Preparations for Guatemala #3 - Camouflaging my backpack
Camouflaging my The North Face Base Camp Duffel using a rice bag for travel in Guatemala.
I am slightly fearful of the road ahead. The thought of being robbed fills me with dread. It is the reason why I put off comings to Latin America for so long.
It is not helped that I was attacked by 2 guys with knives upon arrival in Cape Town after 7 uneventful months travelling 19,000km down through supposedly more dangerous Africa without flying.
Although personally, I can't even attempt to blend in Latin America, my bag can.
This is my main bag, a THE NORTH FACE BASE CAMP DUFFEL XS:
It is not helped that I was attacked by 2 guys with knives upon arrival in Cape Town after 7 uneventful months travelling 19,000km down through supposedly more dangerous Africa without flying.
Although personally, I can't even attempt to blend in Latin America, my bag can.
This is my main bag, a THE NORTH FACE BASE CAMP DUFFEL XS:
My cunning plan is to camouflage my bag for when travelling on chicken buses in Guatemala.
Guatemala ain't Kansas!
Back in 2000 when I was preparing for a trip (that never materialised) to this part of the world, reports of theft were common. One story that always stuck with me was the one where the traveller placed his backpack in the overhead rack, behind where he was sitting and at some point, it got offloaded out of the window at the back of the bus.
I am keen to avoid my bag being singled out. Period!
Locals travel with their possessions in rice bags. I am going to do just the same.
I found a slightly grubby rice bag for 3Pesos, just big enough for my The North Face base camp duffel:
Guatemala ain't Kansas!
Back in 2000 when I was preparing for a trip (that never materialised) to this part of the world, reports of theft were common. One story that always stuck with me was the one where the traveller placed his backpack in the overhead rack, behind where he was sitting and at some point, it got offloaded out of the window at the back of the bus.
I am keen to avoid my bag being singled out. Period!
Locals travel with their possessions in rice bags. I am going to do just the same.
I found a slightly grubby rice bag for 3Pesos, just big enough for my The North Face base camp duffel:
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I made some slots which I reinforced with Gorilla Tape, a much stronger version of Gaffa Tape:
I then threaded the straps through the slots:
And here is the result:
I bought some cable ties but decided some para-cord would be more practical:
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Close-up of the top:
I think it turned out pretty well. Feeding the straps through the slots wasn't as easy as I was thinking as the slots are quite small. I won't be travelling every few days. The Guatemala visa is 90 days and I only plan on 6 places so no big deal.
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