13 Ghosts: What to Carry on your Bag

When we pack; no matter how many times had we gone on a trip before, if we only carry hand luggage or if we check our suitcase, if we go for 3 days or for 20, no matter under which circumstances; we ALWAYS make the same mistakes.

We doubt about what it would be better to take with us and what not, “Would it be enough 3 bikinis for a week in London?”, “I'll better take another bottle of gel, because we don't know what can happen in 2 nights”, “I don't need mosquito repellent because the tent has mosquito net and we all know it's completely infallible”. We normally take wrong decisions no matter what, turning our suitcase in a Ghosts exhibition; full of objects that become invisible and empty of those which would had been indispensable.

The same thing happens to everyone of us and, what is worse, we all have the same ghosts:

1º.- Compact Umbrella.

While packing you only think it's gonna take a space for nothing, because it's not gonna be used later. Why should I take it then?

Expectations: it's the only long weekend of the year that you can go abroad with your friends and you already saw the weather in your Iphone 6, It's not gonna rain! You are not gonna be carrying around an umbrella for nothing.

Reality: it's the only long weekend of the year that you can go abroad with your friends, OF COURSE IT'S GONNA RAIN! It doesn't matter that your Iphone says “Sunny days slightly foggy”, those little cloud-bitches are going to come full of happiness. Take your umbrella, because you are going to need it.

2º.- Underwear.

The amount of underwear we take with us is never proportional to the days we are going to stay. And this is different between men and women.

Men: you are not going to have enough with 3 boxers for 4 days, it is not on to turn them over! (and you are not going to waste time washing them) Make yourself a favor and take at least one for each day you are going to stay there and if you can also take the emergency one, better than good!

Women: seriously girls, we don't need 20 different kind of panties, chosen between thongs, cosy panties and Brazilian-cut panties. Neither you will need so many nor you will have the time to be changing them 5 times a day. At the end, when we start the day thinking that it's going to be a long day outside, we just pick the 4 comfortable panties we have.

3º.- Socks.

Unlike what normally happens with underwear from the ankles up, that we usually bring too much, we don't know what the duck happens with socks that we neeeever have enough. Either because we wet our feet 3 times in the same day, because somebody forgot to take them and you have to lend yours or because once there you realize that most of them have holes and you can't use them, we never have enough. In this case there is a difference between men and women as well:

Men: they bring socks like there is no tomorrow. You end up borrowing a pair from your boyfriend, because you have no one left and there you are choosing one from his large selection. Have them perhaps 4 feet?

Women: we pack a pair for each day and we don't know what happens but they all disappear. Halfway through the trip we have no ducking usable sock.

Free little gaps in the suitcase, fill up with socks.

4º.- Clothes or “Outfits”.

Back to the same, we are going to stay 3 days in Rome, we are going to spend the whole day in the street, is it necessary to bring 7 pairs of high heels? Who says high heels says tennis shoes, the same for me. If we only can bring our lovely hand luggage, restrict to its dimensions, is easier to control ourselves (10 kilos make a lot though), but if we can check 20 kilos, WE GO CRAZY!

Expectations: In the morning I'm going to wear my new jeans and a slight pullover, because I don't think it's going to be that cold. In the afternoon, when we go for a coffee, I'll use the poncho that I love and surely I'll change my shoes. And finally in the evening, when we go out, I'll wear high heels with the flower dress and the coat (I'm imaging the large variety of “facebook pictures” in my head -dreamer eyes-)

Reality: we went out in the morning with the first thing we took and had not time at all to come back. We didn't stop doing stuff, connecting one activity with another and at the end we only saw the hotel to sleep (I used the same coat during the whole trip, all my pictures look from the same day -tears-)

5º.- Cards.

That appreciated deck of cards which comes in handy when we are all lying in the grass doing nothing or in a bar drinking beers. That great entertainment of the group that kills the time and makes you share a laugh. Someone at some point will ask, has anybody brought cards?

Expectations: I didn't bring cards, but I don't see the problem. As soon as we see a Chinese shop or a Souvenir shop we will buy a deck, there will be plenty, and later this night, Poker Night!

Reality: nobody remembers to buy cards once in the shop and when someone does remember there are no cards to buy. Accept it, if you want to play poker in this trip you will have to carry them in your bag from the beginning.

