All That You Can’t Leave Behind

Forced minimalism in the Philippines

Before my trip to the Philippines last week, I had a very different sort of Swimpruf post planned. On the suggestion of my chum, James, I was going to explain how I pack for a weeklong trip to the tropics that would include diving, topside and underwater photography, and some general watch press trip shenanigans. There would be a lot of moving parts—scuba gear, camera equipment, a variety of clothes, electronics, and so on. So before I left, I laid everything out on the floor at home and took photos of the contents of my three pieces of luggage for later inventorying. As it turns out, two of those three pieces never arrived at my destination, and I was forced to live on what I had carried, as well as some generosity on behalf of my hosts in the Philippines. It was a lesson in minimalism and adaptability.