Ecuador, Peru, and ...Patagonia?

Mucho rain in the La Candelaria district of Bogota near Parque de Periodistas (Journalists Park)

First, let me say, Thank you Colombia. You've been impressive, inspirational, and just what I needed when I needed it. I'll likely be back later again before I leave South America. More on that later. I fly to Ecuador in the morning.

Alright. Here's a few things I'll address, since inquires have been made on the matters.

Nope... I haven't been taking any pics lately. Neither of my cameras have been out of the bag since I've returned on my journey. I've tried. I took a city tour and posted some graffiti art from my phone early on and maybe some selfies. But I've realized I've needed to take some time to process everything from this past Oct. Oct was a bitch. The holidays coming up won't be easy either. I'll be on an Ecuadorean beach for Christmas and in a treehouse for New Year's. Perchance, those locations could inspire me to shoot, (if I don't get rained out) but as far as I know, I'm gonna hold tight til I get to see my daughter and son-in-law mid-Jan. I have to make a choice to be fine after that. My brother wouldn't want me weeping or holding up my life over his passing. I know that much about him. He and I are alike in that regard. We both hate being a bother to anybody. So, 2019 will be a little different than this past year. I have to focus more on my money and my business coming up. I have work to do.

Bandeja Paisa, one of my favorite meals.

I think, late March/early April, I'm going to head to Patagonia and see what Fall pics I can get down there before it gets cold. If I stick to my regular course and continued on south through Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and so forth, I wouldn't get down to Patagonia until Jun/July which is when their winter begins. So instead, I think I'll head  there right after I get done with Peru sometime in March. Now here's the real kicker. It would be cool if I had a model to work with down there. Yes...that means it will be cold and you'd be naked. Not all the time. But definitely for 3 main locations and then opportunity shots that present themselves. It will involve multi-day hiking through Tierra del Fuego and Torres del Paine. In addition to that, I have one other location in mind that I'll keep to myself for the moment, but it'll take a bit to get to and could be slightly arduous, but will make for some great shots.

Ajiaco, a hearty soup

I wonder about 3 things down there. One, making reservations. From my initial research, I hear you can't just expect to show up. You must plan well in advance. I have to figure out what that means in more specific detail. Two, I need to refit. I have clothing that I'd wear to the beach and tropical climates right now. Down there, even in the fall, I'm going to need cold weather clothing AND camping gear. Three... CAMERA GEAR! I am fairly certain I have to get some fast glass. The Sony 24mm 1.4 is on my mind right now, due to its lighter weight and more versatility over the Sigma 20mm 1.4. The Sigma is less money, but its heavier and you can't use filters on it. On top of that, I think the Sony 24-105 f/4 would serve me better than my 16-35 f/4. I'm not keeping tow of 4 lenses! (I also have the Sony 55mm 1.8. I'm not going anywhere without THAT!) So, one would have to go. Three is the max. Hell, I'd even consider medium-format if I could swing it. Yo...FUJI!!

Bogota Beer Company! Good eating!

After I'm done with all that down there, I'd make my way up north again through Chile and into Bolivia. Depending on what's going on with the Amazon River, I could re-try to do that again, but ultimately I'm going to make my way back here to Colombia. I very much would like to retrace my steps that I took in Northern Colombia (September) WITH a model. I'd add to it, the 5-day hike to the Lost City since it was closed during all of September. I love Colombia. Bogota is the first capital city that I really came to adore. I have not had the best time in any capital city I've ever been in. I had no expectations for Bogota. I only booked 3 days here at the end of September and realized by day 2 that I had made a mistake in my expectation. This is why I decided to return here in November and spend at least a month here.

Well, that's all for now. More later.

Long walk looking for a Duncan Donut shop one morning.