Jan 4, 2007

New Year's Travel Resolutions

I resolve to follow the advice I give other travelers:

Pack Less

Somehow, the suitcase gets heavier every day, so I resolve to pack more things that serve multiple-purposes so I can pack fewer things. Like the pareo or pashmina that serves as a bathing suit cover by day and an elegant shoulder cover by night and the comfy walking shoes that can do double-duty on a hotel’s treadmill. I’m tired of returning from trips and unpacking a pile of things I did not wear into one stack to prove how foolish I was.

Bargain Airfares

I resolve to jump on the news of an airline fare sale before they are gone. My inbox is jammed with sale offers from Jetblue and Air Tahiti Nui and Travelzoo and others. Gotta jump faster.

Digital Dilemna

I resolve to download, file and burn pix from this trip as soon as I get home, instead of waiting until an f-stop or two before I’m leaving for the next trip and need to buy a new memory card.

Leave No Trace

Take only pictures, leave only footprints, wherever you go. I have actually carried home in my luggage things that I would normally throw away, such as an empty toothpaste tube, rather than burden the delicate eco-structure of a place like Patagonia or one of the smaller out-islands of the Bahamas.

Shorten the List

And, finally, I resolve to go to more of the adventure destinations that have been on my ‘wish list’ for more years than I want to admit.