A Tale of Multiple Packing Personalities

January 29, 2009 at 10:24 AM | by shiralazar | Comments (7)

West Coast web media princess, and the latest Jaunted Embed, Shira Lazar is making her way through Chile on a top secret travel mission. She will be posting daily for the next week, in hopes of creating a glorious on-the-fly travel guide using as much point oh social webbing as she can. Enjoy.

Our itinerary for Chile is as follows: Santiago, Valparaiso, Punta Arenas and Patagonia.

What does that mean in terms of packing? Expect three climates in the course of a week. What does that mean for a traveler who�s a chick or an over packer (and you know who you are)? Massive indecisiveness and bringing what feels like a wardrobe for every season!

Emails with locals for advice didn�t seem to help in simplifying our packing:

1ST EMAIL THREAD:
People dress really casual here. it's hot as hell in Santiago right now but I'm sure it will be cold in Punta Arenas so you're going to have to pack for everything :)

Jaunted Embed Shira: Cold like light jacket? God I'm already a bad packer. This doesn't help haha

Twitterati Kyle: haha, I have no idea I've never been that far down South. But ummm, Punta Arenas is pretty much neighbors with Antartica, soooooo...

2ND EMAIL THREAD:
Local Expert Matt: Depends where you'll be. If only in Santiago, Valpo and around it'll be warm and sunny and cool in the evening...so summer stuff and then a light top for the evening. If you're heading down south then prepare for rain and chilliness and if you're heading up to the north of the country you'll need warm clothes for night time in the desert. The sun here is incredibly strong wherever you are. Not much ozone layer down here.Chile is a difficult country for which to pack.

Jaunted Embed Shira: I�ll also be in Patagonia and Punta Arenas

Ha, well in that case you'll definitely need warm and waterproof clothes. And for Punta Arenas I'd suggest something to cover your ears, the wind down there is, apparently, absurd. A friend saw a slightly airborne cat on a recent trip. (wow- if that�s the case- we're seeing a viral youtube video in our future)

We know that �travel writers� should be expert light packers, but we decided to represent those out there who don�t roll up their clothes and Ziploc bag their cosmetics. I could�ve gone with only one bag- but I thought the carry-on roller was good to include for any new things I buy on the trip.

The result? Our lovely packing job included:

Light Dresses, tanks, sweaters, t-shirts, Pashminas, Bikinis, gloves, hats, jeans, 4 jackets (Jean jacket, peacoat for the rain, leather jacket and north face jacket), 3 sandals, 1 heels, hiking boots, running shoes, cute boots and converse.

So we�ll probably only wear 50% of what we brought, but at least we�re prepared for anything (and anyone who needs a last minute makeover)!

Related Stories:
· Chile Travel Stories [Jaunted]
· Shira Lazar [Official Site]

Comments (7)

Return to » A Tale of Multiple Packing Personalities

Hey, I've traveled as a photojournalist to some pretty messed up climates. Weight and space is always an issue - not that styling isn't important ;) Trick is really to layer as best you can. Good base layers from companies like Icebreaker, maybe a fleece and/or lightweight down sweater and then a waterproof, windproof shell from my company (Canada Goose). next time you head out like this, let me know and I'll hook you up with the best gear on the planet! I love the old saying about packing "before you leave, lay out all the clothing you plan to take and all the cash. Then put away half the clothing and double the money". Cheers Kevin

Am I wrong, or does Shira have the longest and most impressive user profile on Jaunted? Makes me rather ashamed of my three-liner...

Looking forward to hearing about your adventures in my part of the world.

Hi, i've been following you thru twitter. It is really nice that you are in Chile right now. it is extremly warm this days, so be prepare for that. Have a nice week here and if you need some help in the country, let me know. Fabiola @fabsy_

Yes, but Matt, it was your "Thinkers Guide To Staying in BA series that I pointed her to as the "most impressive embed series...evah".

Shira, you're taking more jackets to Chile than I actually own! But then again, jacket-weather doesn't happen too often down here on the west coast of Oz ... Hope your trip's fantastic!

For keeping up with everything- more fun posts to come including some cool video :)

you packed a bikini and a north face jacket! that is multiple personality packing in a nutshell!

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