“Where are the horses?” our guide Albizú Segovia asked, a beige hat shading his perpetually youthful face from the Andean sun. “They didn’t follow us,” my girlfriend Katharina and I explained. Albizú looked down at the ground before taking off back up the path alone. A few minutes later, the thunder of hoofbeats against …
By Noel Lau “There’s no cheap way to get to Machu Picchu,” said the guide who was trying to sell me a tour. Seeing Machu Picchu had always been a dream of mine but I wasn’t going to join a tour. Getting to Machu Picchu can put a dent your pocket. I was at the end of …
(continued from: To Be a Gringa: Part One) The Ex-Pat Community of Cajamarca, Peru Amy and her husband Eric arrived to Cajamarca on a sunny Thursday morning. A driver picked them up from the airport and drove them and their two dogs to their furnished home. After a quick nap, they went and met …
By Danielle L. Krautmann A local celebrity How did it get to be this late? I’m lying on Violeta’s bed in her one-room home in Baños del Inca. Actually, it’s not just her bed, she shares this queen-sized mattress which sits on cinder blocks with her husband and 11-year-old daughter, Alejandra. It’s four o’clock in …
By Danielle L. Krautmann “Six months ago, I was living in Seattle with roommates, working as an occupational therapist for a home health company. Now, I am a housewife in Lima, Peru.” Can you believe that in January I celebrated my one-year anniversary of living in Peru? This country and I have had a turbulent …
By Danielle L. Krautmann The problem began when I was living in Denver, CO and a squirrel got caught in my window well. Brandy watched patiently as I spent three hours using different methods (a bucket, a broom, an umbrella, a shovel) to try to set the frightened creature free. My final attempt was with …
By Danielle L. Krautmann One month ago, I moved to Baños del Inca, a very small town only 6 km from the “city” of Cajamarca. My first two weeks were filled with holidays: an amazing Christmas visit with my family and a strange illness that rendered me useless for about ten days. Finally, I feel …
By Danielle L. Krautmann As my taxi weaves its way through the streets of Cajamarca, Peru, things look different than they did my last visit. Perhaps it’s because last April, I was a tourist from Lima. This time I’m here to look at apartments. I will be moving to Cajamarca in a month. The taxi …
When You’re Strange: Adjusting to Life in a New Town Read More »
There’s a time and place for most everything. A time for walking amongst midgets and a time for walking in the shadows of giants. The Cordillera Blanca falls into this latter category. Surrounded by 6000 meter peaks, the Santa Cruz trek (a few hours, via public transportation, outside of Huaraz, Peru) is one of those …
By Danielle L. Krautmann Have I ever told you how much I love the Jorge Chavez International airport? Well, I love it so much that I try to arrive early. If check in goes smoothly I have time to sit outside the security gate to watch Peruvians say goodbye to each other. Entire families go …
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