Unpacking

I keep forgetting it's a Bank Holiday today. I guess when everyday is a holiday, you just lose track of time... ;D

I think marginally worse than packing, is unpacking. I tend to pull everything out of my luggage to get to the good bits - souvenirs from my trip - scatter things around the house and then take ages to put stuff back in its rightful place. Over the last few days and, in between sleeps, I've been getting to it - slowly.

Checking out my zipline photo CD was top priority. For 3 whole weeks, I've carried that CD up through Central America, across to Canada and then over the Atlantic back to the UK and I was itching to take a look - which I've now done. I've also been loading up 1,150 photos from my Fuji camera and iPhone and already whittled them down to 1,050. Still a way to go...

Going through my kit has been another big job. As expected (and hoped!) my Berghaus items held up well. My cap didn't get stained with sweat and running red hair dye (!) My day back pack was never any trouble, very comfortable and, even though I almost lost it over the side of the volcano Concepcion many times that day we hiked up, it never fell apart on me, albeit getting quite dirty and dusty over the course of 9 hours. And lastly my boots; they were the best. No blisters, great traction and giving them a complete hose down with iffy Nicaragua tap water has not dampened their spirits. They look clean enough (I think I picked a cracking colour - sandy) and they don't even smell from the iffy water.

I'm about to embark on a mega ironing session, after completing a mega washing and drying session - and that's just with my clothes. Oh, the joys of being home! I've still got to wash my shoes and flip flops, day back pack, money belt and I've got a yellowing "once was white" Kaftan to figure out how to restore to its former glory. I hope it's not ruined thanks to Nivea's oil based factor 30 suncream, that didn't even stop me from burning. There's also some mending to do. My big ruck sack needs stitching up in 3 places where the seams have given out. Considering it was only £45, it held up pretty darn well - and I must have been getting stronger because I could carry it in my arms towards the end of the trip! Don't know whether it would have been comfortable enough to solely back pack with, but luckily I didn't have cause to find out if the reviews were true.

Lastly, I forgot to G+ whilst on tour, so I've been doing it retrospectively. Yes, social media-ing yourself is time consuming, but I managed to get stuff out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram thanks to linking them altogether. This is a great way to share your experiences on the road in real time with your family and friends. I prefer this instead of keeping a live blog. The spontaneity of an immediate post is exciting. My blog requires more depth - less "in the moment", more reflecting on the amazing-ness of my journey - so I like to think about the content whilst I'm travelling and then post retrospectively.