… with dreams of Africa all through her head.  Acccording to the @delta app, I’m 32 days, 22 hours, and 1 minute from departure.

It’s all happening so fast, and for the first time in my LIFE, I’ve managed to have everything arranged and mapped out in ADVANCE! This is a new thing happening here. Passport? Check. Vaccinations? Check. Visas? Check. Travel insurance? Check. Five extremely detailed binders with color-coded maps outlying the entire trip down to the smallest detail? Check x 5. Soooo much planning involved, down to making sure Scylla has her vaccinations and medications, I have 36 days worth of MY medications (*see below), bills are paid, transportation is coordinated between multiple legs of the trip, payments are processed… do I really need to go on? The only thing left to do now is pack… oh, and buy a water bottle with a filter.

* Here is the “below” part that I suggested in the above paragraph you see.  If you’ve ever been on any sort of anti-depressant, especially SNRIs, you are already well aware that one day of missed medication can make you feel, well, “puddin’-headed.” Some folks get the “brain zaps.” The only way I’ve been able to describe either of those sensations is like this: you know the sound the light saber makes? That electric “wonh wwoonnh” sound? It’s as if the sound had a physical manifestion that warped its way through the body and back, and when you turn to see where it came from, your eyes don’t have the ability to keep up with your head or the question. Got it?  And that’s just from missing one dose. Two missed doses, and ya might as well stay home. No sense in driving. Three or more missed doses? Let’s just not even get out of bed, because you’ll have to walk with your torso leaning forward at a 45 degree angle, or the whole world starts spinning in exactly the wrong direction. My point is this: I need to make sure I have my meds. And don’t think for one sec that I’m forgetting about migraine medications. Those bad boys are miracle workers that, while they literally make me want to peel my skin off, have saved my life and the lives of many others. And I’m not about to ruin my dream vacation with f’n migraines. Hell, maybe I won’t even have them, #nostress, but I’m not taking any chances. Thanks for letting me share. 

Let’s discuss the packing, shall we? According to G Adventures, I’m limited to 15 kg of luggage plus a day pack, However, the flight from the yoga retreat to the Masai Mara is on a puddle-jumper, and I’m limited to 15 kg TOTAL. Do y’all KNOW me? My hair products alone weigh at least 5 kg. BTW, 15 kg is approximately 33 lbs, and that’s counting the weight of the luggage itself. I think what I’m learning is a lesson in minimalism. I do think that so many of us non-nomadic types have this in common: we overpack and tend to wear the same damn thing over and over. So, I’m trying to narrow it down while taking into consideration that it’s Winter in South Africa, and I’ll practically be on the Equator in AFRICA for the last 2 weeks. Thanks to my dear friend, Erica Garafolo, and her brilliant ideas, I went Goodwill hunting, focused on the green and brown sections, and bought an entire trips worth of clothes for less than a safari jacket at REI. As I start to get a sense of clothing consistency, I can give away clothes I’m not using. Full circle, my friends.  Aaaannnnd, today I found out that The Safari Cottages in Ol Pejeta will be supplying our yoga mats! How incredibly sweet and awesome is that? Literally saves a a pound or two of space! This is why I can’t sleep at night… the details, the details. So thank you for reading what has allowed me a distraction from my details and my countdown, which is now 32 days, 20 hours, and 42 minutes. Just sayin’…