Cuyes!

Cuyes (cooees), what we call guinea pigs, are a domesticated rodent that have been a source of food in the Andes since at least 5,000 B.C.

Daniel and I have not seen a lot of them yet on our travels in Ecuador. I saw some piled on a grill in a market in Latacunga. When I asked the proprietress if I could take a picture she gave me an indignant "no"! When I asked if I could pay her a dollar for a picture, she informed me that she would not let me take a picture even for $10.

Apparently she was very tired of gringos taking pictures of her cuyes and not buying. We didn´t have that problem here in Baños at this establishment.

The cook seemed to be spending a long time roasting the cuyes by hand over a charcoal fire.

They are not cheap. I think we heard that they go for $17. But they probably would feed 2 or more people.

They are a lot bigger than the one my family had for a pet when I was a kid.