6º.- Notes and study books (special for students)

You have to take a test after the long weekend and you are ultra-mega-hyper sure that you are going to use those few nothing-else-to-do moments to study, so you take with you 3 and a half kilos of notes (leaving behind 3 or 4 pair of shoes)

Expectations: after lunch and after dinner I'm sure we will have a couple free hours. I'm going to use those moments to study, how responsible am I!

Reality: there are no such thing as “free hours” when you go on a trip, every single free moment you have you are going to spend it resting. And listen to me, you better rest or you are not gonna make it to the last day. To bring notes and study books on a trip pretending to study is the biggest utopia.

7º.- The book you like to read.

That lovely book you always carry in the bag that you read in your free time along the day. I'm going on a trip, how am I not gonna take it with me? For a long journey, it is absolutely recommendable, because you will read more than you usually have time to, but for a short journey...

Expectations: the ducking book is pretty heavy, but I'm going to bring it anyway. I know I won't have much time to read during this trip and I'll have to make room for it among those 10 kilos, but it's OK, I'll read for a while in bed before falling asleep.

Reality: Obviously I didn't stop doing stuff during the day and when I was in bed I fell asleep just checking all the unanswered e-mails and whatsapps that I had in my cell phone.

The only thing you will do is to show some world to that book. I'm the first person who loves reading and can't leave a book behind but honestly, if you have some space, take it, if you don't, I can assure you that you won't advance more than 5 pages in 4 days.

8.- Hairdryer and straightener.

Not to take these instruments when you travel, if you have crazy hair like mine at least, is a HUGE MISTAKE.

Expectations: I will brush my hair however I can. I don't thing I'll need anything, I'm sure. I won't have time to style my hair anyway so, why should I go carrying around a hairdryer and a straightener?

Reality: that little 5-minutes-touch of hairdryer and/or straightener that you spend everyday makes the BIG difference to your hair and if you bring those instruments with you, I'm sure you will find those 5 minutes in the morning. You definitely won't have time to do miracles, but at least you could style your hair with some dignity to face the day.

If you have space, make yourself a favor and bring them with you.

9.- Multipurpose Blanket.

Or if you have enough space, multipurpose sleeping-bag. I would have never imagined how useful a blanket could be, until I kept to myself one that an airline offered me on a flight. That blanket becomes your best friend.

Expectations: why the duck would I want a blanket? I would only need it to sleep and there will be in the hostel.

Reality: I wasn't cold on the bus, cause I had my blanket; there were no pillows in this hostel, so I used my blanket; we lied on the grass to eat, sitting over my blanket; we wanted to imitate Superman, we use my blanket as a cape.

What a wonderful invention the blanket. If (by any chance) you have space in that fat suitcase, please, emergency blanket.

10º.- Flip flops at any time of the year.

Either to take a shower in the hostel (always a good idea) or to use them as slippers, they will always come in handy.

11º.- Sunblock (special for the face)

It doesn't matter in which season you are travelling or where are you going, you will definitely miss the ducking cream.

Expectations: it's not even warm, I won't need sunblock, what a nonsense to bring it with me.

Reality: You will spend the whole day in the street and even those few soft sunbeams will end up bothering you. Use some cream, it doesn't hurt anybody.

12º.- Gel-Shampoo, my best ally.

That little bottle which, as it indicates, is used for both washing your hair and your body, it's a great invention. With one of those you will have enough for a few days and you won't have to carry around a lot of different bottles you don't need. For me it's essential, one of the things I never forget to bring.

13º.- Razors.

Seriously guys, what a faith!

Expectations: I'll shave really quickly every morning and I'll be soft during the trip.

Reality: My beard grew in 7 days more than I had seen it in 7 years.

You are not going to waste a minute of your time on that beard. Make yourself a favor and leave the shave kit behind, because you are not even going to take it out of the suitcase.

At the time of considering a journey it's unavoidable to generate some expectations on our head and, in relation to that, to “construct” our suitcase. But it's important to be a little bit more realistic and to think twice what are we going to bring with us, because those ghosts are heavy!

Although, no matter what happens, I can't help wondering: will there come a day when I ask my boyfriend for a pair of socks and he asks me for panties?

