There are things that we brought with us and were glad to have, things that we brought with us and never used, things that we bought on the road and things that we never had but wished we would have. I will try to list all of those things here. This is not a complete packing list. Every time we lifted our huge backpacks, we felt like we brought too much but even at the end of the trip, I'm not sure what I would have left behind.
- Things that we brought and LOVED
- The netbook - We brought the ASUS EEE and never regretted it. Tons of people had netbooks and wifi is available almost everywhere. It was perfect for keeping in touch, Facebook, organizing photos, blogging, and just wasting time when we got sick of reading books. I almost wish that we had 2 because we had to share it. A lot of folks had IPOD touches which also seemed like a cool gadget because you can connect them on WiFi and they are super small. Maybe next time we would bring one of each.
- Camera - Canon Powershot D10 - This waterproof/shockproof camera in indestructible and takes great pictures. I wouldn't do this trip without a shockproof camera. It was a little bulky which made it obvious when it was in my pocket so a lot of times in cities, I didn't even pull it out because I never want to draw attention to myself as a tourist.
- Keen sandals - We were constantly commenting about how much we love our Keens. They are closed enough to protect your toes on a hike but open enough not to be hot. You can wear them walking in a city or walking through a river. They are so comfortable and dry quickly.
- Packsafe safe - This is a bag with wire mesh going through it. You can put your extra money and documents in it when at a hotel and lock it to the bed frame or other sturdy places in the room. I'm not sure if it was 100% necessary but it helped us feel like our stuff was secure.
- Sleep sacks - These were great for extra warmth in rooms with AC or colder climates. A lot of times, in Central America, they only give you a top sheet with no blanket and you will freeze without something extra.
- Umbrella - I made fun of Rob for bringing the umbrella but after it finally broke, we bought another one on the road. You can buy them really cheap in Central America but you will not find the ones that fold up small. I like it better than a rain jacket since the jackets can get hot and damp. Locals use umbrellas for a reason. We are also superstitious and found that often when we brought the umbrella out with us, the impending rain would hold off.
- Headlamps - You will want a head lamp and in many places you will want to slip it in your pocket at night in case of a power outage or dark street. They are great for reading at night.
- Quick dry clothes - If we come back to CA, I will make sure that every article of clothing I bring is quick dry. It doesn't necessarily have to the the expensive high tech stuff from the sporting goods store but we did a lot of laundry in our room and found ourselves in a lot of rivers and downpours. Most of Central America is very damp, even when its not raining so it can take days for stuff to dry.
- Pack towels - Many hostels don't provide towels so you will want one of those fancy, high tech towels. They are small and very absorbent. Get the biggest one so that you can cover up when you are getting out of the shower in hostels with shared bathrooms. They can get funky smelling so make sure you hang them up very well after use.
- Lonely Planet Guidebook - Central America on a Shoestring - It was a few years out of date and the prices were off most of the time but it still helped us plan and get information. Most backpackers use it so you can count on that the highest recommended hostels will be packed with backpackers which can be good and bad. It didn't dictate our trip but was a very handy resource...especially at the beginning of the trip when we were still figuring things out.
- Electric Toothbrushes - Rob will probably disagree but I'm happy that I brought some AA battery run electric toothbrushes.
- Warm clothes - It can get cold at night, in the mountains and on some buses. We started out the trip with some great high tech, light jackets and ended up sending them home because they were so bulky but we did use them in Guatemala in January and wished for them in the mountains of Panama. I had 2 long sleeve shirts that I wore a lot...sometimes I wore both at the same time. I was happy to have a pair of warm leggings that I could wear as cute pants or underneath a dress or even to sleep in. Long pants and sleeves are also handy to protect from mosquitoes.
- Good sunscreen and sunburn cream - We did buy sun screen on the road but it was never as good as the waterproof stuff from home. A friend left us a tube of really good sunburn cream that was a god-send when we needed it.
- Vaccinations & malaria medications - A lot of people don't get all of the recommended vaccinations or take malaria medications but we did and slept better for it. Our neighbor in Roatan got malaria and was able to treat it pretty easily with meds from the pharmacy but he was pretty miserable. We stopped taking them when we got to Nicaragua. We had no major side effects from the weekly chloroquine.
- Medicines and first aid kit - My dad is a doctor and sent us with a very complete medication pack. We never really needed most of it and it was pretty bulky. Next time we would bring less since pharmacies are everywhere but it was nice to have the basic first aid stuff.
- Pocket knife - Bring a pocket knife. We used ours almost every day for 1000 uses.
- Multi-tool - We didn't use the multi-tool often but when we needed it, we were glad to have it.
- Capital One credit card - They are the only credit card that doesn't charge international fees. Not many places take credit cards in Central America but I used it when I could and was happy to have it.
- Underwear and bras - I didn't bring enough underwear (5 pairs - what was I thinking) and ended up having a friend bring me a pack of underwear (7 more pairs) when she came to visit. They do sell underwear and bras in central america but they don't sell the good cotton underwear or good comfy bras. I only brought 1 bra and 1 sports bra and wished I had a 2nd bra.
- Things that we brought and never used
- Mosquito net - I dragged this around for 7 months and never used it. I did see a few other people use them in dorms but we never felt the need. I never got rid of it with the fear that as soon as I got rid of it, I would want it. There may have been a few places that we wanted to use it but of course, those places had no way to hang it.
- Water Purifier - We brought one of those Steripens and ended up sending it home when my parents came to visit. It would have saved money if we were on an extremely tight budget but anywhere that the water is unsafe to drink, bottled water is easily available and cheap.
- Things that we bought on the road
- Toiletries - You can buy almost anything that you use on a daily basis on the road for cheaper than you would buy it at home. You probably wont find your favorite brand but you should be able to buy something comparable. I'm talking about soap, shampoo, conditioner, razors, toothbrushes and stuff like that.
- Tampons - You can buy tampons in Central America but sometimes they are hard to find. In the southern countries, you can find them at the big, American-like supermarkets. In the northern countries, I usually had to go to a pharmacy. I like the OB tampons and if I did it again, I would have brought more of those with me from home.
- Laundry Soap - We bought a bar of laundry soap in Guatemala and it lasted through the whole trip. It works and was very very necessary. We also bought powder soap sometimes in little packages which works even better because you can soak cloths in it to make them even cleaner.
- Sarong - I bought one in Honduras and another one in Costa Rica. If you are a girl, you can wear it as a skirt or dress or over a bathing suit. Even guys should bring one because it is better than a towel at the beach and small in your bag.
- Tigo Internet Stick - As far as I know, it only works in Guatemala and Honduras but was very appreciated when we did have it.
- Things that we didn't have but wished we would have had
- Lonely Planet Central America Spanish Phrasebook - Someone gave us the Mexican version which was kind of helpful and made us wish that we had the Central America version. Not only does it have all kinds of important Spanish phrases, but it also has a food dictionary which would have been helpful throughout our trip at restaurants. A pocket Spanish-English dictionary would have been handy at the start of our trip. We finally bought a dictionary in Nicaragua but ended up never using it.
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