28.7.06

Karaoke with Guinea Pig & Microbrew




My last night in Urumbamba involved eating the fine Peruvian delicacy of "Cuy" aka Guinea Pig. Cuy was once eaten by Inca royalty. Today it is eaten for important occassions in the Andes and Shamans are known to inspect the entrails in efforts to diagnose disease in humans. Prior to dinner I went for a glass of Urumbamba's homebrew or "chicha" which is a mild corn beer dating back to pre-Columbian times. Chicha is brewed in huge urns in highland villges and sold in LARGE glasses. The fermentation process begins with chewing the corn. It tastes sour and is considered by some to be hygienically questionable (suppose that depends on if the person chewing the corn has any communicable disease). The evening was topped off singing Beatles songs on the Karoke machine at a local bar.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

UMMMM, yeah! Let me have another glass of that delicous corn saliva and a helping of that guinea pig! SB

Anonymous said...

UMMMM, yeah! Let me have another glass of that delicous corn saliva and a helping of that guinea pig! SB