The Packing List

Packing for 4 Months

You may wonder how the 2 of us can fit 4 months of living needs on the motorcycle for 4 months. Here is a list detailing what we are bringing, and you will note, that the motorcycle requires a fair amount of luggage too! I have also noted some of the modifications made to ready "her" for the trip!

Motorcycle clothing:
Everything is x2 - one for each of us! Unless otherwise specified.

- Gloves: (& liners, & rain gloves). + one extra pair for Enric (a daunting 7 pair of gloves in all!)
- Gore-Tex jacket: with zippered inside liner 
- Gore-Tex pants: without liner 
- Motorcycle boots: Tall red trials boots for extra protection, and warmth 
- Scarves: cotton for warm days, wool/silk for cold days 
- Head/neck warmer: iextra cold days in the Patagonia and high Andes 
- Waist harness: To save our backs

Other clothing:
Everything is x2 - one for each of us! Unless otherwise specified.

- Gore-Tex hiking boots 
- Comfortable sandals 
- Convertible pants: pants and shorts all in one ***Enric only
- 1 Pair Pants and shorts : ***Kelly only
- Magic belt: with a hidden money compartment ***Enric only
- Swimsuit
- 3 T-shirts
- Long sleeve shirt. Extra warm one for Kelly to compensate for her natural lack of flesh against the cold
- Thermal pants and shirt
- 5 pairs of underwear 
- 6 pairs of socks: includes 1 pair of liners and warm socks
- Polar fleece sweater 
- 1 cap: to look as American as Kelly without one ***Enric only
- 3 bras: ***Kelly only

Toiletries:
Everything is x2 - one for each of us! Unless otherwise specified.

- Bar soap 
- Body lotion
- Lip balm
- Shampoo
- Shaving bar/brush/After-shave ***Enric only
- Razors
- Tooth brush and paste 
- Nail clipper 
- Birth control pills: (3 on the motorcycle would be one too many)
- Tampons ***Kelly only

Camping gear:

- Tent
- Sleeping bags
- Therm-a-rest mattresses
- Stove with small metal gas container
- Set of 3 cooking pots nicely packed together
- Metal plates and cups (2 of each)
- Strong plastic silverware
- 2 lanterns
- Tent candle light and 3 spare candles
- Swiss Army knife.
- Bigger switch blade 
- Two canteens (1 and 2L)
- Mosquito and other insect repellent (3 varieties)
- Olive oil container, salt, pepper
- Other foods: Rice, lentils, coffee, sugar, can of tomato sauce, etc. (we will buy as we go and store in hermetic plastic bags)
- Sunscreen: SPF 15
- Eye drops
- 2 old towels: Thinner and easier to pack 
- Rag for cleaning dishes
- All purpose soap: mainly for dishes and clothes, but could be used for body and hair. It cleans it all, although I would not use it as tooth paste
- Matches
- Rubber bands
- Toilet paper

First aid kit:

- Malaria pills
- Constipation pills
- Diarrhea pills
- Sea sickness pills
- Antihistaminic pills
- Ointment 
- Flu antibiotics
- Aspirin
- Bandages (Band-Aids)
- Sterile small bandages
- Syringe
- Sterile gloves to operate on the road
- Mosquito bite relief

We already took the tetanus, hepatitis B and yellow fever vaccinations

Travel documents and money:

- Passports
- Driver license: I opted for bringing my Spanish one vs. my US, I'm hoping to seek more sympathy at the multiple police controls and border crossings
- Yellow fever vaccination card 
- Motorcycle title
- Sprint calling card with access numbers for all Latin America
- Money belt to store all the above documents and carry them with us at all times
- We will pack our marriage certificate and my HP badge. They may become handy to get out of some trouble
- 4 credit cards and US$800 in cash (small and big bills) hidden in several places:
- 1 Visa in the money belt as main use
- 1 Visa hidden (taped) inside Kelly's Gore-Tex jacket
- 1 Visa hidden within our luggage
- 1 MasterCard and $300 hidden in the motorcycle (under the deposit!). Supposedly the safest place, unless they steal the motorcycle... in which case the trip is probably over anyway!
- $200 in the money belt
- $100 hidden in the tank bag
- $50 in money belt (x2)
- $50 in "stealable" wallet (x2). We will bring a fake wallet each one of us with some expired credit cards and some cash as bite for burglers.

... I just hope that Latin American thieves don't check the web to find out were naive travelers like us store their money). This list may actually come in handy went we need to pull some extra money or credit cards and we forgot were the heck we hide it!!

Other gear:

- GPS with cable to connect it to the 12v motorcycle outlet while driving
- Inter-helmet communicators (will they hold for more than a week ??)
- Laptop computer with battery charger. 12v motorcycle outlet adapter
- Cable to connect GPS to laptop to upload/download map details, routes and tracks
- Outlet adapter
- Digital camera
- Reflex camera
- 10 roles of film/slides
- 2 pairs of sun glasses Until Kelly loses hers, then only one
- Small compass
- Tiny game set for travel with carts, chest, checkers and backgammon
- Telephones (emergencies, medical, credit cards, calling cards, etc)
- Writing book and pen 
- Reading book (to be disposed or exchanged en route
- Cheap watch and necklace (to look cool, and not be valuable)
- Motorcycle cover (I read is the best protection against curious and thieves!)
- Motorcycle titanium lock (just in case who wrote what I read what wrong!)
- Extra pair of keys (ignition, panniers, lock and oil plug)
- Heavy straps (x2) and Bungee chords (3)
- Sewing kit (I darn socks in the evenings)
- Maps (total of 9). I plan to send them home once we go through the region/country

Motorcycle tools and spare parts:

- BMW super tool kit (some tools were repeated under the seat, and therefore carefully removed from the kit to save space and weight)
- Mini air pump
- Flat tire repair kit
- Flat tire inflatable foam 
- Inner tubes
- Pair of tire valves
- Spark plugs
- Clutch lever
- Clutch cable
- Headlight bulb
- Duct tape
- Nylon rope
- Gasoline transparent tube (1 m)
- 5-liter extra gasoline container
- 1 litter of engine oil
- Key BMW information manual

... tires, oil filter, gasoline filter and other necessary parts have been requested to BMW dealerships along the road

We are carrying all these in s BMW R1100GS. All fits in 2 aluminum panniers, 2 waterproof duffel bags, a tank bag and another smaller bags (strapped at the top of the right pannier). Believe it or not we have extra room in an empty backpack that we strap at the top of our rear luggage)

Motorcycle preparation for the trip:

- Touratech chassis reinforcement kit
- Touratech from fender for mud
- Touratech headlight protector
- Touratech handlebar protectors
- Mounts per containers of gas and oil
- Virtual CD