Pets are food too!

We happened to luck out and be staying in Cuenca during their version of the 4th of July. Their independence day happens to be the 3rd of November, but there was a solid week of festivities leading up to the actual day...parades, art shows, markets, and it wouldn't be a latino holiday without an excessive amount of fireworks.

Through our spanish school we learned how to make special food and drinks that Cuencanos consume on these special occasions. One delicacy that everybody recommended is called Cuy. Everyone says it has a unique taste and people only eat it on special occasions because it's rather expensive.

If you're wondering what Cuy is, well here it goes...Cuy is more commonly referred to as GUINEA PIG back home. We had seen rotisserie spits with whole guinea pigs (teeth and all) roasting on a few occasions throughout our trip, but weren't exactly sure how we felt about actually eating one.

Well, after lots of questions about Cuy we finally decided, "When in Ecuador..." Thursday, we sacked up and had Cuy for lunch. The restaurant was great...they let us go out back and become familiar with what we were about to eat. While the site of guinea pigs lined up on a spit was a bit disturbing, the smell was actually really great.

At the table we had our choice of cuy sections with legs, paws, and even the head. I opted for a piece that was a little less obvious. The spanish instructor that accompanied us to lunch suggested that we eat the skin and all.

We did...surprisingly, once you get over the initial idea of eating a cute, furry creature, guinea pig IS really tasty. And the masses were right, it's unlike any other meat I'd ever tasted.