Flight notes jfk - Mexico city in the way to buenos aires

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Finally I am on my way to Argentina. Currently on AM403 to Mexico City. Preparation (for a big trip without a plan) has been intense. 

I have packed my apartment and put most of the contents in storage, received vaccinations for all types of tropical maladies and packed a versatile but small amount of gear and clothing for a trip that has no itinerary.  At 38 years old I find myself free of the typical obligations that come with this age (life partner, child or children, mortgage, job). I can't imagine a better opportunity will arise for me to travel broadly, and to explore.

The process of preparation was surprisingly stressful. I created a deadline for myself by booking a flight just a few days after vacating the apartment. How do you pack for a trip that will be urban, rural, cold, hot, beach, jungle, hotel and camping at different stages? I finally decided to take fairly little and to manage on the road. The contents of my packs are, roughly...

The packs:
1 bakoda rolling snowboard bag
1 osprey pack with zip off daypack

Clothing
1 pair jeans
1 convertible shorts pants
2 wool sweatshirts
1 silk underwear for snowboarding
socks and underwear
4 t shirts
long sleeve shirt with collar
long sleeve shirt without collar
1 black jacket for snowboarding and overall warm jacket
1 yellow rain jacket
1 rain cover for the pack
large clear dry bag
no rain pants
1 pair snowboard pants
1 wool hat
2 pairs light gloves, one tattered and good for use with iphone under snowboard mittens
one pair hiking boots in snowboard bag
one pair snowboard boots
one pair salamon trail running sneakers, red, on feet

Tech
iPad
Camera connector kit for iPad (thanks mom for being the first person in the lehigh valley to get one of these when new york was sold out)
ThinkOutside bluetooth keyboard
iPhone
Canon Rebel T2i
Gorilla Pod for SLR
leatherman juice blue, with cork screw

Snowboarding Kit
1 Venture Zephyr 163 cm
1 salamon special 156
1 helmet
balaclava
mittens with wrist guards

health
3 month supply malarone
1 large bottle Cipro
MSR water filter for backpacking
filtering water bottle
first aid kit
glasses

what I left behind...
sleeping bag
sleeping pad
tent
laptop
stove
cooking equipment
sport coat

The osprey pack has been impressive. My first impression was that the zippers were in all the wrong places - the day pack contents are difficult to access when the pack is attached to the main pack or on your back. The main compartment is difficult to access when the daypack is attached. What I originally found difficult is obviously a security design and I have come to love it, and am learning to use the pack efficiently. I like that the pack is thought out enough to reward a thorough user, and that there seem to be surprises in the design that I have not fully discovered after packing and using the pack twice.

Tech notes.
The Think Outside keyboard is working flawlessly, and having ability to keep typing on my lap with the ipad on the seatback table is great. The ipad is small and light enough that I don't feel burdened by tech, yet it offers much of the utility of a computer. There are some serious shortcomings in this area, however. The camera generates BIG files, and I will soon run out of room on the ipad for storing them. DropBox doesn't yet have a batch upload option for photos, which means I am still looking for some way to move large amounts of photo and video data into safe backup without lugging a laptop around.

I succeeded in unlocking my iPhone 3GS, or at least I think I was successful. Will find out in buenos aires when i try to get a local sim card working in it.

The think outside keyboard just died - I suspect the batteries need to be replaced. Typing is more clumsy now so I will likely abandon this soon.

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