What have you eaten?

Let's see if this story doesn't win me the "AH Food and Drink Fear Factor" championship title. I apologize for the long story, but I feel the scenario and event are very important for this tale. I was a young SF soldier at the time.

We were working in the Chapare Valley of Bolivia and decided to run a "hearts and minds" medical assistance exercise. The Chapare Valley is a red zone for guerillas, terrorists, cocaine, illegal arms and everything else that makes South America interesting. During a medical assistance exercise, we would treat hundreds of people daily and everyone on the team becomes a medic in some capacity. Me and another team member were at the dental station with adult supervision from an Army Reserve dentist. Most of the people coming in were from various indigenous groups and Spanish is normally their 2nd or 3rd language. This often required the assistance of a local that could translate the other language(s) into Spanish for us.

In a few short hours of pulling numerous coca leaf-stained rotten teeth, I had gone from weapons man to OJT dentist. :LOL: Our Team Sergeant walked up, and he is in a 3-way conversation with a local young man and a young Bolivian Sergeant that is translating Yuracaré/Quechua to Spanish. Our Team Sergeant motioned for us to come over. He immediately explained that a tribal elder is suffering from a bad tooth, but she is too old to walk in for treatment. He told us to pack up everything we need and go with the 2 Bolivians. As we were leaving, he said "you treat this woman like she is your favorite grandmother! Never forget you are Ambassadors for the US!" After a long walk through the jungle, we came to a small village and were led directly to a larger hut on the outer edge. The Bolivians yelled out a greeting and what appeared to be the oldest living woman on the planet came out and greeted us. She had a poultice on her jaw and her mouth was packed with coca leaves. After greetings and pleasantries were exchanged, we asked her to clear her mouth and rinse with a solution we provided. We had her sit in a chair on the porch where we had the best light and proceeded to examine. She had a rotten molar that appeared to be abscessed. After shooting her up with enough Novocain to put down a horse, we commenced to removing the tooth. After digging all around with the elevator tool, I went in with the forceps. From recent experience, I carried the forceps that looked like a big pair of stainless channel lock pliers. She was groaning and laughing as I tugged and yanked. Finally, having shifted to where I had her in a basic head lock for better leverage, I yanked and out came the problem tooth. We flushed her mouth and explained to the 2 Bolivians how she needed to rinse, eat, drink and take the antibiotics we would provide. Any issues or problems, send a runner to the base camp and we will come back. We left them to explain everything and sat under a nearby tree.

The Bolivian Sergeant came over shortly and said what we did was a very great thing, and she wants to bless us. He said it is a great honor and people pay a lot to get blessings and help from her. We were invited into the house and were blessed using a variety of chants, prayers, herbs, coca leaves, smoke, and various dried animals and bones. We thought the grand finale was when she had us strip and rubbed us down with a dried llama fetus, but no, the best was yet to come.

We dressed and she led us behind the hut where there was an old, rusty, Texaco oil drum. She removed the banana leaves from the top and the smell of fermented corn and fruit hit us immediately. This was her chicha "still". Now I must digress for a moment. Chicha is a common drink in the Andean Ridge countries. It is a drink made of fermented corn and sometimes fruits and God only knows what else. Indigenous women make real, traditional chicha by chewing the corn and fruit and spitting the juice into the container where it is concocted into their version of a refreshing, fermented alcohol refreshment. There was no doubt this ancient medicine woman upheld all traditions. :LOL:

She removed the dead bugs that were floating on top with her hand, and dipped three cans into the barrel, filling them with her "magical home brew". She held up her drink and proposed a toast and commenced to praying and blessing us again. She stopped, smiled, clicked her can to ours and drank it all at once. The Bolivian Sergeant translated everything and solemnly declared that me and my buddy were the most blessed men in the Chapare Valley. We received the full blessing, and she invited us to drink what is well known as the best chicha in the world. All for free!

Keep in mind, we had just extracted a rotted, abscessed tooth from a mouth whose only lifetime dental care had been chewing coca leaves. As I looked at my buddy who had "fight or flight" face, I leaned over, clicked my can to his and whispered, "que no se mata engorda" (what doesn't kill you makes you fatter/stronger), and tossed it down. My buddy did the same. We returned to the base and gave a complete briefback. Our Team Sergeant said he had never been prouder of us and the BN Surgeon declared we would soon die of some unknown disease if God didn't strike us down first for participating in Pagan rituals. :LOL:

Now I must admit, as far as chicha goes, it was pretty damn good! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Safe travels

I read this aloud and @Just Gina about died laughing...

