These are my suggestions
for how to get a kayak on the plane. First of all, book your flight
with an airline that is kayak friendly. Research the policies
off all your airline options, and select one that explicitly accepts
kayaks. US Airways has the best policy I can find for American
carriers at the time I am writing this. US Air charges $80 for
the kayak. Second of all, some people pack their paddles in a
separate paddle bag, but I just don't see the value in it. I don't
want my paddles to count as one of my checked bags, because I just wasted
about 35 pounds of usable space. Plus paddles are over length,
and I wouldn't want to get charged for them. The way I like to
do it is to pack four bags:
Take a layer or two of your light weight paddling clothing and put this
between the blade and boat to support it. If you do this correctly
it will stand up to the guaranteed beating your boat and paddle will
receive by the baggage guys. I have always traveled with Werner
Paddles and have never had one arrive broken. If you have any
weight left put your breakdown and helmet and other bulky items in your
boat. Be sure to positively attach them to the boat. Nothing
should be in your boat unattached. Also take a prussik and use
a carabiner to positively attach your paddle to your kayak in case some
airline employee being 'helpful' somehow pulls the paddle off the kayak.
Now use copious amounts of tape to ensure it would take a small
army to remove the paddle(s) from the kayak.
Now take or make
some sort of light weight tarp or bag to cover the kayak completely.
You want this to look like 'cargo' not sports equipment. The more
it looks like cargo, the less likely some will want to be to look inside
for something they might want. Remember to keep your packaging
light but durable to say within weight. Now securely hold your
boat cover in place with tape or zippers or what ever. Remember
that bag security is likely going to undo all your nice packaging (they
certainly did it to mine) so they can look inside. Package it
in a way that they can redo it easily. Try to make spots where
the ticket agent can attach the bag tag and your can put your name,
address, phone and email on the package. Finally, if possible
make it so the front and back grap loops can be used for moving your
boat around. One more tip would be that your boat will get dragged
around, so be prepared for the under part of your packaging to take
a beating.
If you do all this correctly
your only extra fee will be one over size fee. Not bad! Here are some suggestions
on boat and bag considerations. I suggest you take a used kayak
that you already know you like on your trip. Don't bring one that
is in danger of breaking because it is so old, but you won't be able
to sell a brand new used boat in your destination any better than you
could sell a used used boat there.
Before and during your
trip start shopping your boat and paddle around. The point here
is to bring a boat and paddle you like on the trip, and then sell it
when you are ready to come back. You can probably bring back your
paddle without paying extra fees, but why lug the boat around and likely
pay the fees again? You will most likely get a good price for
it and have one less headache for your return. I also suggest
water proof or at least water resistant (the material is water proof
but the zippers are not) for all your bags.
You never know when
your stuff will be exposed to the elements such as camping or in the
back of a truck, and you are MUCH better off with bags with will keep
all your gear dry and happy. Start packing as soon
as you book your ticket. You never know what logistical and gear
problems you will find when you pack, so it is better to find them out
early rather than late. Don't delay on setting out your stuff
and going through your list. Check for visa requirements
as soon as you book your ticket. You'll want to check immediately
any requirements for visiting your planned country. You may have
to send off your passport to a consulate to get a visa. You better
do this right away, because if you show up at the country without a
visa they will turn you around and make you go home. Check for vaccination
requirements as soon as you book your ticket. Don't be one of
the cases that gets reported to the authorities. Get all your
vaccinations well before your trip. Then do your best to keep
the mosquitos at bay with nets or deet. You'll be much happier
preventing the illness rather than recovering from it. Check online
with the CDC for suggestions and requirements and with your doctor of
course. Check for malaria medications
as soon as you book your ticket. Again, you don't want to be one
of the reported cases. Get the malaria medication suggested for
your destination. Different countries have different malarias,
so get the right one. And then use nets and deet to do your best
