One of my best friends from college is coming to visit us next week from the Northwestern USA. This is the Packing List I made for her. Can you think of anything important I should add?
• Swimsuits (I suggest 2 so that you don’t have to put one on that’s wet – you’ll be wearing them that often) sun hats, sunscreen
• Sarong or swimsuit cover (and/or a pair of nylon shorts and top which you can wear straight into the ocean over your swimsuit)
• Tenny shoes, fanny pack with water bottle (daypack is too sweaty for our morning hike and you’ll want something to carry your water and camera)
• Handkerchief to wipe sweat off your dripping face. I use the microfiber one you gifted me. It works awesome. In fact, I cut it in half – one for my fanny pack and one for my purse. You WILL be sweating. Large drops will be flowing straight into your eyes and off the tip of your nose. Sorry. Think of it as free detoxification.
• Day pack for carrying groceries home after we go shopping in town
• Yoga mat if you want to do morning yoga at my house and yoga clothes to wear to yoga classes at Zen Yoga in town
• Thermos-type water bottle (I use a hydro flask which I keep filled with ice and water, and drink from all day and night)
• Bug juice. There are mosquitoes outside at dawn and dusk and at some garden restaurants which don’t have a good breeze.
• Any medications you need. There are lots of pharmacies here, prescriptions aren’t generally needed, and it seems like everything “over the counter” comes in a travel size, but lots of brands are hard to find. Oh, if you need your teeth cleaned, cleanings are just $40. And heaven forbid you need the hospital, but if you do it’s brand new and it’s free. Yep, free, for locals and tourists alike.
• Camera too. (Mine is just my phone.)
• 2 pairs of flip flops (I use one pair for inside the house so that I don’t accidentally step on a scorpion or spider, and the other pair lives outside for all outside use).
Note: I live in my flip flops and you can get a good pair of Havaianas here for $15-$20. John, on the other hand, lives in his Tevas when he’s outdoors and goes barefoot inside. Neither of us has yet stepped on a scorpion or spider.
Also Note: Because it’s rainy season (think likely wet dirt roads) and because we ford a river and walk along the seashore to get to town and back home, you’re unlikely to wear any shoes here that aren’t tenny shoes for our morning walk/hike or shoes like flip flops or tevas that can get wet.
• You will not need long pants or any sort of jacket. You will likely live in light-weight shorts and tops or sundresses but it can be windy so keep that in mind. Expect to be drenched in sweat and/or rain or both at the same time. At least the rain is warm. And the sweat-drenched clothes dry surprisingly odor-free. At least mine do – I’m always surprised.
• You don’t need to change money ahead of time. US money (in denominations no bigger than $20) is accepted here by most everybody, so bring small, undamaged (no tears or writing) bills. You’ll get your change in Cordobas. Credit cards are also accepted in a number of places although a few will charge a processing fee of 5%. ATM machines are plentiful. Some cards charge more fees (as do some ATM machines) so do some research on which debit card you want to bring. (Capitol One cards are good. Wells Fargo cards are bad.)
• Don’t forget to bring the charging cables for your electronic devices. And pack your electronics into your carry on luggage to make sure it gets here. Speaking of which, label your checked luggage and put a big pink ribbon on it or something. You don’t want an idiot like me to pick it up from the carousel and take it home with me by accident!
• Your Kindle or a book since we’ll be spending a lot of time in hammocks. There is though a great little library in town. One book which I have and you HAVE to read while you’re here is “The Country Under My Skin” by Gioconda Belli.
• What’s your phone plan? Most US plans allow you to add international travel ahead of time. It’s good to have data, especially for the day you arrive so we can communicate via Whatsapp or FB Messenger. We have wifi at our house.
• When you arrive at the airport you’ll be asked to pay a $10 (or $15?) entrance fee in US dollars when you go through Customs.
• You’ll also be asked at Customs for an address of where you’ll be staying. Most hotels and homes (and even businesses) don’t have street addresses as we know them. Customs knows this so they should be fine with the “address” that I sent you.
• My son will be sending you a package with our mail for you to bring to us. Can you believe it – we do not get mail here other than when friends like you bring it to us. It’s one of the many things I LOVE about living here. No mail. No stacks of paper. I’m in bliss.
• Oh, and last but not least… Binoculars. We have an extra pair but they aren’t the best quality, so if you have a good pair bring them. The birds and the monkeys are calling…and sometimes they are hard to see.