On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Elma
I got a catalog from my usual tour company, pitching 2022 tours. That seems almost possible. I threw all the offers for 2021 into the recycling bin. It got me to looking back on photos from past trips. I always take pics of animals on my travels. Here are a few taken on a tour of several South American countries from 2016.
Here is a herd of guinea pigs in the kitchen of a traditional house. Our guide told us they must have recently had a big party, because the herd was smaller than the last time he brought a group to visit. Later, in Cusco at a home hosted dinner, we were served a whole roasted guinea pig with a red pepper in its mouth. One woman in our group, who had guinea pigs as pets, ran from the room in tears.
Inca Cats. I suppose they are correctly Peruvian cats since I don’t think the pre-Columbians had domesticated felines. Anyway, they were in the same traditional village as the guinea pigs.
Not real live animals, but a talisman on top of a huge clay oven. The operator pulled out some fabulous fresh bread for us to try.
Peruvian llamas
Chilean llamas
Here are some seals sunning just off the shore at Valparaiso Chile
Here is a capybara near Montevideo in Uruguay. Of the places I have traveled all over the world, Montevideo was one of the few that I left thinking, “I want to go back there; I could live there.” Of course, having almost no Spanish, it is not a very practical idea.
Argentine Dogs This was one of the smaller packs we saw being walked through the streets of Buenos Aries. The walker takes the pack to a park and let them all run off leash. His status as pack leader allows him to call them all back when it is time to go, according to our guide.
A marmoset hanging out on Sugarloaf in Rio. We left Rio the day before Carnival began.
Amir Khalid
Um, in the “near Montevideo” pic, I see four dogs chilling on the sidewalk, but no capybara.
sab
I love guinea pigs and capybaras. Being served a cooked guinea pig would probably have me in tears also, but those gunea pigs look a lot happier than our pet ones did, running around with their pals. We used to keep the gunea pig’s cage next to the tv, so when we were watching tv the guinea pig thought we were watching him/her. Made everyone happy.
sab
What is not up with the Peruvian llamas ears? They look like golden retrievers. I thought llama ears were supposed to look like bananas.That’s how you can tell they aren’t extremely large alpacas.
eclare
I don’t see a capybara either. When I went to Peru, I got to pet one!
sab
@Amir Khalid: I see no capybaras either.
sab
In the guinea pig photo, isn’t that table with the basket actually a treadle sewing machine?
raven
My friend made a documentary about the “charango” in Peru. It’s a small string instrument that was traditionally made from an armadillo shell. Here’s a little musical interlude with “Dromedary”!
sab
@raven: I love armadillos. But did you know they are a reservoir for leprosy in N America? Were they always, or did colonials bring it in and infect them?
Elma
@Amir Khalid: I grabbed the wrong picture. Those are free range dogs in Valparaiso Chile to compare with the disciplined dogs from Buenos Aires. I went over the post three times before I submitted it. Now I can’t figure out how to insert the Capybara pic into this comment. Sorry.
raven
@sab:
Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat.[18] Armadillos are a presumed vector and natural reservoir for the disease in Texas, Louisiana and Florida.[19][20] Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the late 15th century, leprosy was unknown in the New World. Given that armadillos are native to the New World, at some point they must have acquired the disease from old-world humans.[18][20]
sab
@Elma: Someday maybe we will see them.
My local zoo, when it reopens, is fiercely proud of its capybara colony. Guinea pigs writ very large.
sab
@raven: So blame colonials. Fixes nothing for the armadilos, who are now infected.
raven
@sab: “Now”? Also, they are incredibly destructive and know to be dumb a rocks.
sab
@raven: Lots of things are dumb as rocks. Opossums. Deer. Football fans.
ETA Republican officeholdets.
J R in WV
Great photos and memories, looks to have been a great trip. I love these photo threads, we learn and share so much with them!
If you email Watergirl the capybara photo she could probably add it, and fix the description of the dog photo. The software to submit a photo set is non-trivial to use at first and there’s no easy way to fix things once submitted, but she can do it for us.
Don’t feel bad, just pull out some more photos and do it again!
sab
@J R in WV: Please do that. I would very much like to see capybara.
Laura Too
@raven: Wonderful music to listen to as I view the pics. Thanks!
Elma: Agree for the need for lots more pics of your trip!
raven
@sab: bite me
WaterGirl
@Elma: If you send me the photo and the text for the caption, and you tell me what to correct in the photo with the wrong info, I can make it all right. :-)
zeecube
@raven: So, a horny frenchman/spaniard f’ed an armadillo back in the day?
AZ Mike
Was your guide Fredy Delgado for the Peru trip? The house w/ the guinea pigs looks very similar to the one from our trip in 2015.
AZ Mike
@Elma Great pictures! I have some pictures of the same traditional house in Peru (April 2015). Same sewing machine, pot, etc. Maybe even same guide? Love how relaxed all of the cats/dogs always seem to be.