to keep the little buggers at bay. Check on electronics
and order them as soon as you book your ticket. You may want a
new digital or video camera for your trip. You may want a new
small laptop or mp3 player. Regardless you will get a lot better
deal on price and research and shipping if you take care of this very
early as opposed to having someone rush ship you something that you
hope will arrive the day you are supposed to leave. Pack as if you are leaving
a day earlier than you are. Don't leave your last minute packing
for the last minute. You most likely will have forgotten a couple
small things you will need or want to change in your packing, and it
is better to take care of that stuff the day before rather than on your
way to the airport. Plus it is a LOT nicer when you are packed
in advance, and you are not in a huge and frenzied rush on the day you
leave. Make sure to put your
knife or multi tool in checked baggage. Make sure to put liquids,
gels and aerosols in checked baggage. Nothing sucks more than
bringing your favorite knife or leatherman and forgetting to check it
as opposed to putting it with your personal items. You will have
to throw it away, try to check it, or pay $20 to ship it back home before
they will let you through security. Make a bag of the items they
do not allow through security, and make sure those go in a checked bag. Make sure to really go
through your carry on bags before both departure and return and remove
all rasors, suncscreen, liquids, fluids, gels, etc. I am sick
at tired of them taking my stuff, and I need to be better prepared to
prevent it. Pack your toothbrush
in your carry on bag. For these international kayaking trips getting
there will likely involve 36 hours of trains, planes, automobiles and
busses. You'll be glad to have a toothbrush handy. I should have brought
a bug net. I had several nights where I did not sleep well because
of the bugs getting after me. I am bringing a bug net next time
to deal with this. An important thing for
me to do in the future is bring a GPS. I have tended to not watch
the map that closely and track our route, and I need to be better about
this. Plotting our course and logging the towns we go through
will be an awesome way to keep track of our path, location and progress.
Plus it will really help me and us to know if we are going the right
direction in important times were we are unsure. If I would have
had my GPS on for the drive to Brasilia I probably would have caught
the missed turn a lot sooner. An important aspect of
spending as little money as possible on these trips and in general is
to plan way ahead and take care of things right away. These trips
can be a lot more expensive or a lot less expensive based on your pre-planning.
Go through your itinerary and do your best to think of everything.
Try to cover your bases as much as possible. Thorough pre-planning
could save you as much as $500 on your trip. Be prepared to brush
your teeth without water from beginning to end. Just put toothpaste
on your tooth brush and start brushing. Spit when ever you need
to. When you have brushed as much as you like spit out the toothpaste
in your mouth. Then suck the left over toothpaste and saliva from
your toothbrush and spit that out to. Put you toothbrush away
and you are done. If you want to be safe about not drinking bad
water, pour nothing on your toothbrush except bottled water if you have
it. I don't even do that anymore. I don't want to waste
the bottled water. I would rather drink it. Don't drink juice or
eat lettuce or eat other non cooked vegetables that still have their
skin. Many times you will be okay with raw vegetables,
sometimes you won't. If you want to gamble that is up to you.
You will probably begin to know what sources of food you can trust and
which ones you can't. But let me tell you from several first hand
experiences that bad water, food poisoning and bacteria are the shits.
Literally. They are absolutely terrible. And once you experience
these things you start getting pretty picky about what you will eat.
I once had 3 glasses of juice from a nice river resort in Colombia that
looked very clean. I even asked if it was made with bottled water
or tap water before I drank it. They told me bottled water.
They lied. I was terribly sick for 2 weeks until I took a full
course of anti-biotics. Don't mess around with getting ill on
your vacation. Wait until you get home to have juice made with
water and fresh vegetables. Of course you still need to eat vegetables
on your trip to stay regular, so pick ones that do not risk you getting
sick. Fresh juices not made with water but just fruit juice
are fine. Also don't drink tap water or river water. I carry
the Katadyn Exstream water bottle filter combo, and have never gotten
sick using this. This product is a life saver. Wear flip flops or sandals.
