Packing Update

I succeeded in packing all my camera equipment (I did take all 3 lenses, plus the underwater camera, 9 memory cards, 3 batteries, and 2 battery chargers), as well as all my clothes, toiletries, travel-size hand sanitizer and travel-size toilet paper (the last two items definitely came in handy).

What I failed to bring were binoculars.

Birds tend to be smalll (I have yet to see a wild ostrich, but I have seen plenty of tiny little songbirds) and they tend not to come real close to you, and, most importantly, they tend to look a lot alike from a distance. So birding is almost impossible without a pair of binoculars. You just can't tell the birds apart with the naked eye unless you are holding them in your hands.

Normally, hubby packs my binoculars when we travel, since I'm always carrying a ridiculous amount of camera equipment. But when we went to Belize, luggage space was tight and we each packed our own binoculars. We were supposed to do the same thing for Ecuador, except it never even occurred to me to pack them. Or even to ask hubby if he was packing them (had I asked, he would have said no, and I would have packed them myself. But alas, I didn't ask).

I didn't even think about binoculars until our plane was halfway from Miami to Quito and my husband reached into his carry-on to get something, and I caught of glimpse of his binoculars. And realized that mine were back home in Texas.

I was able to borrow a pair from our guide the first week in Ecuador, and while they were very old and exceptionally heavy, they worked out pretty well. But it sure would have been great if I had brought my own!

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!

Preparing for International Travel Part II: Packing

Our trip involved a 3.5-hour flight on a major commercial airline, followed by a 30-minute flight on a 3-seater Cessna commuter plane (technically, it holds 4 people, assuming the fourth person weighs 50 pounds or less). Not only did we have weight restrictions on baggage for the commuter flight, but the cargo door on the plane is tiny, so it was recommended that we bring soft-sided (e.g., squishable) luggage.

Which we didn't have. So both my husband and I bought new duffel bags, and he got a new backpack, and we planned to pack everything for a 6-day trip into 2 duffels and 2 backpacks.

And we had to bring lightweight clothes for hiking/birding, lightweight but comfy hiking shoes, big ridiculous hats to block the sun, bug spray, anti-itch lotion in case the bug spray didn't work, sunblock lotion, the aforementioned anti-malarial medications, everyday basic toiletries for both of us, two pairs of binoculars (for the birding) and my camera equipment (1 digital SLR camera, 2 lenses, an extra battery plus battery charger, and 4 memory cards). And I also tossed in a knitting work-in-progress, in case I got bored on the plane, and my husband brought along a couple of guides to the wildlife (primarily birds, but also other critters) of Central America.

Somehow we got everything into the 4 bags, made the weight requirement, and -- this is the good part -- got through the trip without missing anything OR having to do laundry. A packing job well done.