Packing for the Greek Isles

Living in a shoebox apartment, we are constantly trying to reduce our belongings. This means no bulky luggage. We avoid checked luggage like the plague. We are constantly attempting to minimize how much we travel with, especially because we don’t want to be waiting at the baggage carousel after getting off a flight. Before 2019, we were using an old JanSport backpack and Nike duffels as our carry ons, and they were not functional or good for our (aging) bodies. So this year we ditched our old carry ons, and got ourselves some serious travel backpacks by Cotopaxi. We have an Allpa 35L and an Allpa 28L. We took the 35L travel pack to CDMX earlier this year for 4 days, and had enough room to pack things for two in there. But on my 10 day trip to Greece, where I’d be hopping islands, I took the lighter, 28L travel pack instead. Read on to see what I packed!

Why did I pack…

Two pairs of pants and a light jacket?

Flights are cold, and sometimes nights can be too. Plus I was planning on visiting some temples and I wanted to be respectful of the sites I’d be visiting. So I made sure to have some options where I could be completely covered up, or in various layers.

Several swim suits & sandals?

People usually use trips to dress up, but I use trips to say goodbye to clothing items. I had a pair of sandals that had seen better days, plus some bathing suits I needed to move on from. I prefer wearing sandals in hot climates, so I intended to completely wreck this pair over this trip. I was planning on visiting the hot springs in Santorini, and the iron oxide deposit that I needed to swim through to get to those hot springs would badly stain my swimsuit. So this is the perfect time to wear one I no longer cared for.

A Personal Flotation Device?

I learned how to swim as an adolescent and I swam every year until I was 15 because I happened to be in schools with pools (and swimming was a mandatory part of our physical education). But from sophomore year in high school onward, I never swam. Despite knowing the mechanics of how to swim, I no longer swim when I’m in bodies of water, be it pools, oceans or lakes. I’m no longer confident I can swim, and I feel nervous when I can’t feel the bottom with my toes… but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from going to those aforementioned hot springs!

If I really wanted to, I could have packed a lot less, but knowing that I don’t want to waste travel time doing laundry, I didn’t bother. What I did pack is a collection of items that can be dressed up or down, going from the beach, to the city. And I left plenty of space for some souvenirs!

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