Las mascotas nuevas!

I finally succumbed to some sickness this weekend, and I was almost unable to leave my bed on Saturday. My new roommate Ben urged me to get out of the house on Sunday, and go walk around the market here in Calca. I did, despite intense sweating and fatigue. We saw lots of crazy things for sale, including small eggs with lots of black spots, which I have no clue from which animal they came. Soon, Ben and I encountered an area on the street where people were selling chickens, ducks and other birds. Ben looked at me, mentioned how cool the birds looked, and before I knew it, we had two baby yellow ducks in a cardboard box-our new pets! And only S./10 (about $3)!!

Condor and Puma

Having never owned a duck, we didn´t really know what to feed one. I remembered that my grandfather had coarsely ground corn that he fed the ducks on Burt Lake when we were kids. As Ben and I turned the corner, we immediately saw some, and bought a bag. Next, we plotted to buy a big box to let them sleep comfortably at night, but we couldn´t find one. So we bought a big plastic tub. After lining it with newspaper, we fed them some corn and gave them some water-they were real thirsty.

Thinking long and hard, Ben and I came up with names for our new pals. Ben named his Condor, and I Puma. These are two of the three sacred animals of the Inca, the other being the serpent. The Incas believed in sets of three: past, present, future for example. So, Condor and Puma are still a little afraid of the hand of man. But we hope that they become our friends as they grow up to be big ducks. Ciao!