103 Days until I leave

One of the people who is going on this trip has just noted that there are only 103 days left until we leave. I will be completely ready for this trip. On other trips I have waited until the end to plan, but for this trip, I have made my lists, and I have amassed many of the things I need.

I could leave tomorrow, if it were not for the fact that I don’t have all of my clothes together yet, but I could do that in one day. And I would have to take my cholera vaccination.

I just have to settle on a bag…which one, and how big?

The Carry-On Bag Conundrum

Ideally, one’s carry-on bag ought not to be too heavy. It should contain the items that would be needed to ensure that the flight was a pleasant one (or in my case, not too, too nightmarish). We will be spending eight hours trapped in Heathrow – I will need to be entertained, and cheaply too!

So far, this is what is in my carry-on.
• orange inhaler
• blue inhaler
• cryptic crossword x 2
• sunglasses
• spare glasses with sunshades
• sunshades for my regular glasses
• sun hat
• hand sanitizer
• kleenex
• sleep shades
• travel blanket and pillow (it’s inflatable!)
• larabars x 4
• water
• gravol
• immodium
• acetaminophen with caffeine
• ibuprofen
• ipod and ear phones
• little spare purse for wearing under my shirt(I will actually be wearing this)
• photocopies of all of my documents
• money in my hidden pocket
• red fleece jacket
• toilet-paper holder and 1/2 roll of toilet paper (will not be needed until we get to Africa, but I might not have access to my suitcase when we change planes in Nairobi, so I will need to have it.
• paper-back novel
• day’s newspapers
• malaria meds and antibiotics
• hand fan
• towel tabs and holder
• water spritzing bottle (empty, but I will add water as I need to)
• change of sox and gidge and deodorant for the shower at Heathrow

While it is true that none of the items on this list is large at all, it is still a lot of stuff to be taking with me on the plane. I hope I sleep the whole way.

Say what you will, I am also going to sew and bring along with me, my own, guaranteed to be clean, head rest cover.  I will put Velcro on the top so it can cling to the airplane seat. I will make one for Linda too, and probably one for Leslie and Pat for their trip as well.

One Less Thing to Worry About

To the casual observer it might seem that I am obsessed with food. That is probably true.

I have been worrying about how I was going to manage morning coffee without soy milk. Even though I only ever drink de-caf, I still have developed a morning routine, and I was not about to compromise on my principles and have milk just to make my morning go smoothly.

I checked out coffee mate, but it has some milk derivatives in it. I was reconciled to the idea of having herbal tea at brekkie (I could cope with that, no problem) when I was struck with the brilliant idea of asking my on-line friends at the Christian Vegetarian discussion boards if they had any ideas, and wouldn't you know it, they did! One of the members, Pamm B. recommended a product called Taam-Tov non-dairy creamer. (Thank you Pamm!) I found it on the Pangea website and ordered it and another vegan non-dairy creamer Soygo non-dairy creamer ((suggested by Veda from the Christian Veg discussion boards, so thank you, too, Veda). It comes in little packets just a bit bigger than a sugar packet, so it might be handier for travel.

The first taste test of both creamers went well. They both mix up nicely and taste good too, which is a consideration: why go to all the trouble of getting a powdered non-diary creamer if it tastes terrible? I already worry that my bag will be overweight, the last thing I need is to add to it with something that isn't tasty.

Luckily both of these creamers are great, so that is one less thing for me to worry about.

And if you know me, you know I worry about things.

Snacks for the trip

The snack issue is occupying an inordinate amount of my trip planning.

 As far as Larabars go, I  was thinking I should bring two for each flight (not necessarily going to eat both of them, but just in case, plus the possibility of sharing with a seatmate, if it is a person on our trip - it pays to get off on the right foot) so that's eight, and then at least one per day while we are gone, so that is a total of 26 or so.  Probably an even 30 should do the trick.  And if we don't eat them on the trip, we can eat them later, or share them with the nuns, whom it is also good to have on your side. (I say find out when they go to worship, and tag along.)

I have a keen interest in trip snacks.  Ever since Linda mentioned the fruit and nut bars which could be purchased from the wonderfully-civilized  chocolate bar machines in London, I have been thinking about making my own.  How hard could it be?  You need some nuts, some raisins, a fair trade, vegan chocolate bar to melt down, and a mold of some description. Bingo.  Wrap them up in waxed paper, bit of tape to hold the wax paper closed and you are all done.

