses very little more space than the small items by themselves.

I admit it. I am an overpacker. I used to read stories of how to pack light, but within a few paragraphs I would begin skimming the contents — looking not for helpful hints on how to slim my stack but for new items I might need to add.

I do not limit myself to logic or season. Even if I am flying to Switzerland in January, I take at least one summer dress. The sun seems to follow me and there is nothing more uncomfortable than roasting in a sweater on a hot day. I always take a swimsuit, too, because a Jacuzzi might display itself anywhere.

For a world cruise on Holland America’s Rotterdam, I packed just two suitcases for the 99-day trip. Here’s what I included: five pairs of shorts, 21 tops, 10 pairs of slacks, four formal outfits (for the 33 formal evenings), six pairs of shoes (two of which were sneakers), one hooded nylon jacket, one skirt, two bathing suits, a backpack, four disposable cameras and an empty duffel bag for carrying gifts home.

A few years ago, in the August-October ’02 issues, ITN printed “what to take along” lists. I would like to add my two cents’ worth about what to pack for a trip plus offer some trip suggestions. My wife and I can easily travel for 20 days on one carry-on and one small roll-along suitcase each. (Unfortunately, most of our carry-on is now prescription drugs, but that is what happens when you get older.)

To celebrate our 60th Anniversary, my wife, June, and I decided to “live it up” by taking a cruise on the 6-star Silversea ship Silver Shadow, Oct. 7-19, ’04. We left from Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, and sailed to Ecuador and Peru and back.

Our plans called for us to fly on United Airlines from Boston to San José, Costa Rica, with a change in Washington. All went well until our arrival in San José, where we discovered that our two pieces of luggage did not arrive with us.