Pitusiray

Last weekend I went on an overnight camping trip with three Peruivan friends. We left Calca Saturday afternoon and hiked for four hours to a specatular laguna below the peaks of a mountain named Pitusiray. Luckily, we stumbled upon an unused rock house on the shores of the laguna, complete with thatched roof and adobe fireplace, where we spent the night. The next morning we hiked further up the mountain to the second laguna and hunted rabbit-like rodents called viscachas with a .22 rifle. One of my Peruvian friends was a pretty good shot and managed to kill two viscachas. We gutted them on the mountain and had a really delicious lunch when we returned to Calca. The meat is soft and similar to rabbit or guinea pig, if any of you are familiar with these varieties.