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 »
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 …
By Danielle L. Krautmann It’s 8am and I am in my best mood, sipping coffee, sitting alone in the open-air lobby of the main lodge writing in my journal. For almost a month now, I have gone to sleep and dreamed of spending my days walking through tangles of vines, trees taller than my apartment …
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 …
The Rainforest of Tambopata National Reserve, Peru Read More »
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 …
