Tomorrow is the big day when we fly out of Adelaide about 10pm. We are soon to move from the planning stage of our trip to the doing stage. Very exciting.

The challenge for me  with packing is selecting a minimum but good range of clothing, toiletries, waterproof gear, electronics, first aid basics and other necessities which are both lightweight and compact to pack.

Clothing is easy if one selects the kind of gear available in outdoor shops such as Paddy Palin. The added advantage is they are crease free,no ironing is needed and they are easy to hand wash and drip dry overnight.

Toiletries, shoes and paper tend to be the heavy items for me. Over the years I have become a little obsessive about packing these items in an effort to keep weight right down. With toiletries I will repack small amounts of face creams into tiny plastic containers bought from pharmacies. I will even collect free samples of Aesop shampoos and skincare items to keep weight right down.

For our Camino walk it is crucial that we keep our packs light.

I wonder if we wIll pack  enough or maybe too much…….

Six things I am not going to pack ( but would like to)

1.Books – I will leave the guide books and latest novels I want to read home and take one or two old paperbacks I haven’t read for the plane. When finished I will give them away or swap for another.

2. Several pairs of “smart looking shoes” – they might look good but probably no one but me would notice. And my feet and back would pay the price! Comfort for me is number one so I shall be wearing Birkenstock sandals when I’m out of my hiking boots. When I finish the walk no doubt I will go shoe hunting in the Madrid shops. Carrying shoes back to Australia should be easy.

3. iPAD – how much easier for writing emails and blogs or reading by kindle but the extra weight and responsibility of watching it means that I have decided to only take my phone. That’s one reason my blog will probably be full of typos!

4. Handbag – while I have a couple of handbags that would be good for travel I’m looking to save weight and minimise chance of theft. I’m wearing clothes with zip pockets and taking along a tiny bumbag just big enough for phone and cards.

5. Range of toiletries – these can take up too much weight and so I am packing small amounts of shampoo, skin creams and so on into small plastic bottles and containers. I think this is the most effective way to reduce overall weight.

6. A big cosy jumper for cool evenings – this would be too large and difficult to wash. Instead I will be taking icebreaker thermals and sweater which are very warm and can be worn under and over other items of clothing. As well they fold down very small and weigh very little.

I have just finished packing my pack. It weighs 7 kilos so I am happy with that.

Giulio’s pack is about 9 kilos so he has done a great job with his packing.

The next blog post will probably be in Toledo.