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After the ruins, our guide asked if we would be interested in seeing a nearby house. We were excited to take him up on the offer and see how the people of the area lived. They had no electricity or running water, but eagerly showed us how they survived. The man, Fidelphio, showed us that he raised Guinea Pigs, or “Cuy,” to feed his family and had between 5-8. Cuy is a delicacy served in Peru and April says she is going to try it while we are here. He showed us how they use cow poop to start fires and how he farms his land using tools that he has built by hand. His house, which has only one bedroom contains a raised area where they sleep and their “work area” where they do their weaving and project making. We also found it interesting that there was a small hole dug out at the front of the house, approximately 2 feet by 2 feet. This is where their babies spent the first few years of their lives. Mothers put their babies down the hole to proect them from areas that they might get into while the mother and father worked. Fedelphio’s wife prepared food for us… Potatoes, cheese and “edible clay” (looked like mud) to dip the potatoes into. Eric and April tried the potatoes but passed on the dipping sauce. Below are pictures showing where they cooked, slept (all four people slept in same bed, made from Alpaca blankets and reeds), and were they spent their time.

After seeing the sites in Sillustani, we got back into the van and headed to Puno. This part of the van trip was very bumpy. It was not like any of the roads we had gone on before. It might as well have been gravel but you could tell there was some concrete down.

Once we got to the hotel, The Totorani Inn, and found our rooms we realized that something didn’t sit well with Jim during the day. He spent the night resting as the rest of us went out to dinner with Alberto. At dinner, I (Eric) was the only adventurous one by eating Alpaca (a popular native food). It tasted like some sort of steak to me, but April thought otherwise. Everyone enjoyed their meals and we headed back to the hotel. Once we got back Jim was still not feeling 100% so I went with Alberto’s sister, Miran, to the pharmacy down the street to see if they had something for his stomach, aka Pepto Bismol. However, when I returned I had a brand of that as well as two unmarked pills to help him feel better. I think he took it all and today he was feeling much better. After the pharmacy run everyone crashed as it was a long day.

Below is a picture of the hotel where we stayed last night and are staying again tonight, The Totorani Inn.