All set and ready!

So, the big day is almost upon me! I honestly cannot believe, and still have trouble realising that in a few days’ time (should I count the hours?) I’ll be on the other side of the globe, scouring for the perfect bicycle, the last minute gear I was too lazy to buy before leaving and, most importantly: something to make mate. See, as I’ve understood it, making friends in Argentina involves mate. “¿Quieres tomar mate conmigo?” is probably one of the first sentences I was taught by my two dear Argentinians friends!

Sunday, I’ll be leaving at night, and will arrive on Monday late afternoon in the historical city of San Miguel de Tucumán, where the treaty of independence from Spain was signed on the July 9th, 1816. The city, located at the North-West of the country looks like a good place to start my journey. The general idea of this trip is to tour on the North side, first halting at Salta, then joining my family at Iguázu for Christmas before finally going South, towards Patagonia. Depending on the time it takes me to get there, I’ll be next headed North through Chile, then Peru. When I somehow arrive to Peru, I’ll just do what I do best: improvise.

See, planning has never been my strong point. I like to be prepared, yes (I actually love getting just the right setup for the task at hands), but I’d much rather discover on the go what happens, and be open to adventures on the road. Now, as I’ve not yet started my trip and thus not have much to tell you about, I’ll start on with my gear.

First off, no, the cat isn’t included. Let’s see what else we have here.
Clothing-wise, I will take:

• 1 bicycle short
• 1 zip-off trousers (convertible to shorts)
• 3 sport shirts
• 1 heat-tech under-shirt sort of thing
• 1 “normal” shirt
• 1 fleece jacket
• 1 padded jacket
• 1 wind/waterproof jacket
• 1 sport bra
• 5 pairs of socks
• 4 panties
• 1 pair of flip-flops
• 1 quick-dry towel
• 1 pair of bicycle gloves

Concerning camping and some other miscellaneous tools:

• 2 gourds (1 being water filtering)
• 1 tent (Nature Hike cloud peak, 2 person size)
• 1 sleeping mat
• 1 sleeping bag (down to 0 degrees Celsius)
• 1 cooking-pan kit
• 1 foldable bag (10L)
• 1 multi tool
• 1 pomp
• 1 leatherman multi-tool knife
• 1 “Guide du routard”
• 1 road map
• 1 Camera (Olympus M5 Mark-II)
• 1 cat (I said no)
• 1 battery bank
• 1 violin
• 1 kindle
• 1 puncture repair kit
• 1 survival blanket
• 1 first aid kit
• 1 toiletry bag

All of this easily fits into two Ortlieb panniers of 20L each, plus a front one of 6 or 7L. Overall, the whole thing weights just under 15kg, which sounds reasonable to me. Next step is taking the plane, go through all the correspondenceS (24h trip total) and crash on my hotel room’s bed in Tucumán! I’ll let you know how this goes.

Also, I will need to buy a few more things once I get there, namely:

• A bicycle (seems important for bicycle touring!)
• A cap
• Sunglasses
• A stove