After a fabulously full and fun summer in Washington State it’s time for us to begin year nine of the Grand Adventure. Can you believe it? Never thought we would still be doing this nine years later, but here we are. Following year eight, we did come to the agreement however, we wanted to create shorter itineraries. So in the year ahead we have two itineraries, one is seven weeks and one is four months. We will come back to the USA for the winter holidays and leave again in January. So, it’s time to tackle the first itinerary and my travel wardrobe – seven weeks & nine countries.

Seven Weeks & Nine Countries

Preparing for this trip has been very different from any of our trips in the past. We are excited to be visiting nine countries, eight of these are new to us. Eight are also countries few people visit – but we have had these on our radar for a long time. Next Friday I will have a post with itinerary details. But for today here is where we are headed; Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan – we will travel for three weeks on our own. Next, with Intrepid Travel Group Tour, we will visit Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. We will finish this seven week itinerary with a few relaxing days in Dubai where we have been once before.

Luggage

Packing for this itinerary is unique. We will be leaving at home several of our creature comforts we usually carry including THE MUG and the French Press, as well as my yoga mat, bathroom scale, scrabble game, collapsible cooler and kitchen spices and gear. I am bringing no jewelry, no makeup and very minimal beauty care products. This is all in an effort to check only one medium bag, and carry on our backpacks.

Early this summer we replaced our trusty workhorse luggage from REI with two new REI bags. Those old REI bags have traveled approximately 400,000 miles for the past 8 and half years. We would have purchased the exact same bags, but REI no longer makes these same bags. So instead we purchased the new version.

My luggage does not need to make a fashion statement. I do, however, need it to be functional, durable, reliable, comfortable and expandable. Our two new mustard yellow bags (won’t get those confused with other bags on the baggage carousel!) will hopefully fill these needs. The medium one (capacity 87 liters) is coming with us on this trip, the large one (capacity 109 liters) on the next trip in January.

Weather

Our seven week trip will see temperatures ranging from lower 80’s Fahrenheit to possible overnight lows in the higher elevations of 20’s Fahrenheit. This kind of temperature fluctuation creates a challenge for packing. I am packing everything from gauzy lightweight dresses to long underwear. It’s all gotta fit in one checked bag and two carry on backpacks.

What to Expect

Most of these countries are Muslim countries while a few are Orthodox Christian. Each culture has a varying degree of modesty expectations. I do not need to cover my head anywhere, however dressing modestly is a courtesy I am glad to oblige as a guest.

We will be in large beautiful cities, as well as tiny rural villages. We will visit UNESCO sites, mosques, parks, theaters, mountains and lakes. Our accommodations will include beautiful hotels, Airbnb’s, tents, yurts and home stays. What a variety!

Travel Wardrobe – Seven Weeks & Nine Countries

So finally, my wardrobe choices. As always I pack a variety of mix and match pieces to hopefully cover all scenarios. Let’s have a look.

Khaki Heavy Hiking Pants

These pants are from Zorali and new this year. They are fairly heavy so will be good in cooler temperatures. I can wear them both on the trail and in a city paired with multiple different tops and sweaters as shown here.

Navy Lightweight Hiking Pants

This is the second year for these lighter weight summer hiking pants from REI. I like the color for both wilderness or city use. I can mix and match with multiple tops and layers for whatever I need.

Cold Weather Gear

I have my fleece lined leggings from Baleaf I bought for our trip to Iceland several years ago. I love these things. If it’s really cold, these leggings with my silk long underwear are toasty and also make great pajamas if needed.

Linen Pants

I love these linen pants I bought last spring in Greece. I have worn them a lot over the summer. They are great for warm weather.

Chinos

I have been traveling with pink chinos from Talbot’s for many years, and this summer I purchased a new khaki pair. Though similar to both the linen and khaki hiking pants, the weight of these are a perfect in-between option. This will be my airplane outfit for the very long flight out of Seattle.

Something Pretty

Although I suspect pants will be my choice for active travel, I have also packed two dresses and two skirts – all four purchased new this summer.

Long Blue Dress

This dress I can wear as a sun dress or use multiple cover-ups for more modesty. I know this dress will also come with me on the next itinerary to tropical places. I purchased this from Appleseeds.

Gauzy Dress

Wow, this is so comfortable especially in humid climate. Soft and flowy material in a beautiful color, this piece from Chico’s covers both my shoulders and knees.

Two Skirts

This colorful long skirt is linen; it’s cool and comfortable. I have several tops I can mix and match with this, which is new from Talbots.

This second skirt I have worn a lot this summer and I love it. From a company called Pact, I bought it online. It is so carefree and comfortable and easy wash and wear. An absolute perfect travel piece.

What Else

From these photos you can see I have several t-shirts, two tank tops, one long sleeve t-shirt, one long sleeve linen tunic, one button down shirt and one fleece button down shirt. I will bring my raincoat and my fleece puffy coat as well as three pairs of shoes and three hats. I have one scarf and one silk cover up, both I have had in my closet for years. It’s unclear if I will have access to laundry facilities, but I can hand wash most of this wardrobe when needed.

In addition I have two sweaters. The short sleeve lime green sweater is from Talbot’s and I have been wearing this for several years now. But I wanted to point out the olive green sweater with hood, new from Paka. This is an alpaca knit pullover hoodie sweater. So warm and I am hopeful it will be useful for hiking, walking and even sleeping.

Let’s Go

I’m ready to go, and ready to test drive this new and reduced travel wardrobe. Also reduced packing in general in our brand new luggage. I hope you will come back next Friday to see the full itinerary of our upcoming trip. I’m ready to share this exciting adventure. Let’s Go.

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See last week’s post A Visit to Seattle’s Pike Place Market