Pretty much every day you are in central or south America in their summer
you will want to wear sandals or flip flops. Plus if you get your
feet wet a lot from walking and hiking through rivers, sandals are the
best choice of shoe. Sandals may be the most versitile and practical
choice, but I tend to bring flip flops. Sandals are also perfect
for long drives and just getting around down. You will still want
a pair of sneakers though. Some times the weather may be too cold
for sandals. Also sandals are not as good for technical and muddy
hiking. Bring both and you will use your sandals more often.
You do not want to wear your sneakers exclusively, especially if they
get wet. You need to keep your feet dry as much as possible.
Also the filp flops are great for showers. I prefer to ever step
barefoot in showers as this is a very likely way to pick up athlete's
foot or some other fungus. Don't skimp on price when buying sandals.
If you get the ones with the soft black sole and it gets wet, your feet
will slip right out of the flip flop. Also, be careful with wet
straps and grit between your foot and your straps. Your skin can
get irritated and need a break from the rubbing and grit especially
if wet. Bring a light but durable
pair of full length pants and long sleeve shirt. There will probably
be times when you want to protect your self from the little bugger mosquitos
and/or sun, and clothing is definitely the best way to handle them both. Don't skimp on your personal
hygene. I see a lot of kayakers who go days and days without showering
or brushing their teeth. Don't be that guy/gal. Shower when
the opportunity presents itself. Keep your small bar of soap in
a zip lock back handy for the times when you can bathe in the river.
Swim every chance you get. Brush your teeth at least twice a day
and use floss once a day. Be sure to clean your under carriage
every chance you get. When you take a shower or have an extra
moment in the river do your laundry. I like to use my bar of soap
to lather up my clothes and then rinse them thoroughly. You'll
be surprised how nice they smell afterward. You may have no problem
being Pigpen from Penauts but, you are risking the growth of fungus
or worse on your body and you will probably smell too ripe for your
friends. Just because you are traveling does not mean you will
want to take a vacation from personal hygene. You don't need to
be overly militant about it, but I would stay on top if it. I like to get a short
hair cut before I leave. Usually you do not have the opportunity
to shower in the mornings, so pillow head is a constant on these trips.
Short hair is easier in my opinion and easier to keep clean. Bring a decent shirt
for going out. The key is always packing lightly, but at the same
time there will be opportunities to go out for a drink or dancing.
I have had no problems using sandals or sneakers and my light weight
pants out for the evening, because a decent going out shirt is all that
really matters. Bring a large external
hard drive for photos. On kayaking trips friends will bring cameras,
and they will take some photos you will want. If you are a blogger
or professional kayaker, you will want a lot of their photos.
Be sure to bring a large storage device for photos. Be able to ftp large
files. If you are a blogger or professional kayaker you will want
the ability to share large files internationally. An ftp site
is the only decent way to do this. If you want to keep others
updated and share video or lots of photos, an ftp site is what you will
need. People in central and
south America are smokers. You'll just have to deal with it.
I hate smoking, but there isn't much can do about it down here. Do your best to pick
up the language, even it is only a few basic things. Being able
to say things like greetings, thank you, I want, I have, you have?,
how much, numbers, etc. can make your life a lot easier. With
a few basic words and some gesturing makes most simple travel communication
is possible. Bring a charge converter
from auto to 110. If you are on a kayaking camping trip and are
trying to save money by not being in rooms every night, you will want
an auto converter. There are many times when you will want to
charge something important and have access to a car charger but not
an outlet. You'll be glad to have this. As alwasy, small
is key. Be prepared to do a lot
of sitting around. What would you do if you had to spend 18 hours
somewhere waiting for someone or something. It happens.
It happens more than you might think. Be prepared to enertain
yourself for long periods of time. Here are my list or what
I take on a trip. Watershed bag: Backpack Main Bag Kayaking Equipment
Overseas expedition kayaking travel tips
by jesse coombs