January 21, 2010
6:00pm

I’m finally on my way. I won’t make it to the Dominican Republic tonight as planned, but American Airlines will put me up in Miami and I’ll catch a flight in the morning that should get me into Santo Domingo by early afternoon. After the frenzy of the last several days the setback feels almost welcome, though I am anxious to get to Haiti and begin work.

Prompted by this morning’s tweet about packing, a couple of people have expressed interest in what I’m taking with me to Haiti. The answer is everything. From the outside, my two rolling duffels resemble the luggage of any old traveler. The individual that opens both, however, would be hard pressed to decide whether they were dealing with a higgler or a low-rent James Bond.

Here’s what you’ll find in my luggage:

FOOD: One of my two bags is filled almost entirely with non-perishable foodstuff. At the end of the mission I’m probably not going to want to see nuts, dried fruit, protein bars, granola bars, bran crackers, peanut butter, soy milk, Chef Boyardee ravioli or those cheese wedges that don’t need refrigeration again for a very long time. But we need to be as self-sufficient as possible while we’re there, and I’m hoping I’ve packed enough to be able to leave some behind.

SHELTER ETC: Thank heaven for outdoorsy friends. Yesterday I raided Nikipedia’s stash of outdoor goods, and left with a sleeping bag, a lightweight hammock/mosquito net combination that folds up into a small drawstring bag, camping plate and cutlery set, travel French press, compass, emergency whistle, padlock, rain poncho, and compressible pillow. Other items in my kit include an LED flashlight, cigarette lighter, utility knives, masking tape, duct tape, cable ties, rubber bands, rubber gloves, fabric shopping bag, small daypack, candles, matches, ziploc bags, bedsheet, pillowcase, towel, water bottle, three-step filter bottle that claims to be able to render ditchwater potable, water purification drops.

FIRST AID AND MEDICATIONS: Various kinds of bandages, strapping tape, cotton wool, antiseptic spray, surgical gloves, surgical masks, throat lozenges, multivitamins, antidiarrheals, antibiotics, painkillers, etc.

TOILETRIES: The usual, plus extra hand sanitiser, baby wipes, hospital grade full-body wipes (read: “shower substitute”), toilet paper, paper towels.

CLOTHING: The only item worth mentioning are hiking boots, which normally wouldn’t make the cut for a Caribbean trip unless that trip included hiking. I figure they’ll come in handy on the rubble-strewn streets of Port-au-Prince.

MONEY: US cash. The teller at the bank raised her eyebrows when I asked for the quantity I needed in small bills.

GADGETS: I tend to travel with a fair number of gizmos anyway, but this time I’m carrying more than the usual complement, as I’ve brought along my audio recording equipment and deliberately over-catered in the cables department. Here’s the lineup:

Computers: MacBook, iPhone, bluetooth keyboard. Thanks to a third-party app called BTstack, I can now use the bluetooth keyboard as an external keyboard for my (jailbroken) iPhone, which turns the latter into the ultimate travel computer. I suspect I’ll be doing a good deal of my writing on this trip using the iPhone/keyboard combo, as the keyboard runs on AA batteries and I can juice up the iPhone with a solar charger (see the “And to keep these babies running in the event of a power outage” section below).

Photo, video, audio: DSLR camera, 18-250mm lens, 10-22mm lens, point-and-shoot camera, Flip camera, Aiptek HD video camera, minidisc recorder, microphone, headphones

Cables, adaptors etc: Mini USB, iPhone, Ethernet, chargers for all gadgets, power strip (special for this trip).

Also: Two Digicel mobile phones, USB sticks, Airport Express wireless router, and a voltage converter kit with plug adaptors for most countries. Haiti is 110v, but as the power we’ll be using may be generated by equipment brought into the country by international agencies I thought it best to be prepared.

And to keep these babies running in the event of a power outage: Camera batteries, AA and AAA batteries (rechargeable and disposable) and, thanks to Brian Kinzie, who dashed out to purchase it on the last day of a visit to wintry Montreal, a snazzy solar charger that will power all of the aforementioned gizmos with the exception of the still cameras and the MacBook.

Software: The only software acquired specially for this trip are FrontlineSMS (latest builds for Windows, Macintosh and Linux – thank you, Ken Banks and Josh Nesbit), Byki Haitian Creole iPhone app, First Aid iPhone app.

Analog: Small and medium Moleskine Cahiers, rolling ball pens, steel chalk.

Left behind: I normally travel with a selection of jewelry, but this time I’ve brought only the items I’m wearing: a wristwatch, earrings and a silver chain bracelet. I’ve misplaced a number of beloved rings on the road in recent times, in situations less uncertain than this, so decided to play it safe. I usually travel with an umbrella, but couldn’t fit one in. And I wanted to bring the USB headset I use for Skype calls, but they don’t exactly make those things compact, do they.

The best part of packing for this trip was remembering that I’ll be returning with only half the items I packed. I’m really, really hoping I’ve brought enough food to give some away.

11:04pm

During landing I struck up a conversation with two of the flight attendants sitting in the jump seats near to me. They said that American Airlines have been operating what sound like test flights into Haiti. So if all goes well, I may be returning to Trinidad from Port-au-Prince instead of via Santo Domingo.

And now to bed.