I hope you represented the USA proudly and put up a good front while being rubbed with that Llama fetus! LOL
 
Let's see if this story doesn't win me the "AH Food and Drink Fear Factor" championship title. I apologize for the long story, but I feel the scenario and event are very important for this tale. I was a young SF soldier at the time.

We were working in the Chapare Valley of Bolivia and decided to run a "hearts and minds" medical assistance exercise. The Chapare Valley is a red zone for guerillas, terrorists, cocaine, illegal arms and everything else that makes South America interesting. During a medical assistance exercise, we would treat hundreds of people daily and everyone on the team becomes a medic in some capacity. Me and another team member were at the dental station with adult supervision from an Army Reserve dentist. Most of the people coming in were from various indigenous groups and Spanish is normally their 2nd or 3rd language. This often required the assistance of a local that could translate the other language(s) into Spanish for us.

In a few short hours of pulling numerous coca leaf-stained rotten teeth, I had gone from weapons man to OJT dentist. :LOL: Our Team Sergeant walked up, and he is in a 3-way conversation with a local young man and a young Bolivian Sergeant that is translating Yuracaré/Quechua to Spanish. Our Team Sergeant motioned for us to come over. He immediately explained that a tribal elder is suffering from a bad tooth, but she is too old to walk in for treatment. He told us to pack up everything we need and go with the 2 Bolivians. As we were leaving, he said "you treat this woman like she is your favorite grandmother! Never forget you are Ambassadors for the US!" After a long walk through the jungle, we came to a small village and were led directly to a larger hut on the outer edge. The Bolivians yelled out a greeting and what appeared to be the oldest living woman on the planet came out and greeted us. She had a poultice on her jaw and her mouth was packed with coca leaves. After greetings and pleasantries were exchanged, we asked her to clear her mouth and rinse with a solution we provided. We had her sit in a chair on the porch where we had the best light and proceeded to examine. She had a rotten molar that appeared to be abscessed. After shooting her up with enough Novocain to put down a horse, we commenced to removing the tooth. After digging all around with the elevator tool, I went in with the forceps. From recent experience, I carried the forceps that looked like a big pair of stainless channel lock pliers. She was groaning and laughing as I tugged and yanked. Finally, having shifted to where I had her in a basic head lock for better leverage, I yanked and out came the problem tooth. We flushed her mouth and explained to the 2 Bolivians how she needed to rinse, eat, drink and take the antibiotics we would provide. Any issues or problems, send a runner to the base camp and we will come back. We left them to explain everything and sat under a nearby tree.

The Bolivian Sergeant came over shortly and said what we did was a very great thing, and she wants to bless us. He said it is a great honor and people pay a lot to get blessings and help from her. We were invited into the house and were blessed using a variety of chants, prayers, herbs, coca leaves, smoke, and various dried animals and bones. We thought the grand finale was when she had us strip and rubbed us down with a dried llama fetus, but no, the best was yet to come.

We dressed and she led us behind the hut where there was an old, rusty, Texaco oil drum. She removed the banana leaves from the top and the smell of fermented corn and fruit hit us immediately. This was her chicha "still". Now I must digress for a moment. Chicha is a common drink in the Andean Ridge countries. It is a drink made of fermented corn and sometimes fruits and God only knows what else. Indigenous women make real, traditional chicha by chewing the corn and fruit and spitting the juice into the container where it is concocted into their version of a refreshing, fermented alcohol refreshment. There was no doubt this ancient medicine woman upheld all traditions. :LOL:

She removed the dead bugs that were floating on top with her hand, and dipped three cans into the barrel, filling them with her "magical home brew". She held up her drink and proposed a toast and commenced to praying and blessing us again. She stopped, smiled, clicked her can to ours and drank it all at once. The Bolivian Sergeant translated everything and solemnly declared that me and my buddy were the most blessed men in the Chapare Valley. We received the full blessing, and she invited us to drink what is well known as the best chicha in the world. All for free!

