icebreakernz:
Day 1: My 16 year-old son and I making the most of an unplanned layover in San Francisco…I am wearing every piece of clothing I brought on the trip (including a Superfine Ultralite 150 weight graphic-t).
icebreakernz:
Day 2: Four hours in Auckland gave us time to take a ferry across the bay and climb to the top of a small island to be amongst the first people on earth to watch the sun rise (we were just West of the international date line).
icebreakernz:
Day 3: After two full days of travel we are finally arriving in Samoa. My shirt was feeling and smelling great after thousands of miles.
icebreakernz:
Day 4: I'm providing support as we treat hundreds of locals (these kids were from a school…our bus driver brought the entire school (and four other schools) to us that day).
icebreakernz:
After lunch my son and I played some hoops with the locals. After 5 minutes in 90 degrees and 90% humidity my shirt was completely soaked.
icebreakernz:
Yeah, it was hot and humid for sure! At this point I questioned the whole one-outfit strategy. We were to have no laundry service for the duration of the trip and the shower at our beach fales was intermittent, at best.
icebreakernz:
We could not count on a shower at the fales so we found this swimming hole after the day's clinic and rinsed off.
icebreakernz:
Day 6: We took a small boat to Manono, a Samoan island with no cars, or roads.
icebreakernz:
After unloading our gear we carried it on our backs and in wheelbarrows to the nearest village to set up another clinic.
icebreakernz:
We carry in our own water so that we know it is clean.
icebreakernz:
My Superfine-t is on the front lines at this point! It's even complimenting a lava-lava (pants were too hot here).
icebreakernz:
In addition to treatment we provided toothbrushes, floss, and education to everyone that came to us (or that were brought to us by our bus driver).
icebreakernz:
Another rinse on the way home after a long hot clinic and broken showers.
icebreakernz:
Day 10. I began to question my own sanity…more specifically the ability to smell my own funk so I asked an intelligent, educated, female to give me her honest opinion of the state of my shirt. She said, "Your shirt smells good"!
icebreakernz:
On our last day in Samoa we ate at a nice restaurant near the airport. My Icebreaker had survived the ultimate test…and survived it well. My son and I, on the other hand, needed a nap while the main course was being prepared.
icebreakernz:
Epilogue: On the way home, I extended my New Zealand layover. Notice anything familiar in the photos? Yeah, it took me through day 16 before I retired it! I LOVE THAT SHIRT!