Keeping Track While Traveling

I have kept a journal off and on since I was 10. For a long time I used three ring binders and college-ruled notebook paper. For the last few years, however, I've been using 8 1/2 x 11" spiral notebooks with a pocket divider for holding odds and ends. The journals have become a combination of journal and scrapbook, especially when I travel, as I will often tape things into them as I write. Over the years I have sometimes used a separate notebook when traveling. When I went to Germany as and exchange student, I kept my journal in a couple of 6 x 9" spiral notebooks. I used the same type of notebook for my first trip to Ireland, but for the second I took my regular journal rather than using a separate one.

Lately, however, especially when traveling on business and packing carry-on as much as possible, lugging my full-size notebook--even the spiral bound one--just takes up too much room. I started using a Moleskine Ruled Notebook for my writing journal (I have long kept a separate notebook of some sort for jotting down ideas, thoughts, and image for stories, poems, and other creative endeavors). For the trip to Ecuador, I thought I'd try something a little different. I purchased a set of Moleskine Cahiers and modified them slightly.

Somewhere years ago I read that instead of carrying an entire travel guide with you, you should photocopy the pages you need and discard them as you traveled and no longer needed those particular pages. While I did do that for the trip to Ecuador, I also thought I might like to at least have maps in my journal. This idea was somewhat inspired by the Moleskine City Notebooks. So I photocopied some maps and glued them into the Cahier. Inside the front cover is a map of the whole country.


This is how I solved the problem of fitting the maps onto pages that are only slightly larger than an index card (3 1/2 x 5 1/2"). These folded maps are of Old Quito and New Quito. Of course, they turned out to be pretty useless, as our hotel was north of the portion of New Quito shown on the map, and we were in Old Quito for only one morning.



This is how it looks with the maps unfolded.













Inside the back cover are a map of "central Ecuador," which covers most of the Diocese of Ecuador Central, and one of the Avenue of the Volcanoes, a portion of which we traveled on our way to Ambato.

And here they are unfolded.

I made three sets of two Cahiers--one for me, one for Ruth-Ann and one for Veronica. Ruth-Ann kept hers with her but didn't really use it. Veronica used hers for notes as we traveled.

I filled one of the Cahiers completely and started a second during our week in Ecuador. I wrote down my impressions, stories Javier told us, facts about the diocese and the country, information we would need when we returned to the Church Center, expenses, names of people we met, notes on the churches we visited, etc. One thing quickly became clear as I wrote in the Cahiers. The soft cover does not provide a stable writing surface. The next time I do this, I will use the hardback Ruled Notebook.

Peace,

Jeffri