As I looked out the window, I saw clouds below us cut by the mountaineous earth, and during a particularly long stretch we had a perfect view of the Inca trail. Pasto was the northernmost part of the Incan empire, which is the place that first developed their love of cuy (guinea pig), an ancient Incan dish.
We arrived at the village after a detour to point out where each child was born: in the small family home, with their father delivering them and cutting the umbilical cord. The sprawling land housed white pumpkin plants, corn, cows, chickens, pigs, dogs, a cat, and, my favorite, the cuyera (guinea pig farm). Their 60-yeard-old Uncle Patrocinio is a farmer, and one of his major sources of income is raising the guinea pigs from the back of his house and selling them.
I tried to make myself useful by bringing in the firewood and lighting the fire for the stove. I found it fascinating to prepare food over an open fire, but my main reason for volunteering for this job was the warmth of the fire. Even though Guaitarilla is close to the equator, its elevation of around 3,000 meters above sea level makes for very chilly nights. Using a juco, a long fire-blowing tool, I kept the fire going throughout the six-course meal and into the night as guests danced and drank local spirits. The night ended at around 5:00a.m. when people settled into their mattresses on various beds and floors, sleeping for only one or two hours before the roosters woke everyone up. This unique experience on a farm in Nariño was a perfect beginning to my last month here in Colombia.
On Monday we celebrated a holiday, the International Worker's Day, where I ran the Pablo de Arma 10K with some friends of mine.
