I didn’t start packing until the morning of my departure

Oops.

I mean I had written out my packing list, I had gone shopping and I had been collecting all the things I was planning to pack. I simply used my backpack as storage for these items.

When I say ‘used my backpack as storage’ I literally mean, I threw stuff in as I acquired it.

I just didn’t really try actually folding and packing everything until the morning of. Oops.

Since I was packing the morning of my departure, it was an ‘as is’ situation.

For example, I couldn’t find my adaptor for Argentine voltage. Would need to put a converter on the packing list. Could every back up toiletry fit in my quart-size Ziploc bag since I did not want to check my bag? Of course not. Did I forget my toothbrush because I was so crazed the morning of? Yup. What about the cord to upload photos from your camera to your computer? You guessed it, I forgot that too.

In retrospect, did I really need those toiletries I left behind? Nope. There are <gasp> stores that sell similar products at a quarter of the price in every country I visited in South America.