Punta Sal - relaxing at the beach

I was especially glad that we hadn't been camping, and so didn't have to take down a tent, when I discovered that we has to leave Huanchaca at 5:30am!  Needless to say, I slept for the first three hours on the truck.

The journey was a long one.  We stopped off to visit the Lord of Sipan Museum with its many impressive golden exhibits.  Unfortunately I can't tell you if it was any good, as when we arrived we discovered it was closed today for some work on the exhibits.  Suggestions were made about either bribing the guards - this is South America after all - or just using Cindy to crash our way through the wall, but eventually decided neither was a good idea and resigned ourselves to not seeing the museum.

We did visit the local Market to shop for the next few days' lunches though, and found the usual interesting mix of meats, fruits etc.

We arrived in Punta Sal to find that the Oasis truck was there.  I can't remember if I have mentioned them before, but this is another overlanding truck that we keep bumping into on our journey.  Theirs is a bit cheaper than ours though, so they do a bit more camping and bush camping than us - we tend to have a little more in the way of beds and running water.

Punta Sal is basically just a beach, so we were camping on the sand. It was hot so as Nic and I are prone to sunburn, and we have already established that I get heatstroke, we had a good excuse to spend much of our time sat in the bar.

TJ gave us a quick lesson in tequila on the first evening. Tequila is a favourite of his as he used to work in a tequila bar.  I was easily sold in the merits of a good tequila over the normal shots with lime and salt, but not everyone was.  He took this disappointment as well as could be expected!

Our second evening, we had a barbecue on the beach.  We had a bit of a problem getting a fire going initially, but once Nic and Leon got it started it roared away.  We had just got it down to the point where we could start cooking, and had gone to get our table and stuff out of the truck, when we returned to find some 'helpful' people had come across the fire, thought it was a good idea and had put another log on it to get it going again!  We had to flip it back off the fire to avoid waiting longer for our dinner.

So we spent the evening around the fire, but this time had to give up on toasting marshmallows as this was a duff brand that tasted rough.

Huanchaca

The trip to Huanchaca took around nine hours, and the plan was to camp for two nights.  But as I still felt very rough, we checked out the upgrade option and I was most relieved to find we could have an ensuite room for a very reasonable price; so we took it.



the typical dog of the area



The others all went for a wander around the town and then sought out a local vegetarian restaurant, while I   crashed in the room with the extra luxury of, not just a TV, but a TV with a remote control!  



By the morning I was feeling delicate but at least human, so the upgrade was well worth it. So I did join the group for the trip to the next set of ruins.  The first ones we visited were the Chan Chan ruins of the Chimo people, from around 700-1500 AD, just before the Inkas.  In the grounds you would often find the hairless dogs that have roamed these grounds for centuries.

 

the only entrance shows the thickness of the walls



These were the ruins of one of a number of huge palaces in this area.  Although vast, it was only the king, his family and his administrators who would have lived here, with everyone else outside.  Everything was adobe, which is the mud brick building process.  The outer walls were about four foot thick at the base, narrowing at the top, and there was only one entrance to the palace that is about 1200m by 1000m in size.


sculpted waves



There were vast halls amongst a network of corridors, with many of walls decorated with carvings of pelicans, fish and sculpted waves.  They even had their own water reservoirs inside the palace and of course the royal burial tombs.



some of the paintings



We then moved on to a different set of ruins.  This was the Temple of the Moon, built by a different and earlier group of people living late BC early AD.  This was another huge structure, built high because each successive king added a new level.  The building was only found recently as it had been covered in sand, so it is still being excavated now.  The impressive thing here are the decorations.  They carved and painted intricate patterns, faces, animals and people onto the walls.  



human sacrifices



 

There were also a few pictures depicting scenes from life in the temple, which showed that this was a race that carried out human sacrifices; from the picture it looked as if the unlucky people were stoned to death, but that may be a wrong interpretation.

more paintings over many levels





Much of the decoration is lost or faded, but there is still a lot of it that has been preserved and enables you to imagine how magnificent it would have been in its day.  Given how much older this is, I found the building and decoration more impressive than Machu Picchu.





traditional grass boat



procession

Back in Huanchaca, we took a stroll along the seafront watching the kids in their traditional grass boats, and had some lunch.  We passed a procession that appeared to be a religious celebration of one of their saints; very colourful and musical!

