January 10, 2019 - Things we are learning

Things we are learning:

A.  We need time not only to travel and sight-see, but also to:

1. Plan and research our future travels.  
• We have a fantastic travel agent who does a lot of that now, but we still need to initially identify the places we want to go (our travel agent has suggestions as well), the sites to see, activities to do, and how long to stay in any given place.  And then our travel agent makes suggestions about the season to go, places and sights to see, length of stay, etc.  Once we are all on the same page re the itinerary she then does her magic.  We also like to read up on the history and culture of the places before we visit.  And research practical matters like weather, currency, tipping, driving rules, etc.  
2. Process our photos and create our blogs.
3. Handle normal life stuff as it comes up.  We can no longer put it off until we get back home, because home is wherever our suitcases are.  For example:
• Track and manage finances, ensure bills (at this point it is mostly credit cards) are paid, handle the paperwork associated with life, keep the technology updated and working, etc.
4. Exercise - before starting our travels, we had personal trainers we would see three times a week.  Now, although we walk a lot, we still need to do other exercises.
5. Have some downtime.
• One way to do all this is to have an extra down day or two at most places.  And sometimes to just go someplace (with good internet) for a couple of weeks and do very little sightseeing.  We are still working to figure out a good balance.  It looks like maybe a ratio of 4 or 5 days sightseeing to two days doing all the other stuff might suffice.  But have yet to achieve that.

B.  Managing the turnaround time when we do come home for visits to the dentist, doctor, optometrist, and vaccination clinic.  Visiting friends and relatives.  Doing taxes, repacking, and other sometimes time consuming tasks.  We think the turnaround time at home should probably be at least a month.

C.  Since we eat out all the time, managing our weight is necessary (and difficult).

D.  Between trips "home", if possible, we should travel only to warm places, or only to cold places, in order to limit the amount of clothes and other items we need to pack.  We also might consider shipping some clothes, if it comes to that.  This also we have yet to manage.

E.   Not much, if any, time for movies or TV.  

F.   We travel on some small regional airlines, and the carry-on weight restrictions can be limited:  generally one bag  7kg (15.4 lbs) plus a personal item.  In one case it was 5 kg (11 lbs).  We have to pack the electronics, medicines, etc. in the backpack carefully, since the backpack could easily weight 10 kg (22 lbs).  Although only twice have they actually weighed a carry-on.  

And checked bags - sometimes no free bags, so we need to pay for excess bags.  And we need to watch the weight as well, especially on smaller airlines.

So a goal is to get down to one checked bag and one carry-on each, with a small personal item.😅  Not happening so far as we always need a relatively full daypack as well. 😥