Cuy, Cuy, and more Cuy

Today was amusing.

Our bus headed north promptly at 8am.  Our first stop was Calderon, a small town that specializes in colorful dough figurines.  Most look like they would make for nice ornaments for Christmas trees.  There are also street scenes, cute little buses, and this time there were bizarre toy monkey scenes.  The monkeys were not made in Calderon - they were made out of plastic - and depicted unusual activities at a variety of medical professional offices.  Dr. Richter and I purchased a couple of small paintings that were produced in a nearby town that depicted a cleansing by a Yachac in which a guinea pig is rubbed on the patient's body followed by ritual spitting.  The second painting depicts the story of how a crafty bunny tricked a wolf causing it to fall to its death.

Packed up in the bus, we headed north again on the panamerican highway.  We stopped to buy ChiriMoya, which is a fruit that we simply don't see in north america.  Chiri means cold in Quichua and Moya means ball.

Next stop was Cochasquí, which is an array of pyramids and burial chambers.  Our tour was interrupted a few times - first by a herd of llamas, next by interesting spiders in the ground, by worm poop (I kid you not), and finally by a house filled with guinea pigs.  In between we learned about the history and construction of these pre-incan pyramids, and how these people completely covered the pyramids with dirt and grasses rather than let the Incas learn their secrets.

Box lunch at the Pyramids, and then again north towards CuiCocha.

Cui (or Cuy) in Quicha means guinea pig... and CuiCocha is a lake in a recent caldera (3000 years old).  It is remarkably beautiful, with views out towards my favorite mountain in the world, Imbabura.  As we were running late, we decided that we would not be able to make it to our final destination, Cotacachi.  Cotacachi is a town that specializes in the production of finished leather goods such as jackets and purses.  Instead, we hiked up and around the caldera of CuiCocha.  This was more difficult than expected due to the altitude - over 10,000 feet above sea level.

Dinner and off to bed at Las Palmeras.

After all of our experiences with guinea pigs in one form or another today, there is a movement afoot to try this local delicacy tomorrow.  Yum.

- Eric Fortune