People got a kick out of my first post detailing the contents of my backpack, so I thought I’d give you all an update on its status on the occasion of my one month traveling anniversary (yay!!). I have made adjustments, dumping a few items and picking up many new ones as need (or more often want) be. Net, the pack has grown overall, but still not by much as most of the new items are small. Here’s the damage:

Adds:

• Safety pins
• Stash of oatmeal cookie, peanuts, and Guatemalan dark chocolate — to keep the gummi bears company.
• New laptop charger — mine died on day two.
• Grapefruit spoon — total necessity! How did this not make my pack in round one?
• Spanish-English pocket dictionary
• Conditioner — after a week at the beach, it had to happen. All-in-one soap wasn’t cutting it.
• Hot pink bikini — because why not.
• Scotch tape — for scrapbooking on the road and other miscellaneous mending.
• Lord of the Rings series
• Purple wristwatch
• Bottle of Chimay hot sauce — I heard Guatemalan food often lacks kick, so brought some of my own from Mexico.
• Shadowbox, textiles, dress, and a other few trinkets -> shipping home soon
• Amber necklace
• Mini neon blue nail polish — again, why is this not already in my pack?!
• Nail polish remover
• Additional hair ties
• Three tubes of lip balm
• Cuticle/multi-purpose balm — because tramping is rough on the skin.
• Body lotion 
• Additional camera memory card
• USB flash drive — uploading to the internet is slow so an alternative backup for photos is a must; baby computer doesn’t have much memory, and this is great for storing other traveler’s photos when we go on common adventures.

Subtracts:

• Loofa puff — lost almost immediately.
• Face serum — my skin care routine has got to shit out here; serum just wasn’t necessary and it was a weird kind I didn’t like anyways that smelled like patchouli. Tossed.
• Broken laptop charger
• Empty sunscreen, contact solution, etc
• Finished book: Gardens of the Moon
• Broken headphones

Just noticed some wear and tear on my pack at the seams that has me worried; looks like I’ve been stuffing it too tightly. I think it’s time to find a post office and consider dumping a few more things. Luckily now I have safety pins if the seam does burst!