A beauty girls guide to packing part 2

So now with the makeup out of the way, it's on to the big picture of packing and the looming decisions of t-shirts, bathing suits and sundresses that will compactly fit in my REI backpack. Yes, that's right, I'll be traveling via backpack for the next few months so making key packing choices is imperative. Luckily, I've been researching on some amazing travel blogs/sites (many linked to the side of this one) and have an expert backpack traveller friend, Mary, who has given me invaluable advice along the way of this process.  As a follow-up to my previous post on cosmetics, and to inform my family and friends who have seen the likes of my medicine cabinet so know what I'm working with, here is what I managed to whittle down to in terms of personal care items, not bad right?

Better yet, it all managed to fit nicely packed into this rather compact toiletry bag. I was really proud of this situation.

Next came the real stuff, i.e. clothes and basic necessities. I won't bore you with every detail of what I'm bringing, feel free to message me if you are interested, but here's the general list of what made the cut:
- Hiking Shoes
- Running Shoes
- Chaco Sandals
- Flat gold sandals (these are going out shoes)
- Bras, Sport Bras, Underwear (these are life-changing)
- 4 cotton tshirts
- 4 cotton tanks
- 2 nicer tanks
- swimsuit, 1-piece and 2
- 2 long dresses
- 1 short black cotton dress
- Jeans and Jean shorts
- Leggings and workout pants
- Nike dry fit shorts
- yoga mat and towel (also to be used as a bath/beach towel)
- Sleep sack
- Alarm clock
- Lock for backpack
- Scarf
- first-aid kit and pills
- Carry-on day pack with travel pillow, travel docs, flip flops, books, travel journal, kindle, iphone, etc…

Before...

And it all fit in here!

I also wanted to share some tentative Central/South America itinerary details in preparation for my departure:

January 29-February 3: Nicaragua

February: Based in Santiago

March: Based in Buenos Aires

End of March/Beginning of April: Peru, Macchu Pichu

Mid-April: Brazil

End of April/Early May: Tentative- Columbia, Ecuador, Bolivia…any other suggestions?

Plane takes off in 2 days…Hasta Pronto!