Feet First

The e-mail was sent on the 2nd April to Travelquest asking about the possibility of booking two places on the 2015 Eclipse trip! The next day there was a reply from them saying, congratulations you are booked onto the trip all that needs to be done now is phone the team and complete the payments form. Which the Boss did that night and the next day the confirmation e-mail arrived, we were really going to Svalbard. Bradt Travel guides to Spitsbergen and maps of the Spitsbergen archipelago were purchased and then assiduously studied.
We thought that as we were off on a cruise we would have loads of free time to study the maps and books on board as well as the guide books we had for the different locations we would be visiting.
Just as well that we read the books before we set of then isn't it, free time on board was not happening. We thought we had planned for every eventuality whilst we would be on board, cold weather gear, check. Warm weather gear, check. A reduced set of camera gear, check. Tripod, check. Computer, check. GPS, check. Extension leads, check. Everything but the kitchen sink was packed and we then had to carry it all on board. We are so used to travelling by car that travelling light to us is leaving the rear seats in the car. We really thought that we had pared everything down to a minimum and were only taking essentials. This trip taught us a few things about packing and selection of kit. First out are computers, too big and too heavy. We hope to take extra memory cards instead. My tripod is too heavy, so a lighter one is going to be purchased. One camera and one lens for Me again to keep the weight down. Cold weather clothing is bulky but not that heavy so the travel bags shouldn't be overweight but footwear is another matter. We took walking boots on the cruise and they certainly added to the weight of the bags but the boots we will be taking to Svalbard are even heavier, so do we wear them or pack them.