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To Fix your Luggage

The problem we often have when it's time to pack is not precisely the weight of the suitcase, it's the space available. If our piece of luggage is not big enough, maybe we won't be able to take everything we want with us. 10 kilos is more than it looks like and occasionally we don't even get close to that.

It also happens sometimes on a trip, specially if it's a long distance one, that we are allowed to check even 32 kilos, but normally bags have size limits; so too much weight, not enough space.

It doesn't matter if it's a small bag problem or the fact that we have the chance to take a lot of stuff with us, there comes a time when we start to remember all the hours spent playing Tetris in our childhood, HOW THE DUCK CAN I ACCOMODATE IT ALL!

There are people able to do impossible combinations folding and putting the clothes, some others use those special vacuum bags, one can put the underwear inside the shoes or keep the shoes individually in different bags... well. There are many tricks. I show you my method, which is really simple.

(There are 2 layers of rolled up clothes in here)

You just have to take the clothes, roll them up as much as you can and fit them in. In my opinion, much better system than to fold clothes one above the other. Not only you can use the space better, but also, if you don't have a place to put the stuff when you arrive to your destination, everything will be easier to take, at hand. It's perfect in order to avoid that annoying situation when one wants to take the pajamas which is at the bottom of the suitcase and there is no other way than to do a mess. Nothing is going to be organized for the rest of the trip.

It can look like a worthless nonsense, but try it. One can make miracles. And contrary to what it may seem, rolled up clothes get less wrinkled.

Although, no matter what happens, I can't help wondering: If I didn't buy anything during this trip, why the ducking suitcase closed when we came and it can't close now?

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The Best Invention Ever

It's not easy to test the weight of a suitcase in the bathroom scale and neither easy to trust ourselves in a rough calculation, just taking a look. We have doubts. Would it be too much?, should I remove something?, could I put away one more jean? Therefore, it's inevitable to get to the airport with a palpable tension, like if we know there is an exam we are not going to pass, because we are not sure about our suitcase's qualities.

We are going to check-in with accelerated pulse and to our horror the suitcase weighs 3 kilos more than it should. The heartless woman there says you can not get though like that and you need to throw something off... Do I have to leave something behind? But, what? I'm going abroad for 6 months, I need everything I'm taking with me!

Anyway, she doesn't care. So, you are forced to open your suitcase in from of everybody, showing everyone your selection of underwear, trying to find something that you, indeed, don't need that much (complicated).

And in this situations, we find different kind of scenarios:

Scenario A: somebody came with me, so he/she is gonna take the stuff I can not take with me.

Scenario B: I came alone to the airport, nobody can take my stuff. I have to pay the extra weight and we are talking about 10-20 euros per kilo (with luck) depending on the airline... That hurts!

Scenario C: again alone and not so much money available or a little bit more proud in the face of such injustice. I'm forced to throw away some of my belongings. It hurts too...

Scenario D: alone and with great dignity, you end up wearing layers and layers of clothes, onion's style, as long as you don't have to pay or leave anything behind. It seems like a ducking genius idea, but it's not gonna work. Layers have a limit and your discomfort too.

Scenario E: to me, this scenario is that total urban legend of “if the guy in the check-in is cool, he will let you go with extra weight, no problem”. Could somebody tell me, please, who is that “cool guy” and which airport he works in? Because, I can assure you I never met him.

But one day, all of my suffering ended. The day I discovered in a luggage shop, almost 3 years ago now, the object which would change my life for good. 

One of my most precious possession, a before and an after in the art of packing. Because he saved me so many times, because it makes me get to the airport calmer than ever, because it makes things easier to me, because “I'm nothing without you”. The pocket digital luggage scale, my best friend.

I'm sure many people already know it. In my case, I didn't before then, but it seemed to me like the perfect solution. You pack your suitcase, hook it and up. You have to keep it still in your hands for a moment You can know the weight with total precision and now we can breath and get to the airport with our heads held high.

For those people who, like me, travel a lot and always have to carry everything everywhere, I really recommend it. It's better to buy a good one, because it has to support a lot of weight and the idea is not to break it at the first attempt, which would happen with a low quality one. But I assure you, it's not so so expensive and, at least in my case, it has been a great investment.

Scenario ★: You can test my suitcase as much as you want, I'm going to pass the exam.

Although, no matter what happens, I can't help wondering: why is 23, such a so little round number, the weight limit for baggage?

Spanish Post