Chicha

The Spanish lessons are going well, however we are both a little bored of Cuzco. Moving into a home stay was a good move as we are now living right above the school, and are being fed wonderful home cooked meals. Our home stay family (who are also the owners of the fairplay school) took Vikki and I, along with two other students to a fiesta a half hour out of Cuzco. We joined this small town for the afternoon to celebrate a religious Holiday (not sure which one), and to enjoy drinks and a pig roast.

After our meal a squat old Quechuen (the native peoples here) was offering around a yellowish drink. She would pour a cup full (the same cup for everyone) hand it to you, and you would pour a bit on the ground and chug er down. I had the privilege of watching Vikki drink it, and by the look on her face I thought see was going to hurl. This stuff was the most foul tasting thing you can imagine. It was not much of a surprise to find out that it was fermented corn juice. We did however get a nice surprise the next night.

The two other students in the homestay happened upon the preparation method in their guidebook. Chicha has been made same way for many generations... the Quechuen people chew, and then spit corn into a vat, which is sealed and let sit for several weeks to allow for fermentation. Yum yum yum.... rotten corn and Quechuen saliva!!!

Wont be drinking that again.