Puno

We've been in Puno for five days now. It is the main Peruvian city on Lake Titicaca. We didn't plan on being here this long, but Cassandra was sick and she visited a doctor here and needed some rest, or at least a break from travel. We've spent a lot of time wandering around, looking for restaurants, and various other little places where we can get the things that we need.

A couple days ago we visited a small menu place. It is a common type of restaurant in Peru. There is a soup, a choice of entre, and a drink, almost always a sweet purple colored liquid made from corn. The whole meal costs between 2 and 4 soles, or 65 cents to $1.30.

This place that we went gave me yet another reason to admire the resourcefulness of Peruanos. Unfortunately I was unlucky enough to be party to this habit directly. I accidentally ordered a plate of beef tripe and potatoes in a yellow sauce. It was served on rice. I'm afraid if it wasn't for the assaultingly spicy sauce supplied on the table I wouldn't have been able to get it down. The spicy stuff must have been put there for just that purpose. Even after picking out all of the jiggling hunks of rippled yellow stomach lining, the taste of my dish was roughly similar to the smell of a cattle barn. In the future I'll know better than to order the cryptically named Cau Cau.

Damn. From a distance it looked so good.