Brian Buckner

Purging my mind of the week’s events, I prepared for travel as the weak, late-afternoon light ushered in the day’s end. The cool grass, greened by spring rains, invited me to rest my head among the verdant blades. The wind laid down, almost flat, stilling itself, it seemed, in the same way I calmed my...

It was still very dark outside as I lay on my pallet in the corner of the room. The sapos called incessantly. The ground was damp from early morning rains and that always causes them to be more vocal. I imagined they had gathered together to present me with their chorus. In the wee hours,...

Without invitation, the wind crawled inside my Ark’teryx jacket and wrapped its cold, invisible tentacles around me. I was snug in between two lichen-studded boulders in a little nest of paramo grass and sticks I had pulled up around myself. My camera rested on my pack, steadied for the coming shot. He had to be...

Within a few scant weeks of setting my feet on Ecuadorian soil, the adventures of exploring the countryside were underway. There are many rocky paths in Ecuador that might be mistaken for roads. I seek these out as you never know what you may see in these out of the way places. I don’t waste...

A few days ago I was flying along, headed home, returning from the mountains. Soon enough, I spotted a familiar scene in one of the many areas I frequent.  The late afternoon light was favorable for the warm colors of the peoples clothing and skin. Plus, it looked like the women were planting the child...

I had seen her around El Centro a few times.  It was usually east of Calle Hermano Miguel and north of Calle Simon Bolivar. She looked pretty beat down. I kept thinking about her, worrying about her well being, wondering about her life here in Cuenca. Sometimes I don’t have a full sized camera with...

Eggs are a dietary staple in Ecuador. They provide a simple, nourishing, inexpensive, tasty morsel all in its own neat little package, albeit fragile. And, conveniently, they are found everywhere. Edie’s favorite, as well as mine, is the quail egg. Their cream colored dark-speckled shells hide single bites of yolky richness. But, you’ll soon forget...

I don’t imagine that there are too many people in the world that don’t like ice cream.  It’s like the national dessert in Ecuador. Here, an indigenous woman and her daughter pause for a break at the Parque getting some cold and sweet refreshment! Whipped up on the street corner, while you watch, in a...