A couple of the group had a go at the surfing, but we decided that wasn't for us.





Huarez



 

Abbas? fruit



the drive to Huarez



We had a 6:45am start to the new leg for our drive to Huarez.   At least at this time we weren't blocking the road again.  En route, Izzie stopped to buy some fruit called abbas or something.  It is like a big green bean pod, and the fruit is soft and white segments each with big black seeds inside.  Tastes reasonable. 



the drive to Huarez



the drive to Huarez





Huarez is high in the Andes, so we were back at altitude, driving back up through the mountains.  More good views to be had, and lots of small villages passed through.   



women at work

I find it fascinating the way that you pass a little ramshackle house on the side of the hills, miles from anywhere, and as well as the livestock wlking around, you'll also see a wood shop or a restaurant or some other business being run from home.  And you almost always see the women hard at work in their brightly coloured traditional clothes.

We arrived at a small guesthouse and then a guide discussed with us the options for activities for the next day. Nic and I opted for riding.

So in the morning, we were picked up by taxi and set off for an hour or so drive further up into the mountains.  Our driver was quite chatty, so we had a good chance to practice some Spanish and get to know a bit about him and the area.

The road up the hill was steep with lots of switchbacks and a very rough surface.  Most taxi drivers in the UK would have been grumbling already, but here it is to be expected.  But then we came across them 'improving' the road.  This involved dumping a load of sand and rocks, including some pretty large boulders, onto the road surface.  There had been no warning of this going on, and the only options were to turn back or carry on over it. Our driver waited for the digger to move back out of the way and carried on.  His wheels span on the rocks and he quickly got stuck.  We got out to make it easier, and he was able to free himself an get over the worst of it.  We assumed that this was a temporary stage in the works, and that they would be flattening it out properly as the next step, but when we returned some hours later it was no better, it just covered a bigger section of the road!

When we arrived at the end, we saw that our horses were, as we knew they might be, more like mules than horses.  We were immediately loaded onto their backs and set off with Oscar walking alongside us to keep them chivvied along in the right direction.

We vaguely knew that we were headed towards a lake, and would be riding for about three hours, but beyond that had no idea what to expect. It turned out that we had quite a lot further up to go.

riding in Huarez

Now Nic and I aren't little people and whilst I know that horses are strong, these were only small, and I started to feel pretty sorry for them as they carried us up the hill, especially as the terrain became very steep and rocky.  We'd been gone well over an hour, when we agreed that, despite Oscar keep telling us they were fine, we weren't comfortable with the effort that the horses were having to make to get us up the by now very steep and very rocky mountain.  So we decided to come back.



riding in Huarez



The return journey was fairly hairy at times. Going down steeply means that you lean back so that you feel almost parallel to the hill, as if you could just slide right off.  And whilst the horses are obviously quite sure footed most of the time, they do sometimes slip and stumble, and then you feel like you're coming off.  This all would not be so bad if the horses didn't insist on walking right on the very edge of the pathway where there is a sheer drop down the mountain.  But they do!

However, we made it back without falling, albeit it a little stiff from the ride.  And though we cut the ride short and didn't get to the lake, we still saw some beautiful scenery as we rode through this Cordilleras Blancos range of the Andes.

On the way back down the hill in the taxi we passed a family event taking place outside one of the houses.  They were all gathered together - parents and children - to butcher a cow.  By the time we passed they had already killed it, and were working on cutting it into joints.  They already had a couple of leg joints on one sheet, while another sheet had a large mound of the stomach and other internal workings! This was clearly an important event for the family, not to mention for all of the dogs that were patiently waiting nearby, hoping to benefit from some of the leftovers.

Unfortunately, by the time we made it back to the room, I had started to feel fairly unwell.  On looking at my face, it was clear that whilst the weather had looked very overcast, and at times there had been slight rain, I had still managed to catch the sun quite badly and had got a bit of heatstroke. So I rested while Nic went and watched the England -v- Montenegro match.

When we went out to eat, the guy at the restaurant was concerned that I hadn't eaten much and made me a herbal tea on the house to help me feel better.

On the way back to the rooms, we spotted crowds of people outside the TV shops watching a Peru world cup  qualifying match.  They were getting very excitable at a few near misses, but had yet to be rewarded with an actual goal.

