h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

They do eat guinea pigs in Peru. In fact, it's quite a delicacy (meaning it doesn't actually taste all that good). I ate Guinea pig at a restaurant with a balcony overlooking the Plaza Des Armas (sort of like a High Street) in Arequipa.
It was very expensive (for Peru) but we had vastly overestimated our travel costs between there and Lake Titicaca, so we could afford it. My friends paid 60 nuevo Soles (£12 or so) each for a guinea pig, about the same as my battered squid (I'm not joking!), with lots of rice and potatoes. The creature itself was brought to us skinned, gutted and spread out, insides on the bottom, outsides on top, with recognisable paws and head. As my conscience got the better of me, I tried some. It could just have been a bad chef, but the meat was rather tough and dry, and a challenge to remove from the bone.
Being an all-male party, things degenerated and someone tried to see what they could scoop from within a skull. The answer is 'not much'. We left with the feeling that we hadn't really extracted 60 soles-worth of meat from the carcasses, but that was more than made up for by the entertainment value.
Unusually enough, no-one came to regret their choice of food during the 12-hour coach journey through darkness, desert and mountain that immediately followed the meal. In conclusion then, if you are prone to travel sickness, lunch on a rodent and enjoy your journey in peace. Apart from the stricken conscience, and the memory of those empty eyes staring at you....

*Random Thread Revival*

Cuy as Guinea Pigs are known is indeed a delicacy in Peru. I have tried it and unfortunately it was 'flattened' and looked too much like one of my former pets. The sauce was tasty though and it is only a sample of some of the great food that Peru has to offer including Monkeys, Turtles and Ceviche - almost raw fish cooked in lemon juice.