what camera to bring??

The great camera dilemma: do I take the nicer, more valuable camera on a year-long trip to South America or the not-so-good, smaller one? 

This question may not seem like much to some, but here I am, wanting to lure people into my blog with photos, improve on my photography skills and really showcase what I will be seeing on our journey but knowing that we will have limited space for things and also, that the more valuable stuff you have, the more you have to worry about. Sigh....

with digital slr

with point and shoot

 Benefits of bringing the big one: better photos, more manual control, better focusing, especially up close. Mainly, better photos, especially in outdoor settings. Drawbacks: bigger, more valuable, more things to break (lens!). I use the Nikon D60 with a standard 18-55mm lens.

Compare:

Seems like a setting issue, maybe? What would I change to make the second picture (the point and shoot) better - ISO?

Benefits of the smaller camera: easier to travel with, less valuable, more inconspicuous. Drawbacks: possibly poorer quality photos and less versatility. The one I use is the Nikon Coolpix.

This is probably the best close up one I got outside with the point and shoot, although I think I took this one with the 3D setting, just to experiment:

 More outdoor photos with the point and shoot:

Inside, the point and shoot does do better but again, if the lighting is too much, it tends to disappoint when on the auto setting.

auto mode

with a warm colour setting added which, I kind of think of as cheating a bit

SLR

 So camera folks and general public, what is a girl to do? I need some advice on this one!! Leave me a comment giving me your opinion, professional or not. Thanks in advance!