While it's still fresh in my mind I thought it might be useful for the future trips (which there WILL be, lots of...I have to keep telling myself to keep my spirits up) and maybe for someone else too to go through my packing list and see what was useful and what I'd do differently.
Clothes:
- 1 pair of black trousers/shorts with legs that zip off (VERY useful)
- 1 pair of comfy beige cotton trousers (great)
- 1 pair of "respectable" looking dark green linen trousers (looked great before the trip but not so good un-ironed, so wouldn't take with me again)
- 1 pair of black under-the-knee-cotton "capris" (great)
- 1 yellow dress (not very dressy, used a couple of times, could've done without it)
- 1 green vest top (great, could've done with another one as well)
- 1 red sleeveless summer top (great)
- 1 normal t-shirt (ditto)
- 1 yellow cotton short-sleeved shirt (my favourite)
- 1 dark blue "baggy" cotton t-shirt (great for bus journeys and hiding the money belt)
- 1 turquoise cotton shirt with collar and long sleeves (cheap make, lost its shape after 1st washing so didn't use much)
- 1 "going-out" polka dot sleeveless top (which took no room in the bag and was allowed for that reason only!)
- 1 green soft cotton kaftan-style long sleeved top (great until it got ripped in laundry)
- 1 snuggly purple hoodie (my only 'jacket' and it was priceless)
- 4 pairs of underpants (I'd take more next time, they really don't take much room and it's a pain to keep having to wash them all the time)
- 1 pair of good-quality hiking socks (moisture-absorbent, worked a treat)
- 2 pairs of normal black socks (1 pair would've been enough, only used on the flights!)
- Hat (priceless)
- Silk pyjama trousers + old T-shirt for sleeping in (good choice)
- Worn black jumper that is thin (i.e. doesn't take much room) but still warm (used a couple of times at night plus on airplanes and was grateful for it)
- Hiking boots/trainers (fab)
- Flip-flops (made a mistake of taking a brand new pair with me which ended up rubbing my feet so badly I had to throw them away and buy another pair)
- Soft leather black ballerinas (fab)
- Pack-away rain jacket (came in handy too)
- Short sleeved rash-vest for surfing (next time I'd take a long sleeved one to protect from the sun)
- Surfing shorts
- Bikini
- Swimming costume
Equipment
- Mosquito net (used 3 times, would take again and made me wonder why they are not more widely used in Finland???)
- Sleeping bag liner (more a luxury item, not really needed but sometimes it was nice to have my own 'sheets' when the hostel ones looked a bit manky)
- Inflatable travel pillow (good for the bus journeys)
- Dry-fast towel (what a great invention)
- Water-bottle (plastic ones are just as good. I lost mine and didn't miss it)
- Head-torch (best thing EVER)
- Padlock (used both for luggage and hostel lockers, a MUST)
- Fits-all-doors-lock (didn't use once)
- 1 money-belt (good, used mainly on bus journeys to keep in money, passport and cards)
- 1 neck-wallet (bad, as so bulky it's way obvious to make any difference - ended up never using it)
- 1 purse (for keeping spending money in)
- 1 pink document wallet (came free with Marie Claire a few years ago) - good for storing flight details, travel cheques, travel insurance papers, hostel booking forms etc
- Camera
- Sturdy camera case
- spare battery (one of my better ideas!)
- spare memory card (was definitely needed)
- USB memory card reader (such a useful little thing)
- camera battery charger
- old mobile phone (which didn't work at all in Central America)
- phone charger
- adapter
- mini sewing kit (was needed when my bag burst)
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- Lonely Planet Costa Rica (next time would go for another brand of travel guide - found LP a bit rubbish)
- Lonely Planet Nicaragua & El Salvador
- LP New York encounter (has the worst & most inaccurate maps ever)
- The Island by Victoria Hislop (ok, but nothing speacial really)
- Jaguar Smile by Salman Rushdie (still haven't started it...)
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (started about 3 years ago and once again failed to finish it...)
- The Notebook by Eeva (which I sadly lost a week into the journey)
- Research International pocket diary (waste of space, although I used the world map in it once to point out Finland)
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