By Danielle L. Krautmann My senses are heightened in the rainforest. Despite being legally blind in my right eye, I can see more clearly than ever before….maybe there’s just more to see.  Something as simple as sunlight illuminating a water droplet on a leaf is a vivid representation of the complexity of nature.  I look [...]

By Danielle L. Krautmann About a month ago I was bored in my apartment for 10 minutes.  Charlie was at the mine, it was eight o’clock at night and none of my movies looked enticing.  I hate the mention of the words bored, boredom, boring and agree with Harvey Danger when he sings “if you’re [...]

By Danielle L. Krautmann The other day I was taking a taxi back from work.  I negotiated the fare to be eight soles, a fair price to go from San Borja to my apartment in San Isidro.  I told the taxi driver to please not take the street Javier Prado explaining “la trafica es mierda [...]

By Danielle L. Krautmann I can’t take my medal off. It’s bronze colored with a plain navy blue ribbon to hold it on my neck. It’s the cheapest, worst quality completion medal I’ve ever received from a race, and I love it. This one says Lima 42K, 2010 on it…my first marathon. After the race [...]

A Photo Essay of Cajamarca, Peru By Danielle Krautmann Charlie and I just got back from a long weekend in Cajamarca, where we celebrated my husband’s 30th birthday. Cajamarca is the city nearest to Cerro Corona, the mine where Charlie works, which is about a tw0-hour drive from the city.  Although Charlie knew he liked Cajamarca, [...]

The Wheels of the Combi Go Round and Round By Danielle L. Krautmann Currently Lima, Peru has no public transportation.  This restricts Limenians to use either taxis, buses, cars, or “combies”.  Charlie and I don’t plan to get a car while we’re here because it’s easy enough for us to get from one place to [...]

A Visit to the Zoo and Some Cultural Observations By  Danielle L. Krautmann Per suggestion of one of my lovely readers, last week I visited Parque de las Leyendas, a zoo in Lima.  A quick bus ride from my house and cheap admission, the trip was definitely worth it. But not because of the animals. [...]

Making friends in Lima Like my Aunt Vicki, I love making lists.  To-do lists are my favorite, but I also enjoy making step-by step instructional lists, lists of places I want to travel, lists of potential blog topics, of men I’ve dated, of men my friends have dated, of men I’m currently dating (short list).  [...]

“Don’t go to Gamarra.  It’s not safe.” Ever since Noelle, my American friend from Spanish class, suggested we go there, I was told not to by just about everyone I encountered…Limenians included.  But the fact of the matter is, if I only did what people told me was safe, I would be staying within a 10-block [...]

Since I’ve starting blogging, many of you have shared with me things you’ve learned about Peru online; some of you have even bought books about Peru!  I hope this is because you are trying to plan a trip to come and visit Charlie and I. If not, let’s use your researching skills and have a fun [...]