Peruvian Dogs

Peru has some of the coolest, chill, urban dogs I've ever seen. No biting, no barking, super smart street dogs. They all look cool too. Katrina had mentioned something about native Peruvian dogs being hairless, and also quite warm to the touch. Apparently they're used in some sort of native heat therapy. Images of a jacket with these dogs strapped to it popped into my head. We ran into a couple of these strange, unique dogs in Cusco. Yes, the are hairless; Yes, they are quite warm to the touch; they also tend to be more skiddish then the other street dogs. Not sure if they're scared, or just cold.

Fun, Furry, Food?

Over the years my family has had a number of pets... hamsters, birds, dogs, cats, lizards, frogs, and Guinea Pigs. I can't really explain it but when I was young and had a Guinea Pig, I always wondered if it would taste like a real pig. Was there little bacon in there? Cute and edible; the Guinea Pig or as Peruvian's call it 'Cuy' is considered a delicacy here. I decided to fulfill this childhood fantasy and try some out. My first impressions... kinda like dark chicken meat, and not a lot of it... more bone then meat. The skin is also tough and chewy. This one was roasted and I believe there are probably other, more interesting ways to prepare it.

Peruvian's are serious about their sauces. They've all been excellent so far. The green one on the left seems like some sort of garlic aioli, the middle one was my favorite and was slightly creamy kinda tangy mustardy, the one on the right was fruity and possibly had mango in it. All of them were yummy.

Nuevo Conquistadors

McDonalds, KFC, VISA, Mastercard, ATM's, Papa John's, Coke, Tommy Hilfiger, Ninja Turtles, Super Mario, etc. It never ceases to amaze me how in all my travels abroad, the Western world's capatalistic tenticals are forever grasping at new and un-tapped markets. It amazed me to see small, and otherwise beautiful rural shops that would have VISA logos plastered all over the place. Even the wait staff's clothing would have VISA logos on it. I've seen a number of grown Perivuan women wearing tight tee-shirts with various Super Mario, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle logos in gaudy gold and silver. Where do these shirts come from? What factory owner decided to poop out these abominations? These shirts probably never make it past the sales rack at Ross in the USA and then get shipped down here as some sick Western aid package. Some of these people have forsaken their beautiful roots, and locally sustanable economies in an effort to appear more modern, and Western savvy. BLah!

At the end of a hard day though... it's hard not to enjoy sitting down at Mc D's and have an ice cold coke and some nuggets while I use their free WiFi to write this blog. What!? Did someone just yell hypocrite?!