So, apart from the larabars, I think I will bring tamari almonds, regular almonds, little boxes of raisins, dried apricots, possibly dried cranberry raisins, packets of instant oatmeal and grits, decaf coffee, the vegan coffee creamer (which I ordered on line and which should be arriving at my house soon), and a few home-made fruit and nut bars for special occasions.  Rich said that last year he had a whole hockey bag of food (he said chow).  He claims to be a fussy eater, and apparently ate many pepperoni sticks that he brought last year.  The food on the road was the questionable food.  Food in Kigali is apparently abundant, varied and tasty and good in the health sense.

I appreciate that this will take up space in the suitcase, what with the toilet paper, sleeping bags, blanket, sheets and pillow, toiletries, accessories, oh and some clothes too, but I would rather be safe than sorry, rather have a snack to tide me over than look at something completely unappetizing and be stuck eating it.  And, yes, I would order, pretend to eat by rearranging stuff on my plate, and pay for something unappetizing so as not to offend our Rwandan hosts.  That way if I had a snack or two up my sleeve, I would be ok.  And while I could clearly go for many days with no food without ill effect, I would rather not.

According to Rich, the brekkie in Kigali is fairly spartan; coffee and tea of questionable quality, a hot dog bun and some egg.  I won't be having any eggs, so that's why I was thinking of buying a kettle, to make grits or something. If I had peanut butter (either purchased in Kigali, or brought from home and shoehorned into my suitcase), I could put it on the brekkie hotdog bun.  And if I have nuts and dried fruit, that makes a great brekkie when mixed in with the grits.

At the travel clinic

Travellers to Rwanda must have proof of having a current Yellow Fever vaccination to be admitted to the country.  I knew I had to get to a travel doctor before the trip, and I did not want to have to be scrambling in May or June to find a clinic, so I asked Linda to book us in at the Albany Clinic Travel Clinic for today, which she did.

Our appointments were for 3:45 p.m. and but I had to be there a little early because I had never been to the Albany Clinic before, and I had to get all registered.   By the time we were finished, it was 6:10 p.m.  I had a meeting downtown that started at 5:00 p.m., which I obviously missed.

I had the yellow fever vaccination, as well as polio and typhoid.  I came home with an oral prescription of Dukoral, which is for cholera, (which I won't need to take until June 4), as well as medication against malaria.    Linda had the same vaccinations that I had, but she also had to have Hepatitis A and B.   I received those vaccinations in 2004. I was worried that I might forget about the malaria meds, so I put them in my cups cupboard and I looked at them every day.  I put the cholera vaccine in the fridge, front and centre in my cold-cuts drawer where I would see it every time I opened the fridge.

Sundry Travel Needs

Because the cost of airfare to Rwanda is so expensive, we will be staying in a very modestly priced guesthouse in Kigali.  This means that we have to bring our own towels.  Fluffy at-home style towels are not appropriate for travel because they are bulky and take too long to dry.

Linda went to Mountain Equipment Co-op today and bought one of each of the two types of travel towel on offer at that store.  She bought the very smallest sized towel, the kind a person might use for drying her hair.  She is going to test the towels and see which one dries fastest and packs the smallest, because both of those features are considerations for our trip.  Luggage size is not unlimited and I will also be packing school supplies to give to a school in Rwanda.  Because our hair is so short, we will not need to worry about blow dryers.  Or combs.

I am also fretting needlessly about my travel blanket and inflatable "dare-you-to-try-to-sleep-on-the-airplane" pillow.  I have a travel pillow, it's inflatable, but it has a flocked cover which feels kind of rubbery against my skin.  I will be making a cover for it.  I will look for a piece of fleece in a jazzy colour or print.  If I find some nice material, maybe I can make a travel blanket too.  How hard can it be?  Just make it four feet square after finishing the edges, and an elastic loop for securing it once it's rolled up, or a pouch to fold it into and there you are.

Finally, we want to bring a sleep sac.  Silk ones can be purchased at many travel stores, but I am off silk just now, except for formal-wear emergencies.  I don't need to sleep on silk.  Linda figures a double sheet folded in half will do the trick, but think it will be a little smallish for sleeping.  We shall see.

A Vegetable Peeler

According to the Rwanda travel guide, all fruits and veg must be peeled before eating. Fruits and veg that cannot be peeled ought not to be eaten by anyone who wants to remain healthy. That means salads are out, and so are things like green beans. The food rule to remember is: peel it, boil it, cook it, or forget it.

I must make a point of bringing a vegetable peeler with me, because I can't envision spending almost three weeks in Africa without eating fruit or vegetables.

There is a market quite close to the the guest house where we will be staying. I think the first thing we (my sister Linda is coming with me) will do when we are getting settled, is that we will purchase a kettle (and bottled water) so we can be certain that we have boiling water for a coffee or tea before we leave our room in the morning, and I have ordered some powdered soymilk coffee creamer so that I don't have to have my coffee black. We can leave the kettle behind when we go home.