Keep in mind, we had just extracted a rotted, abscessed tooth from a mouth whose only lifetime dental care had been chewing coca leaves. As I looked at my buddy who had "fight or flight" face, I leaned over, clicked my can to his and whispered, "que no se mata engorda" (what doesn't kill you makes you fatter/stronger), and tossed it down. My buddy did the same. We returned to the base and gave a complete briefback. Our Team Sergeant said he had never been prouder of us and the BN Surgeon declared we would soon die of some unknown disease if God didn't strike us down first for participating in Pagan rituals. :LOL:

Now I must admit, as far as chicha goes, it was pretty damn good! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Safe travels

Was this in the vicinity of Cochabamba?

We heard stories from the OGA guy at the embassy about a “blessing” that happened a few years before we got there (we were there in maybe 1993 or 1994?)… not nearly as much detail was given… but we were warned to stay away from the “old lady chicha” lol…

Would be too funny if that was you…
 
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I stopped to pick up a hitchhiker on IH-10 in south Louisiana in the mid 80’s who, unbeknownst to me, had a dead Egret in the black plastic bag he was holding. He soon revealed that he threw a stick to kill it earlier that day. I asked “Are those things good to eat?” He replied “ Hell yes! If you cook ‘em right tastes good as an owl.”
 
Was this in the vicinity of Cochabamba?

We heard stories from the OGA guy at the embassy about a “blessing” that happened a few years before we got there (we were there in maybe 1993 or 1994?)… not nearly as much detail was given… but we were warned to stay away from the “old lady chicha” lol…

Would be too funny if that was you…
It is in the North of the Cochabamba province where we had the base camp at Chimore. I was a bit of a legend in Bolivia back in the day.
:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

Safe travels
 
It is in the North of the Cochabamba province where we had the base camp at Chimore. I was a bit of a legend in Bolivia back in the day.
:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

Safe travels

We were just a few miles outside of Cochabamba city doing a weapons train up with their SF. We didn’t make it as far out as Chimore.

My jr weapons guy kept running into town.. literally nightly… for 2 weeks straight… to chase the “love of his life”…

He no shit married her about 6 or 8 months later after he managed to get all of her import paperwork completed lol…

A year after that she was pregnant with a Mexican construction workers kid (illegal alien) and left him to go live with the love of her life lol…

Fucking Bravos… :D
 
But have you had bouille? AKA a horrific pot of shit?
yes. twice. once partially intoxicated at duck camp then again sober at my aunt-in-law house (who is one of the best cooks on earth). Both attempts at ingesting that gruel were impossiblities. I eat organs no problem but not in that manner. Hell chitlins taste and smell better.
 
I think we have something quite similar to bouille in Colombia. It is called picadillo. Pronounced "peek-ah-dee-yo", meaning "chopped up in little pieces". It is a widely recognized cure for extreme hangovers. It is a mixture of pig/cow/chicken stomach, intestines, gizzards, liver, heart, kidneys, gall bladder, pancreas, lungs and only God and the cook know what else. It has a hearty taste and the smell of earthy death topped off with cilantro. I generally enjoy it on Saturday mornings after closing my favorite cantina. Come early or it will all be gone!

May you all receive a 2024 worthy of the blessings of a naked llama fetus rubdown! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Safe travels
 
Sounds interesting. never left CONUS for deployment. The only things I turn down routinely are Brussels sprouts and liver. Rather fond of Oysters though, any style. Glad you did the USA proud!
 
Just found this post in an internet search of the Chapare and couldn't resist a comment,

I was a State Department Foreign Service Officer assigned as the Ground and Riverine Operations Officer in the Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) at the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia from 1996 to 1999. I had the good fortune of a work schedule of spending Monday and Tuesday at the Embassy in La Paz, Wednesday through Friday at the UMOPAR base in Chimore, and all of my weekends in Santa Cruz. I have fond memories of my Bolivia tour, including much respect for the Red Empire soldiers who rotated through Chimore.
 
