Planning for the Amazon Later this Year

Art Model Viki-Vegas back in 2011

The rainy season is about to get under way here in Central America. Just had some of our first rains that I've experienced this past night. This will present challenges and opportunities for the next few months. I've never done much photography during rainy season in the mountains and I'd like to see what can be accomplished here. Challenges are that way the hell up in the mountains it can still get really cold at night. Trying to be outdoors doing night time photography can be challenging as I'll have to secure some camping and cold weather gear as well as wet weather gear. I'm not interested in buying all that. I won't need it after Xela and I am doing what I can to REDUCE the weight on my back. (As it stands, I have to redo the back procedure I had done this past October!)

Art Model Viki-Vegas back in 2011

Most days have been slow. Especially the last two days where I've had to stay off my feet a bit. I'm pretty sure the change in the weather is having a big affect on my knee. I've experienced abnormal pain that hasn't been attributed to anything physically taxing. So I can only blame the weather. I've used this time write and look at some of my planning for later this summer. I'm pretty sure that when I leave Xela, I'm heading to Colombia. So I've been looking at opportunities there. Primarily, I'm looking at spend considerable time in Cartagena and Medellin.

Art Model Viki-Vegas back in 2011

And then I'll keep pushing south along the South American west coast. But the PRIMARY research gig that's got me occupied so much is how to travel down the Amazon River. My only options to reach the Amazon are from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and of course Brazil. So what's the best place to do this from? My best research so far says Peru. But I can't miss Bolivia. I got stuff I want to do there! So, yeah...I gotta work those details out. I'll be getting down there during the low river part of the season so its a great time to do it. And I want to do the full length. Practical? Who knows. I'm telling you I want to do it. I was reading a post on it that you can boat it in 5 days. I'm think of doing it much slower to stop off at different places and get some shots. Wanna know what'll be really good to shoot...A MODEL! I'm definitely going to see about making that happen. In fact, I'm pretty certain I can not do that excursion without shooting somebody.

Art Model Viki-Vegas back in 2016...five years after out first shoot

After that part of the Amazon, I guess I'll have to make my way down to Rio de Janiero,  São Paulo, and on to Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile. So those are all doable destinations. I just have to figure out how to best go about it and when. Where it gets interesting for me is the next big excursion. So yeah...from Chile, this is what I'd like to do... Find a sailing crew heading out to Easter Island and then onto cruising the South Pacific islands like Tonga, Bora Bora, Tahiti, etc. I think getting dropped off in Tonga would be another ideal place to stay for the full length allowable for a visa, which is 30 days unless you get approved or an extension. Afterwards, I'd just island hop all the way to New Zealand and Australia, then head North.

Art Model Viki-Vegas back in 2016...five years after out first shoot

I don't know anything about sailing. I don't know anything about getting on board a sailing vessel or anybody who's going that way willing to let me ride along for some great pics. All I know is that I have to figure it out or go to Plan B which is to fly to Vietnam and pick things up there. I'd rather do Southeast Asia AFTER I have conquered the South Seas! It all sounds like a beautiful adventure and I want to make it all happen. I'm GOING to make it all happen. Oh! Thanks for those tips, John Kompare!

Making Choices and Being Flexible

Art Model Covenant, Belize 2015

Its been almost two months since I've started out on this adventure. Month 2 has been one of a more slowed pace. Over the first month, I stayed in 9 different places moving through Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. In this second month, I've only been in two places. I moved from Antigua, Guatemala 3 hours west up into the mountain highlands of Quetzaltenango, more locally known as Xela (Shay'-la).

Art Model Covenant, Belize 2015

I stayed 3 weeks at Kasa Kamelot Hotel, even though I had it booked for 4. Then I found an ad on a Xela Facebook Group (Thanks, Lani!) for an apartment on the other side of the city. I went to see it and jumped on it. I'm not the greatest at shopping around for a good deal on certain things. It was the only one I looked at and I knew I wanted it, though I knew I could find something cheaper and closer to where I was. This deciding factor for me was the fact that it was on the outskirts of town and has an amazing panoramic view of an active volcano. That spelled good for my peace of mind. And right now, that's quite important.

Art Model Covenant on Little Corn Island 2015 

For the moment, things have been slow and that's just how I want it for now. I'm going to sit tight here and explore this place until June when I head back for two or three weeks for that Surface Book 2 and the Sigma 20mm 1.4. I'll use the time to just breathe, you know? I'm working on some "In My Bag" videos as well as some that explain WHY I chose to bring the tools I have. So namely camera gear of course, but also the periphery accessories like grips, lighting, extra chargers, etc. I'm also doing vids on why I travel, why I think its important, and maybe even I can give you some ideas on how it could benefit you in what you're doing EVEN if you won't do extended travel like myself. But of course NONE of these videos will get edited and done til I get that friggin' laptop. This will be new to me because I have NEVER edited ANYTHING on the road. But with a powered up laptop like the Surface Book 2, I don't think I'll have to deal with many of the hang-ups I have with doing edits on most laptops. (Got my eye on a drone as well, but we'll see.)

Art Model Covenant, 2015 traveling throughout Central America 

Speaking of Sigma...they just announced last week 9 new FE mount lenses for Sony, which means I won't need an adapter for my camera. In the meantime, I'm going to utilize the time til June to work on how I plan to do a restructure of my blog and website to reflect the work I'm doing while traveling. I'm making videos to accompany them but of course I can't edit them just yet. Over the course of this journey, these videos will document my travels, talk about photo technique and ideas, explain my processes, review products and talk about gear (of course), and overall keep you updated on this adventure.

Art Model Covenant, 2015 traveling throughout Central America 

I will also utilize this time to hone in on my whole purpose for being here as well as contemplating ideas and travel concepts. After talking to several people just since I've been on this journey, I've come to give heavy consideration to traveling abroad vs living abroad. There are benefits to both and I have to consider each of these concepts. I'm not saying to live permanently in one place. I've talked to expats that stayed two years in Costa Rica before moving to Vietnam for two years. People like this prefer that lifestyle over traveling through from place to place every few weeks. For me, I'm pretty sure its going to be a balance. Case in point, I just spent a month in 9 places, but right now, I'm renting an apt for 3 months. If an opportunity strikes me to stay put longer, I'll consider that. I may get to Colombia and stay there a year.

Art Model Covenant, Juayua, El Salvador 2015

Regardless, however I choose to roll, it's got to fit into my mission, objectives, and opportunities. Staying in Xela does just that and I think 3 months will be long enough. Where will I go from there? Not sure. I initially planned to head up into Mexico, come around the Yucatan, back down into Belize and start southwards again. But now, I'm thinking of heading straight to Colombia when I return from the States after my June visit. For now, I've got time to weigh all those options. I'm excited about it.