THIS TIME TOMORROW

I genuinely can’t believe how quickly the weeks have gone and that I leave tomorrow…

What a busy four weeks of arranging and booking flights, organising travel insurance, making sure I have every item that I’ll need for a crazy summer to winter experience, and so many more little things. But it’s here. It’s finally here, and this time tomorrow I’ll be triple checking my bags and sitting down to my last England based dinner for two whole weeks.

I must admit I am a little nervous, but I feel like that’s natural when you embark on any new adventure. I am far more excited than anything else. I think I’m more nervous about missing magical moments than actually donning my rucksack for the second time and heading off into the scenic wilderness of Scandinavia.

People keep asking which parts I’m most excited about, and I honestly couldn’t tell you. Does ‘all of it’ count? I’m definitely excited about seeing the midnight sunset, and hopefully a few stars in the Norwegian or Finnish or Estonian sky, and I am absolutely excited about seeing wild reindeer and a bit (a lot) of snow. I’ve always been one for wanting to see the beautiful places in the world, filled with culture, wonder, and amazing views, and so I think this is my biggest excitement. I can’t wait to be struck with awe by the glacier and fjord views I’m expecting to see.

Tomorrow evening I start my adventure via bus to the airport, then hopping onto a quick flight to Oslo, Norway. The real excitement then begins. I’m due to meet one of the guys from my trip at the airport as he flies in only 25 minutes after I do, then together we can make the hour long journey to our ‘pick up point’. We’ll be able to spend the rest of the morning and afternoon doing as we please, either hanging around the lake-side camping spot or heading into Oslo itself - so long as we’re back at the pick-up point by 6pm.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The last few days I’ve been busy gathering all of my travel goodies and packing both of my rucksacks. Luckily I gathered a lot of travel gear for my trip around Thailand in 2011, but as this is a trip involving a big variation in temperatures I've had to be really careful and thoughtful with what I need to take. For example, I need to take shorts, but also need to take thermals. I need to take sandals, but also need to take warm, waterproof hiking boots. Madness, especially when you need to travel light. I’ve been doing my best not to over-pack, and have been removing the odd not-entirely-necessary item from my ‘to pack’ list, of course I’ve added a few extra items too like a warmer coat and a matching floppy hat.

I’m really logical when it comes to packing and I make sure I know exactly where everything is, for example if I need my first aid kit in a rush I’ll know which bag it’s in and where it is in that bag. I worked out a pretty good bag system when I went to Thailand, and I’m happy to carry it along with me (no pun intended) through Scandinavia.

I do like to lay all of my items out so that I can see what I have and which items need to go together. Most items, including all of my clothes/shoes/accessories, have gone into my larger 70L rucksack. My electronics however are all nicely in my smaller 25L rucksack. I always make sure my electronic items are with my on the plane. If you’re unlucky enough to lose your luggage, could you imagine losing two cameras, GHDs, and a variety of camera and phone charges?! I couldn’t think of anything worse. So these safely travel with me, in my own two hands, until I reach my destination… then I can start rearranging them around my 70L rucksack.

Also coming along for the plane ride in my 25L bag are my selfie-stick, travel pillow, travel diary, passport, travel documents, travel insurance documents, my wallet, my phone (which is usually glued to my hand), and very small number of other items, including a change of cardigan. All of the absolute essentials that I will need to hand. My sleeping bag will be my additional item, in place of a handbag.

Bliss. There’s no better feeling than feeling confident that your packing is pretty much done, and that you can sit on your sofa with the sun setting next to you knowing that tomorrow you embark on a bucket-list adventure that’s sure to bring you back to yourself.

Tonight I intend to relax on the sofa and chill out as much as possible. It’s definitely going to be a sofa, pjs, and movie kind of night, with an early turn-in. As I’ll be awake for potentially 24 hours from tomorrow morning I’ll need to be well-rested. I can’t imagine I’ll get much sleep on the bus to the airport, a few hours would be better than none.

Tomorrow will be spent finalising my packing, making sure that I really do have all that I need, and making some mini meals for my over-night travels.

I’ll be giving myself a two week break from blogging, as I won’t be able to throw posts together whilst on the move – not any decent posts worthy of sending out into the world anyway. If you do want to keep up to date with my travels then do follow me on Instagram as I’m sure I’ll be posting lots of amazing shots from all over.  You can find my Instagram here.  

I’m sure I’ll have plenty of photos to look through when I land in the UK, and will be busy putting together an amazing travel update for you all to read. Thankfully keeping a travel diary as I go will help with this, and also means that I won’t forget any incredible and hilarious moments. One day to go!

Claudia xo

• GIVEAWAY •

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