Following up on one of my previous posts, 4 Principles to Packing Smart, I'm including a summary of my pack and other tidbits. Altogether, everything so far weighs less than 20 pounds.  There were a couple moments when I considered adding a sleeping bag to the mix so I don't have to rent / buy one down in LatAm for the various treks.  But, desire to carry a lighter load won over.  Anyway, heads up that this post is a little disjointed so bear with me here...

First, the backpack.  It's a Deuter pack with a 70 liter capacity.  It features adjustable aluminium stays, a breathable hollow chamber foam in the back, contoured shoulder and sternum straps, a pivoting VariFlex hip belt that helps to make sure the weight of the pack is distributed optimally across the hips, stabilizer straps to adjust ventilation and control, and compression straps that reduce the size of the pack if the load gets reduced.

When I started consulting I found having to pack my suitcase every week to be a chore.  It was a boring process that required  packing my shirts and ties so they stayed wrinkle free while being jammed like sardines in a can.  When I started going to the gym on a more regular basis, it also required additional finesse to fit in my running shoes and gym clothes.  Eventually, if my projects were long enough, I ended up leaving my clothes at the hotel for the weekend, and picking them up on Monday evenings.  Consequently, I ended up basically carrying around an empty suitcase.  

With this mindset, I started thinking about how to lighten the load I would have to carry during my circle around Latin America.  After digging through the wisdom of other fellow backpackers and adventurers alike, I came to four key packing principles.  Whenever the question "Should I bring X?" came up, I asked if X met at least two of the four principles.  If yes, then it went into my backpack.  If not, the idea got discarded immediately.  The result?  For a trip spanning 60 plus days, I'll be carrying around less than 20 pounds.  My back sang "Hallelujah."

Here are the four PACE principles to save your back...Read more after the jump >>

Read the shorten version of this article on Huffington Post. Continue reading below for the expanded version. 

This is part two of "How to Plan for Your Next Great Adventure."  Part one dealt with figuring out your itinerary and finding the right price.  In this follow up, we'll take a look at other things to consider (travel insurance and unexpected costs) as you prepare for your trip of a lifetime.

First, don't forget your travel insurance.  Depending on how you purchased your tickets, travel insurance may already be included.  If not, buy it.  Speaking from personal experience, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having travel insurance.  In the worst case scenario (death), travel insurance will save your family the financial burden related with bringing you back.  Even in less serious cases (e.g., minor sickness, trip cancellation, etc.) travel insurance will provide you with the peace of mind to enjoy your well earned vacation. Get started at insuremytrip.com.  Make sure to read your policy carefully and understand exactly what's covered and what's not, and what you have to do to make sure you get reimbursed.

Second, let's take a look at some of the unexpected costs you may encounter.  One major source of unexpected wallet drainage is travel visas.  Just because you have your flight tickets, that doesn't mean you're going anywhere.  Check out the State Department's website to find out whether you'll need a visa for the countries on your itinerary, how to get those visas if needed, and how much they cost.  Depending on the country, this process can be lengthy and can be one source of large unexpected costs.  For example, a Brazil tourist visa for an American citizen is $180.  If you do not want to or cannot go to the embassy to obtain the visa, you'll have to fork over another $50 servicing fee.  Even if you don't need a visa to visit a certain country, there may still be entry fees (which may only be applicable if you enter the country through certain modes of transportation).

On a similar note, just because you have a flight out of a country, it doesn't mean you're going anywhere.  Some countries have exit fees that are levied at the airport.  For example, there's a $28 departure tax for leaving Costa Rica.  In Colombia, there's a $38 exit tax, but that's only if you've stayed in the country for at least 60 days.  Some airlines add the entry and exit fees into the prices of their flights so it's something worth double checking.