But an early night was on the cards for us before another long driving day tomorrow.





Lima

Lima

We arrived in Lima in the rush hour.  Well I say that, but in fact I'm not sure that there was any time of day that wasn't the rush hour.  The traffic in Lima is horrendous and the drivers are all insane.  Izzy did an amazing job of getting us safely into the centre of Lima despite cars and buses careering from one side of the multi-lane carriageway to the other, desperately pushing in front of each other and just generally driving as dangerously as they possibly could.  At one point she even had a bus driver trying to have a chat with her through the window as they drove along.  And we're not talking London traffic speeds here, all of this was going on at speeds above 50mph!

When we arrived at the hotel we caused huge consternation as we had to block the road while we all got off and unloaded our bags.  In a city where they hoot their horns if you so much as look as if you might get in their way, you can imagine how many blaring horns that produced.  Indeed this is a place where horns are blown all the time, as the buses and taxis constantly toot at people to get their attention in case they want a ride.  It is a noisy city.

Lima



But having got there in one piece and avoided being torn apart by angry drivers, we checked into the hotel and then went out for our end of leg dinner.  It was a good evening and Nic and I tried out some of their two for one cocktails, which were very good.



We only had one day in Lima and unfortunately we didn't get to see much if it as we had some practical shopping to do.  The old part of the city has some very grand old buildings, but it is a bit like the wrong end of Oxford Street - the buildings are OK but they are past their best with a lot of shabby shops in them.  But I wouldn't rule out Lima at this stage, as we didn't really give it enough of a chance and some of our fellow travellers who did get to some of the sights, such as the catacombs, did quite like them.  So perhaps Lima will need to be revisited at a later date.



Lima



In the evening a group of us went to the new, more upmarket part of town, as it was one of the groups birthday.  That involved more hairy trips through the Lima traffic.  Her choice of pub was a 'British' one, but beyond the obviously imported decoration and the traditionally kitch version of 'olde worlde' there was nothing British about it.  Except perhaps the prices - we only stayed for one!

We ended up eating in a place called Beirut, that looked a bit dubious but actually wasn't bad.

In the taxi on the way back, it was worrying to see that the drivers obviously feel no safer on these roads than we do.  Our taxi driver touched his rosary and crossed himself not once but twice as we set off on the major road back to our hotel!

The Ballestas Islands

pelicans and penguins

 

With sand still in places that it shouldn't be, we set off for Lima, with a stop in the Ballestas Islands.



lots of birds



The Ballestas Islands are known as the 'poor man's Galapagos'.  They are three small islands in the Pacific Ocean, just off El Chaco near the Ica Valley.



sea lions



The islands are covered in birds such as Peruvian Pelicans, Boobys (stop sniggering!), and Humboldt Penguins.  There are sea lions, and though we didn't see them, there are various types of turtle too. 

pelicans



 



We sailed around the islands, stopping regularly to watch the thousands of birds flying around and perched on the islands, and the sealions that were mostly resting on the rocks.



pelican with a beakful



It was an impressive sight, especially when groups of pelicans flew past and you could see that some had a catch stored in their beak pouch. 



some bird or other!



There were also men working on the islands, with the delightful task of collecting the guana, or bird poo, which is sold as fertiliser.



more birds



I came close to collecting a bit of my own as one flock of birds flew overhead, but thankfully it just missed me.  One of my fellow travellers wasn't so lucky.

sea lion

I'm not sure that there is any way that this can actually be comnpared to the real Galapagos of course, but it is a good place to go if you want to see the ea birds and can't afford the real thing.



penguin

 We got back to the mainland just as the sun started shining, and had lunch on the seafront before continuing on to Lima.






A day in the desert



Mummies at Nazca

Change of plan for today, instead of going to the Paracas National Park, we went to Huacachina to do some sand duning instead.

But first we had another early start, setting off at 6:45 to visit the cemetery in Nazca.  The cemetery dates to the ancient Nazca tribe that they believe was responsible for creating the Nazca lines.  Unfortunately the cemetery was first found by grave robbers, so any valuable items were taken and the bodies were casually abandoned in the desert sand.  It was some fifty years before the authorities decided to do something about it and reconstructed some of the tombs to preserve the historical site.

