Oh, Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento photos are now uploaded
Seen a couple of posters for some event at 'Club Plaza', so presumably there is more than one club here. As seems to be conventional (I saw the same re "Club Aleman" in Santa Fe, if memory serves), the designer of the poster felt so confident everyone would know the club they haven't bothered to put an address on. Obviously I couldn't go here now even if I wanted to, but Club Aleman in Santa Fe maybe did miss out on my valuable custom as a result.
(To be scrupulously fair to Club Plaza, there is a phone number But still...)
14:15. Had lunch at a small restaurant I hadn't been to before and had a beer at Mercosur, have now picked my bags up from hostel and walked over to the port. There doesn't appear to be anyone at the 'seacat colonia' check in desks, I guess I am an hour and a half 'early' (of course not quite that much, I am sure you are expected to be here a bit before departure, half an hour if I recall and understood correctly what the woman at the ticket office said when I booked). But I want to give myself as much time as possible, especially in case (though it should all be fine) I have problems finding or dealing with border control. (What to call that? Border control doesn't quite sound right, and even less so in Spanish. But it's not 'immigration' when I leave a country and it's not 'customs' even on entering really. There is a Spanish/English sign pointing to 'Migracion/Migrations' which may answer the question in Spanish, though the English translation seems clunky and unnatural to me.
I just confirmed via a quick calculation with the rates shown at the exchange desk that it is, as I thought I remembered, about 5 or 6 ARS to the pound. I have about 600 or 700 on me which I hope will be enough for two taxi rides and the hostel tonight.
Note to self for next time, if there is one - it would be a good idea to take a snapshot of the approximate exchange rate for any country I might visit (hell, do the entire continent if it's easy) just to avoid that "so exactly how much cash should I withdraw now I have got to the airport in this unknown country?" uncertainty.
In the shorter term, I should look up the Panamanian and Mexican exchange rates tonight if I can get web access. Hell, I should find out what the Panamanian currency is called too. I have an idea they might use balboas, but I also have an idea that might be a former currency rather than a current one.
Oh, purely for completeness, the unmanned ticket window here is labelled 'coloniaexpress'. What I have been calling 'seacat' does appear to actually be called 'seacatcolonia'.
14:40. Just checked in and they've taken my suitcase, 'migrations' isn't open yet though.
I find myself musing on the possibility of doing a trip like this with hand luggage only. Not so much that checking in and collecting my suitcase (or backpack, were I to go down that route - the distinction isn't really important here) on buses, boats or planes is a big deal. Where it is a nuisance is in getting from ports/terminals to hostels and vice versa. Even with a taxi it sucks a bit, and it would often be cheaper and almost easier to take buses in some cases, except that with a suitcase it's a damn nuisance.
There would also be a sort of pleasing simplicity in undertaking a longish trip with just hand luggage. I have a vague suspicion there are people who do this, I think I read an article about them somewhere.
If I ever take a week or two off somewhere maybe I should experiment. As I am bored and the idea interests me I shall waffle randomly about it here now.
I think it would be difficult for me, I have a lot of electronic gadgets which I wouldn't want to give up. I suppose some could be accommodated in jacket pockets during travel and offloaded in hostel rooms while in a place. (Security might be an issue in a hostel if you were ever sharing a room though, unless there were lockers.)
I think for anything longish term I would really want at least:
- netbook and battery charger
- phone and battery charger
- camera and battery charger
- MP3 player and in-ear headphones (charges from laptop via short cable)
I suppose in principle you could decide to run the camera off alkaline AAs bought as necessary, but my AA battery charger is very compact anyway.
In terms of the electronics I have with me, that omits:
- GPS (AA rechargeables, so no extra battery charger needed)
- handheld slimline video camera and charger
- spare phone and charger
- QuietComfort 2 headphones (bulky and probably an excessive luxury if you were trying to save space)
- electric razor and charger
- electronic book
The damn chargers don't help. I understand there are moves afoot to force standardisation of mobile chargers, but I am not sure if there's any hope even within the next five or ten years of all 'small' equipment being able to share a single charger.
Some sort of razor is a necessity and I hate shaving with disposables. I don't like shaving with wet razors full stop, and since you're talking hand luggage only here it wouldn't be possible to travel with a non-disposable wet razor anyway due to airport security restrictions.
