Packing for International Travel: Take Two

It's almost time for our big trip to South America, and packing for this trip is turning out to be even harder than packing for Belize. For one thing, our trip is a lot longer, and we'll be in a much wider variety of climates -- everything from the beach (warm and sunny) all the way to a mountain pass at 15,000 feet above sea level (chilly to cold with a good chance of rain). So we need more types of clothes and more layers.

Plus, I'm actually going to be taking less luggage on this trip. I'm carrying my duffel bag and a backpack, but I'm going to carry my camera backpack, which is designed to hold different cameras, lenses, cords, and accessories -- and which is smaller than my regular backpack that I took to Belize.

I'm taking more cameras this time, too -- an underwater camera for snorkeling pictures and the digital SLR for nature and landscape pictures. I'm bringing 2 or 3 lenses along with the SLR. Definitely a telephoto lens for birds, a wide-angle lens for the scenery, and maybe a basic everyday zoom lens for larger animals and snapshot-type pictures.

And somewhere I have to find room for lightweight pants, layerable T-shirts, long-sleeved shirts to protect me from sun and bugs, a sun hat for warm areas, a fleece hat for cold areas, a fleece jacket, a rain jacket, hiking boots, water sandals, swimsuits, warm pajamas....

We'll see how this goes!