My
I have eaten about everything from cane rat in West Africa, to milk curdled with fresh cow urine in Southern Sudan with the occasional dash of fu-fu, in the west, and sadza in the southern camps of Africa.
Stateside, I was tempted to try bobcat the other day, but didn't--would it be good/safe (I remember that gutting a fox bare handed can incur liver worms/death in infected cases)
what have you adventurously eaten overseas or stateside. What can you recommend that most have not tried, but should?
Blue wildebeest steak was fantastic in South Africa (better than the gemsbok and kudu). Stateside, desert bighorn chops were excellent.
 
Just found this post in an internet search of the Chapare and couldn't resist a comment,

I was a State Department Foreign Service Officer assigned as the Ground and Riverine Operations Officer in the Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) at the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia from 1996 to 1999. I had the good fortune of a work schedule of spending Monday and Tuesday at the Embassy in La Paz, Wednesday through Friday at the UMOPAR base in Chimore, and all of my weekends in Santa Cruz. I have fond memories of my Bolivia tour, including much respect for the Red Empire soldiers who rotated through Chimore.
We have probably crossed paths. I worked a lot out of the Chimore base camp during my career.

Safe travels
 
The Sable Stroganoff that Chef Susan from Tsala Safaris makes was awesome! I'm trying to convince my brother that he needs to take a Sable on the trip we are planning just so Susan can make that dish for us!
 
I guess in the grand scheme of things, nothing too bad for me. Notable ones I've had:

Ants in Bogota, Colombia: Awful. Disgusting. Taste like bitter nasty saw dust.
Pacu in Colombia: Delicious
Amarillo Catfish in Colombia: Delicious
Piraracu in Brazil: Delicious
Sorobim in Brazil: Delicious
Chicken hearts: Delicious
Armadillo in Colombia: Not my favorite.
Tripe' in Colombia: No thanks.
Zebra in Africa: Unbelievably delicious.
All the antelope species in Africa (eland, kudu, etc.): Delicious.
Yemen: Bunch of stuff, mostly good. The lamb is a little more "gamey" there.

One thing I no longer eat outside the USA: Pork. Nope. Not taking that risk. I got sick in Colombia. Whether it was giardia from the water, some sort of hep illness from unprocessed manure on the fruit, or pork, remains to be seen. The potential for trichinosis and worse, cysticercosis, is not worth it. One of the wife's relatives ended up with the neuro version of it and almost died. I had roadside pork there and it was probably one of the stupidest moves of my life.

I think we have something quite similar to bouille in Colombia. It is called picadillo. Pronounced "peek-ah-dee-yo", meaning "chopped up in little pieces". It is a widely recognized cure for extreme hangovers. It is a mixture of pig/cow/chicken stomach, intestines, gizzards, liver, heart, kidneys, gall bladder, pancreas, lungs and only God and the cook know what else. It has a hearty taste and the smell of earthy death topped off with cilantro. I generally enjoy it on Saturday mornings after closing my favorite cantina. Come early or it will all be gone!

May you all receive a 2024 worthy of the blessings of a naked llama fetus rubdown! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Safe travels

Yup. There's a bunch of different variants to that. The "genaro" version is what you mentioned. Real low-land homestyle. Almost like a scrapple version. The Bogota and a Americanized version is just steak, chorizo, chicken, etc. topped on fries. It's damn good. Just can't get down with the tripe' if they add it.
 
I look forward to trying the various meats from lands yet traveled.

Dog, venison, and kangaroo are my favorites so far. Haggis is delicious too. I’m just sorry we can’t bring back the meat.
 
My X wife’s cooking not for the squeamish or faint of heart!

Lon
As Rodney Dangerfield used to say "My wife is the worst cook in the World. At my house, we pray AFTER we eat!"
 
@HookMeUpII
Odd on the pork since typical Colombian cooking is frying all meats and poultry until it is almost jerky. Colombia is one of the few places I have never been sick from the food.

Safe travels.
 
@HookMeUpII
Odd on the pork since typical Colombian cooking is frying all meats and poultry until it is almost jerky. Colombia is one of the few places I have never been sick from the food.

Safe travels.

It might have been that we bought and consumed some roadside vendor food. Not one of my brighter moves. Anything in the restaurants was top notch, especially Bogota.
 
Had ant eggs in Thailand, fried grasshopper in Cambodia,and roasted Cobra in Laos. Worst thing ever was Balut in the Philippines. Balut is a fertilized developing duck or chicken egg boiled or steamed.
 

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