I guess you could get a cheap AA-powered battery electric razor and then you get to share the battery charger already needed for the camera.
The GPS is probably also worth taking, it is slightly bulky but does fit in a jacket pocket and I personally find it a very comforting gadget at times. It also acts as a satnav for the beer scooter when necessary. :-)
The QC2 are nice but I am not desperately missing mine now they've broken (they may be repairable but I don't have a clue how to open them and it would probably be a soldering job, so I am currently just carting them round as dead weight until I am back in the UK and can take a look). So they could go and be no big loss.
The handheld video camera itself is pretty slimline. The charger is not enormous but somehow makes the combination seem a bit excessive if you're on a tight space budget. (I suppose weight is technically an issue, but it's really about space. Unless I start lugging lead or gold around, I can't imagine anything hand luggage sized being too heavy.) Especially when any digital still camera will take passable if not great video, mine is about four of five years old and the video's not bad, and I assume newer cameras are better.
The spare phone and charger is definitely overkill. I am not absolutely sure why I brought them this time, although I think I was worried because my Treo is getting a bit ropey, especially for voice use, and I envisioned myself wanting to call hostels from the middle of nowhere to confirm reservations. As it happens my SIM renders voice calls nearly impossible (though I could, as I originally planned, have bought local SIMs cheaply if I wanted) and I haven't suffered much as a result.
I haven't used the electronic book much and the screen is starting to go under the strain of travel, as blogged about earlier. So I think that would be an easily dispensed with luxury. I do most of my reading on my phone.
You obviously couldn't have many, or even any, physical books. In terms of entertainment I have long since stopped reading the two or three novels I have with me. I think books on the phone, perhaps combined with hostel book exchanges for a bit of variety, are adequate. As I say, I am virtually subsisting on Project Gutenberg as it is.
Travel guides are a bit different but as also probably blogged about, I think despite the slight rip off pricing, PDF versions of guide books on the laptop would be nearly as good as dead tree books. I seldom take a physical guide book out with me, and given a PDF I could print a few pages in a net cafe and stick them in my pocket. So electronic guide books might actually be more useful.
I think at least one piece of dead tree reading material would be nice for situations where the phone battery dies or you're not allowed to use it (e.g. certain times on flights). Ideally a slim novel which I'd be willing to book exchange later on.
15:05. 'Migrations' is open...
15:15. In the 'sea-side' (no pun intended) bit. I thought they were a bit staff and stamp happy at 'migrations' but I then twigged it was a joint post. So I already have an entrance stamp for Argentina. My guide book did say 'immigration is at the port', but while this somehow suggested this possibility it is also rather vague about which port.
Anyway, back to my minimal travelling wafflings.
You obviously need a toothbrush and similar things though they aren't enormously bulky. You'd have to keep suntan lotion and insect repellent to below the stupid 100ml hand luggage restrictions anyway. I'd have to curb my desire to bring enormous quantities of medication; I guess some aspirin, paracetamol and/or ibuprofen would help until you got to a pharmacy, and I think a few days' diahorrea tablets wouldn't hurt. A few plasters and the like too.
Ooh, it occurs to me you couldn't take any nail scissors if you really were pure hand luggage. I don't like nail clippers but I wonder if they are permitted as cabin baggage anyway. I suppose if push came to shove you'd have to buy these and throw them away as required. Or I suppose you could perhaps get by with just disposable nail files, I suspect it would be slightly tedious but you could probably manage to file your nails down without having to cut them. That is a bit desperate though.
To a certain extent this hypothetical travelling very light is trading cash for convenience anyway. Luggage generally has zero additional cost to transport, and by not having any you incur extra expenses. I haven't got there yet, but I think clothes might be another example of an extra cost to this strategy.
If you're ever staying in a shared hostel room, you do kind of need a towel. Of course, it's good to have one just for Hitchhiker credibility. :-) Hotels and private hostel rooms tend to come with towels, though the latter is a bit uncertain in my limited experience.
15:25. On board. I got a window seat (as far as I know, they have amazingly resisted the temptation to preallocate) for what it might be worth. I don't think there's much scope for wandering 'outside' during the trip but we shall see.