Nazca mummy



The Nazcans had built little stone rooms to bury their dead and mummified the bodies in the foetal position.  It is believed that they thought that there is an afterlife, as they left food and other items that the dead might need.  There are around four hundred tombs in the cemetery, but about thirteen have been restored and are left open to view, with just a basic wooden shelter built over the top.  The mummified remains gave been placed back into the tombs although of course there is no way of knowing of they are in the right ones.  There is also the strange sight where they have occasionally left the odd bone or bit of cotton wadding just lying on the sand.

Huacachina - desert oasis

Our next stop was the lookout tower for the Nazca lines.  Obviously those of us who had taken the flight the day before had already had a much better view, but for those who hadn't, this was their one opportunity to see the lines.

From there we drove on to Huacachina, arriving in time to have lunch.  Huacachina is a little town built around a lake.  It used to be fed by a natural spring, so the place was a kind of spa town with supposed healing powers, but now the spring has dried up and the lake is maintained artificially.  But it still features on the back of a 50 Soles note.

Sand buggying in Huacachina

These days the place is mainly a base for people to go and play in the  world's largest sand dunes.  Which is precisely why we were there.

Once the main heat of the sun had died down, we waved goodbye to the two who had decided not to go, and set off in the sandbuggies.  Our drivers are expert in speeding over the dunes, so it was a real rollercoaster ride.

After a while, we stopped sand duning and brought out the boards.  We were perched at the top of quite a large and very steep dune. Three of the group decided that this wasn't for them, but the rest of us lined up at the edge of the dune.

Me, part way down the first dune

Looking down, it felt like an almost vertical drop.  It wasn't, but it can't have been more than a 30 degree angle. It seemed to me that there was no way that when you got to the bottom of the hill, you wouldn't just end up stuck head first in the sand.  But the first person to go made it down safely, so we all followed on.

It was great fun.  Lying down on the board, half hanging over the edge and waiting to be pushed off was a but nervy, but when the push came, the adrenalin kicked in and I loved it.

Nic starting the first dune

Nic and I both made it safely down the first one, and happily the buggies come and collect us all for the next one so we don't have to walk back up.

The second was higher, and though we didn't realise it from the top, there was a small uphill bit at the end.


Nic at the end of dune three





The third had a big downhill, then plateaued briefly before going down again for a short run.  This one caused us some trouble.Nic because he came to a halt on the plateau and had to launch himself off the edge of the second downhill, and me because I rolled at the bottom of the first hill and came off entirely.  I also had to launch from the second edge myself.



Me, just before my tumble



The fourth was a higher and steeper slope again, and this time Nic came a cropper.  He rolled several times at the bottom of  the slope and came off.  He hurt his hand a bit, but is otherwise OK.  Both of us are a bit bruised and achy though!  But bruises aside, it was great fun and we really enjoyed doing it.

Sunset at Huacachina

After a quick stop to watch the sunset over the dunes, we got back in the buggies for a short ride to our camp for the night.  The guys had set up a firepit, barbecue and stools and had piscolas (pisco & cokes) ready for us.  

We had an excellent meal of beef kebabs, chicken, sausage and vegetables.  When the piscolas eventually ran out they had some beers available too, so we were able to carry on around the fire well into the evening. 

A sandy us in Huacachina



Now you would think that Sharif would have learnt his lesson on betting Sophie about food, but apparently not.  He did it again, this time about a plate of vegetables.  After much negotiation - or more accurately dispute - between the two parties representatives, a plateful of food was prepared, a forty minute time limit agreed, and TJ elected as time keeper.  Sophie started well, but faltered towards the end and just failed to shovel down the last bits in the allotted time.  This was a contentious matter, so on the end it was agreed that both Sharif and Sophie would do the forfeit of naked sandboarding, but without an audience.  By this time the cold desert evening had set in, and we all know that sand gets everywhere, so neither was that thrilled.  You would think this might make them think again in future but somehow I doubt it!

Desert barbeque at Huacachina

Gradually we all turned in for the night, which just meant getting into our sleeping bags under the stars.  We were assured by T J that we would wake up early with the sun and heat.  But that wasn't quite true.  In fact we woke up to a heavy fog that made everything quite damp and cold.  And TJ was nowhere to be seen.  With the rest of us ready to go, people were dispatched to find him; they evenually tracked him down and brought him back a bit dazed and still half asleep.

So back to the town for a very welcome breakfast before setting off for Lima.

