What’s In Our Packs?

English version only. To translate this post, click here. Versió en anglès només. Per traduir aquest post, feu clic aquí.

We’re starting our trip with backpacks and the most important things we need.

Down the road, we may consider using a cart or come up with  some other way of carrying water for long distances.  Carrying enough water is our most important concern, and when towns and people are more spread out and water is scarce, we’ll have to invent a solution.

For now, and through much of Southeast Asia, we intend to haul our homes on our back. The goal is to keep our individual total pack weight (everything on us and in our bags) to a relatively manageable 13-15 kilos (28-33 pounds); 10-11 kilos is really the sweet spot we’re aiming for.

Here’s a near-final list of what we are planning to bring with us. We’re still paring this down, and hope to trim a few more grams where we can.  Everything weighs something, even the smallest items, and we’ll have to take a hard look at what we really need and what we can do without.

Our packing priorities fall into a handful of mainstream “survivalist” categories: water, food, shelter/sleep and staying warm, dry, healthy and safe. Since we live in a virtually connected world, we’ve also added digital nomad necessities to our inventory list.

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Sacrifices

In June 2013, the idea of this crazy long walk popped into our heads and etched something deep into our hearts. Since then we have been getting our lives ready for however this adventure will unfold and wherever this calling we’re stuck on following takes us.

But saying yes to a project-change-of-life-trip-challenge like this involves many sacrifices.

Some of the sacrifices may seem trite on the surface, while others will have a lasting impact that will shift our perspective, perhaps, permanently. An infinite number of small pleasures and everyday comforts will fall to the side, and we’ll have to adjust to a completely new way of living.

Here are a few things we’re leaving behind, at least temporarily, in one way or another. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it is representative enough to show how much we appreciate our lives in Catalonia, and what we think we’ll miss when we start walking in a few weeks.

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Sacrificis

Fer aquest viatge, començar aquesta aventura, plantejar-nos aquesta ‘meravellosa bogeria’ és quelcom que varem decidir fa molt de temps, per que ens cridava i cremava des del més profund dels nostres cors i cervells.

Molt afortunadament nosaltres tenim una vida privilegiada on no som materialment rics, però sí que ho som en experiències, en entorn i en qualitat de vida. Així doncs, algú es podria pensar que ens llencem a la piscina (o millor dit, tenint en compte la magnitud del repte plantejat, ens llencem a l’oceà) per que no estem a gust a casa. Potser algú es pensa que afrontem aquest repte per que fugim de la nostra realitat, de les nostres famílies, de la nostra societat, país o entorn.

Cadascú és molt lliure de pensar el que vulgui, faltaria més, però la realitat és que malgrat la nostra privilegiada vida, emprenem aquest projecte-viatge-repte-canvi de vida a costa de molts sacrificis. Alguns d’ells, molt importants per a nosaltres.

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