Back to waffling. I think if you assume a trip like the one I'm currently on, not one where you spend days away from ho(s)tels and need camping gear and the like (that either kills this idea dead or you must be sure you can rent what you need or it's supplied by some tour company), I think you could get away with a very small towel, maybe one just a bit bigger than a flannel. That gives you something to dry your hands on after washing and in a pinch to get mostly dry after a shower. You might want two such so one can be washed while the other is in use, but you could probably use dirty clothes as a towel if push came to shove. Depends how many clothes you have of course, which I still haven't got round to, you might have all your dirty ones at the laundry (or drying after being hand-washed) at the same time as the towel.
In terms of backing up/freeing memory card space for photos, I think I've already realised that the smart thing to do regardless of 'minimal luggage' goals is to keep copies on a big USB stick (64GB or so) worn as a pendant round your neck and have DVDs burned only to post home as an extra copy. So that's not an issue here.
You'd have to be ruthless about not accumulating random crap - I have a big A4 wallet bulging with random leaflets, maps and receipts. It's not a big deal travelling as I am, but you couldn't accept the space if you were going minimal. I suppose if you really decided such stuff had souvenir value you could post it home intermittently (it might act as extra padding for the DVDs :-) ).
You do need space for at least say a litre bottle of water. We're not talking 'long hikes' here, even on a bus trip you're going to want to have water handy. You could say "I'll just buy bottles as I need them and carry them 'outside' my luggage" and that might be a good idea (a litre bottle is quite bulky if you're going minimal) but then you are a bit encumbered by having both hands occupied. I suppose if the bag had some sort of strap you could use to stick the bottle in temporarily that would be best.
Disposable contact lenses would be out, unless you maybe took a very small quantity for special occasions. I'd either have to stick to glasses or get non-disposable lenses, which bring their own hassles in terms of cleaning supplies (especially given the 100ml limit). Since I wear contacts in part (though nowhere near as much as I'd thought I would) so I can wear my non-prescription sunglasses, if I was going to do this I should get some prescription sunglasses. I guess if I try this on a short trip as an experiment it isn't a problem to take disposables.
I know I am avoiding the subject of clothes, I am just mentally reviewing my luggage now to think what else is in there. Apart from being bored, one reason I am thinking about this now is that at least now I am familiar with what I use and don't use while travelling, in a way I won't be if I muse on this back in the UK after a few months.
15:50. We're on our way. We just had a safety briefing which was so quiet I could scarcely hear the Spanish and shown on a screen so small and remote from me I had no chance of reading the English subtitles. So we had better not have an accident...
I might as well note that the 'minimal luggage' plan does admit of variations. While it would be coolest and slightly more convenient to go 'hand luggage only', the real goal in terms of convenience is for the luggage to be small and light enough that you can manhandle it easily while out and about. For example, you can sit on a bus with it on your knee without feeling too uncomfortable. So it would be possible to go for something slightly bulkier than hand luggage, either a small suitcase or a less-than-full-sized backpack.
Oooh joy, some baby is crying about six rows ahead of me. The one consolation is it's not really *screaming*.
It's a bit contrary to the spirit of minimalism but space permitting a second bag that could be squashed up when not in use would be helpful. Either as an overflow if absolutely necessary, or so you could use it to lock stuff up in to leave behind at a ho(s)tel to lighten the main bag if desired. (While ideally the single item of luggage, especially if some kind of bag rather than suitcase, would be small enough to just take everywhere, I am thinking of things like the walk across Isla del Sol and the flight with very tight luggage restrictions to Puerto Williams. In at least the former case, everything you can leave behind to lower the weight helps, and you can't leave anything behind if you don't have a bag to leave it in.)
I brought a mosquito net with me which I haven't used yet. I am not sure but it may be a little bit of a bulky (if not particularly heavy) luxury even on this trip with a suitcase and it would probably be more so on a minimal luggage trip. It is nice to have it, but I guess you would just have to see what was likely to be necessary. If push came to shove I assume you could always buy one locally if absolutely necessary.
Clothes obviously depend a bit on when and where you go. Down in southern Chile I was often wearing a T-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, fleece and then a thinnish jacket on top all at once. For the warmer parts, e.g. for about as long as I can conveniently remember, I have been wearing a pair of jeans or trousers, a short-sleeved shirt or T-shirt and a fleece. The fleece could be replaced by the thinnish jacket, but I seem to have adopted it in preference lately as it has capacious and zippable pockets and is more convenient to wear 'round my waist (tied by the sleeves)'' if it's too hot to wear it.
