This time next week it will be the real thing……

My travel buddy Nanci and I booked our trip to Africa months ago and it seemed the departure date would never arrive. I have been to Mexico and had a few domestic trips in the meantime, but for this year at least, Africa is the one I've really been anticipating. Funny that now that it's only a week away the time is flying by.

This will be my first trip to the continent of Africa and preparing and packing for it has been a bit of a conundrum. When contemplating Africa, one usually only thinks hot and arid. But after spending the winter in the various deserts of the southern States during the winter of 2015/2016 I knew that nights might be cool in the deserts of Africa. Checking the average highs, lows and precipitation for the places we'll be travelling indicated that was the case. What I hadn't anticipated is that for our starting point of Cape Town, which is now experiencing winter, the weather will be less than ideal. So seems that we have to pack for a variety of scenarios, and given our luggage weight is limited, it will indeed be challenging.

I haven't had to pick up much in preparation for this trip but I did break down and buy a stupid-looking, but hopefully useful hat. I hate hats. The only ones I've worn before were a ball cap (and only when absolutely necessary) and a motorcycle helmet.

Aside from picking up a few wardrobe items, there are always things to do to prepare for a trip. I visited the travel clinic to make sure my vaccinations were up to date and to see about special medication for this part of the world. Part way through our trip we will be entering an area where more-than-just-pesky malaria mosquitos may be a problem, so we have our medication for that, and a just-in-case antibiotic for stomach problems. And there are the normal things like making sure all the bills are paid or prepaid, hair is cut, mail is looked after, and of course, my toe nails need to be spiffied up with an appropriate colour. Because you just know they're going to show up in a picture or two along the way.