Nazca and it's Lines



Nazca monkey

 We had a leisurely start from Puerta Inka as the road that we needed to take had been closed off for a car race of some sort.  So having spent some time making friends with the very noisy parrot called Pedro, we left at about 11am. Following a very good run through we arrived in Nazca before 2pm, so after a quick lunch , ten of us headed to the little airport across the road to take a flight over the Nazca lines.



Nazca hummingbird



There was some trepidation about this as there have been a number of flights crash in the past, largely due to bad maintenance and overfilling planes.  To the extent that our Dragoman crew were not actually allowed to arrange the trip for us, due to the potential liability.  However, we were assured by the guy who arranged our flights that maintenance was now done properly, and that they had proper checks in place now, so we took our lives in our hands and signed up.



Nazca spider



There were five of us to a plane and they helpfully left us all sick bags just in case.  Thankfully the day wasn't too windy, so the motion wasn't too bad.  Probably just as well because as it was, with the motion that there was and the thirty degree banking that they did to enable us to see the lines, Nic and others were already feeling a bit queasy.

The Nazca lines are a series of huge outline pictures of animals that have been drawn into the desert.  It is believed that they were drawn by the Nazcans who lived between 300BC and 700AD.They don't known how or why they were drawn although various theories exist, including them being an 'offering' to the Gods for rain.

Nazca astronaut - or alien



One alternative theory is that they were made by aliens, in part because one of the pictures that they call the astronaut resembles an alien figure. Personally I think I'd stick with the Nazcans but you never know.



Nazca chicken and viewing platform



It was a good flight.  We were able to get a good view of the lines and - most importantly - neither of our planes crashed!  I have added pictures; they are a bit faint so you have to look carefully, but they're there.  The one with the viewing platform and vehicles gives you an idea of the scale of these images.



Our plane at Nazca



After yesterday's dinner debacle, no-one was going to throw anything away without checking so we felt we were on safe ground.  But then half way through making dinner, the gas ran out.   After some attempts to get it replaced, Izzy arranged with the hotel that the cook group could use their kitchen to finish making dinner. What will go wrong tomorrow I wonder?

Puerta Inka



Puerta Inka

 It was a 7:30am start for Puerta Inka, which meant that Nic only got to watch the first half of the Liverpool -v- Everton match that he'd discovered was on this morning. He did manage to check the result later though and was pleased with the red victory.

The journey was longer than expected, but the sight of the Pacific Ocean gave the welcome confirmation that we were no longer at altitude.  Being used to British and European coasts, it was strange to be travelling with the sea on one side and desert on the other.  With the exception of passing through a few towns, there was nothing for miles around.

The place we were staying was simply a campsite next to a small hotel in a little bay.  Nothing to do but watch the waves rolling in and relax.  Some of the group braved the water but the rest of us just watched and laughed at their tentative approach to getting wet.

Puerta Inka

We did have some company though as another Dragoman truck, making the same journey but in the opposite direction, was there for the night too.

As dinnertime approached, I started getting the food out to make the chicken stirfry and rice.  But when I got to our fridge, there was no chicken.  Now I was certain that I had put it in the fridge the day before, but it wasn't there now, and so you do start to doubt yourself.  A thorough search of the rest of the truck didn't turn it up so we started asking others. Eventually someone owned up that they had thrown it away thinking that it was off. So I was glad to confirm that I hadn't yet gone completely mad, but not so glad that it meant that our chicken stir fry had become just a vegetable stir fry! However, the other Dragoman group heard about our lack of meat and very kindly shared some of their beef with us, so we had some meat after all.

After dinner we all sat around the campfire with a few beers and toasted marshmallows.  Well I say a few beers, but as eventually we found that we'd drunk the bar dry and they have to send into town to get more, I guess it was more than a a few.  Certainly there were rather a lot of empties collected up the next morning and one or two of our fellow travellers were a little worse for wear.

Ariquipa - The White City

Ariquipa

We arrived in Ariquipa to a hot and sunny afternoon and checked into our hotel.  This is definitely one of our better hotels. The rooms are nothing special, though we did have hot water, the surprisingly unusual feature of a wardrobe, and a minibar.  But the main feature was the gardens. All around the property were lovely areas to sit out and relax in the sun.  But first we had a city to look around.