If I knew I was only going to be in climates like this or warmer (and there is always the option to buy clothes locally, although 'warm' clothes are likely to be relatively pricey and where would you stash them afterwards if you didn't throw them away?), I think I might be able to get away with say:
- a pair of jeans, a pair of trousers (one to wear while washing the other, having some trousers gives you a chance to dress 'smartly' if desired)
- three sets of underwear (two probably isn't enough given you want to wash this every day if possible and it takes a while to dry)
- three T-shirts/short-sleeved shirts (similar considerations to underwear)
- fleece
One set of clothes is always going to be worn when you're on the move and could say the fleece is too, so you 'only' need to have space in the bag for a pair of trousers, two sets of underwear and two T-shirts/short-sleeved shirts.
You are trading off convenience of travel for convenience of 'being somewhere' here. Having more clothes means you don't continually have to be washing them (which is especially awkward if you don't have a private bathroom, although at least some hostels have clothes lines, not that I have ever used one) or find laundrettes. I must be honest and say I am often wearing e.g. T-shirts more than once between washing even given my relatively large supply of clothes, just to minimise the washing/laundrette hassle. It isn't about the money - my spending on accommodation dwarfs what I am spending on laundry - it is just about the hassle. Plus if you are somewhere only two nights, it gets a bit risky handing in laundry in terms of getting it back before you go.
I think I've run out of speculation. It might be interesting to assemble this 'minimal subset' later (e.g. when I come to unpack back in the UK) and see just how bulky or heavy it really is. At the very least I guess this might prove helpful in reducing the weight of my luggage next time even if I don't adopt an explicit goal of minimality. (Though I think the books are and already were the obvious low hanging fruit there. But it is perhaps useful to observe from experience that electronic travel guides would perhaps be better than paper ones and that there is very limited value in having three or four paper novels rather than just one - I get bored of them almost as quickly and then they're just dead weight. If I can remember this it might help me be strong and avoid going crazy on the books next time.)
I also think adopting any level of 'reduction' is largely a matter of confidence. While I have noted before I've used 'most' of what I've brought with me, I suspect it wouldn't have been such a big deal not to have had some of the stuff. But when I'm packing back home there is always this sort of anxiety that "What if I need that? Wouldn't it be *terrible* if I needed it and didn't have it?" That's the kind of habit that probably needs breaking. I guess telling yourself that "sod it, I won't need anything I haven't take *that* urgently and I can buy it there if I really need it" should help. I think I do say that to myself a bit, but I'm too tight to want to have it come to that. ;-)
I think I read somewhere you can easily carry about 20% of your body weight. If that's right I should 'only' have about 14-15kg of luggage for it to be convenient to handle, whereas my suitcase weighs around 22-23kg even without considering the small backpack (which mostly has electronic gear in). I think that might be a good intermediate target between going so minimal you are travelling just with hand luggage and my current slightly bloated situation, if going minimal is too difficult or seems a bit risky. It would be cool to try to do a trip of say a week with just hand luggage though, if only for the experience.
I guess in a way I will be forced to do some mini-trips where I can experiment in this area when I get back, since until I find a new flat and move into it (or decide I can't wait and get a furnished short-term let), I will be 'commuting' back and forth between Skegness and London and staying in cheap hotels in London for a few days at a time. Treating this as an experiment in minimalist travel might allow me to avoid getting so worked up about the discomfort and inconvenience :-) and may actually reduce them (no using the tube with a suitcase, for example).
16:45. We haven't stopped moving yet but we have arrived. Quite a nice skyline although the sun is making it impossible to get a decent photo.
17:35. No problem getting taxi, just finished check in. Guy at desk very helpful, I have pre-booked a remise to the airport at 9am tomorrow and he has given me a double bed+bunk bed room with private bathroom when I booked for a twin to myself with shared bathroom.
Two guests sat in reception with laptops, one young woman wearing headphones and beating out a rhythm quite loudly on her knees all the time. I can't help think that is a little bit twattish, in the hostel reception. Oh well.
19:45. Came out about 7:15ish, decided I'd walk over to Reconquista and am down at The Kilkenny. It's quite dead but I didn't expect much. Since this is just a 'transit' sort of night I figured it would be nice to just come somewhere I sort of know.
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