Ariquipa



Ariquipa is called the White City, which I wrongly assumed comes from the white stonework of it's main buildings.  In fact it refers to the paler skintone of the people of the city, which was a result of the Spanish settlers and their liaisons with the locals.

As Peru's second city, it is wealthier than other places we have been here and far fewer people wear traditional dress.  The main square - as ever the Plaza Des Armes - is very elegant with it's flowers and fountains, and the buildings are grand and imposing.

Nic in Ariquipa

We found a nice place on the square for lunch, albeit that it involved climbing five flights of stairs to reach it.  The view was great though,  of both the square and the backdrop of the Andes and the Misti Volcano. After lunch some walking around was on order, finding churches and scoping out restaurants as we went.



Browsing around the shops I found an alpaca furry hat which I immediately wanted. Of course it makes no sense as we have left behind the cold in Bolivia and are now heading further into the sun. I still bought it though and am justifying it on the basis that I will need it when we go to Patagonia and Antarctica. That, and I like it.

Guinea pig dinner

After a quick - and free - pisco sour at the hotel, we went for a group dinner.  Now a traditional Peruvian speciality is cuy, or guinea pig, and Ariquipa is supposed to be the place to try it. It is eaten by people here for all celebrations, as confirmed by our trek guide in Cusco and Estella our homestay host in Raqchi, who had told us they would be eating it to celebrate her mother's upcoming birthday.

So of course we had to try it.  Nic went for the safe option of a guinea pig stew, which was OK.  I decided to break my usual rule of not eating things with recognisable body parts, and have the more traditional Cuy Chuctau.  This was basically a deep fried, flattened guinea pig minus only fur and most innards.  The head and feet were still attached and it looked like a squashed rat on the plate, complete with ears, claws and teeth!



Live band in Retro bar



There isn't much meat on a guinea pig. And that which I did manage to pick off was a bit bland really and probably not at its best for having been deep fried.  I drew the line at the tiny heart, lungs and kidneys that I found on the underside of my rodent, but Nic couldn't resist having a chew on the head to try out the ears and cheeks.  That may be OK with an actual pig, but is probably best avoided in the guinea variety!  Whilst the meat in a stew was not bad, I can't say that guinea pig is an experience I'll be rushing to repeat, and I certainly don't intend to have another plate with a whole rodent on it!

After dinner we hit a local bar called Retro, which had an excellent live band playing old rock and pop from The Beatles and Blondie, to Steppenwolf and ACDC.  They kept us amused into the early hours, and seemed to enjoy having a bunch of enthusiastic foreigners singing along. 

Santa Catalina Convent, Ariquipa



On our second day here, after an unusually decent breakfast, we visited the Santa Catolina convent.  Our guide showed us around the beautiful mediterranean looking buildings and told us about the lives if the nuns.



Santa Catalina convent



Rich families would deposit their twelve year old daughters there for the rest of their lives, presumably with the expectation that this service to God would seal their way to heaven.  The family paid handsomely for the privilege, and the nuns did have a reasonably good life and almost twice the normal life expectancy.  But I can't say that I would have been too happy with my parents if I were one of these girls. 

Washing bowls



The convent was certainly a relaxing and beautiful place though, painted in bright white, terracotta and blue, and with lots of little courtyards and gardens.

There was a strange looking water feature, with lots of large bowl shaped stones either side of a central spine, which turned out to be their clothes washing 'sinks'.  They worked by having water flowing down the centre, and they used a stone to divert the water into their bowl when they wanted to use it.  Simple, clever, and quite pretty too.

The day we were there they were filming something about one of the nuns that used to live here and so there were nuns walking around, just not real ones.
 My next task for the day was to shop for food with Izzie and TJ for our camping in Puerta Inca.  We had a slightly strange encounter on the way, as we passed a man wearing nothing but an open raincoat; he was just walking down the street quite normally with no-one taking any notice of him at all.  We found the local market, which as ever had many stalls, but each type of stall sells the same things - having a unique selling point clearly isn't a concept they believe in in South America.  With the food safely stored in the truck, I had time to catch up on a few blogs before Nic and I went for dinner.


Desserts at Zigzag

 We'd found a good place to eat, with beef, alpaca and pork steaks flambeed in cognac.  Very nice. And we treated ourselves to their trio of desserts as well.  This meal was definitely better than the guinea pig and looked prettier too!