Some one posted a thread about repulsive food items consumedI thought a blog would be better, since everyone wouldnt need to be exposed to
our experiences associated with a Luxury Link Auction trip taken a couple of years back.
The most repulsive things Ive eaten occurred years ago during my military stintmost of those things eaten were as a result of the need for protein during extended jungle survival training (no other food sources were provided, since survival was the key word). In those days, I was an omnivore.
So, it made no difference if it crawled, slithered, hid in holes or hung from trees.I ate it!

Now, as a vegetarian, those days are behind me.
How about repulsive drinks?

Chicha or Chicha de jora is a commonly prepared home brew by indigenous cultures throughout Central and South America.
It is most frequently prepared by germinating maize, pulverizing the grain, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the wort, and fermenting it in large vessels, traditionally huge earthenware vats, for several days.

Members in this community who have taken the O-E or Inkaterra Peru trips were no doubt offered opportunities to sample the drink along the way.
In some cultures, especially in the Amazon regions of Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, in lieu of using maize, other roots and fibrous plants are used for the base.
The base ingredients are masticated in the Chicha maker's mouth and softened.
The diastase enzyme in the maker's saliva, during the mastication, releases the starch and allows for the fermentation process when liquids are introduced.
During our visit to Kapawi EcoLodge in the Ecuadorian Rainforest, an auction trip we purchased from LuxuryLink, http://www.kapawi.com, we managed to garner an invitation to one of the Achura villages.
Not all visitors manage to receive one of these coveted invitations to experience daily life
in this remote part of the world.

Our guide and interpreter emphasized the necessity to accept and drink at least one cup of the Chicha which would be offered to each visitor as a show of welcome by the village chief.
To refuse the drink would be a display of disrespect and likely result in a termination of the visit.
As we sat on the dirt floor of their hut (home for four adults and six or seven children, plus
an assortment
of chickens, lizards and a dog) with eight upright poles supporting a palm thatched roof, we gratefully accept their homemade Chicha.
It was with some difficulty, we managed to drink most of the saliva laced sour beverage.
Yes, it was saliva..because we watched one of the females preparing a new batch and spitting the chewed fibrous residue into a large water filled vat.
The more Chicha we all drank, the more interesting the questions and answer became and the more we all enjoyed the social interaction!
Our treasure photos with our new found friends
reflect a somewhat glazed look on our smiling faces.
What a great experienceand we remained true to our vegetarianism!
Back at the lodge, later that evening, we downed a couple of trusty cephalexin and later a couple of shots of tequila from our emergency travel kit, before being severed an exceptional farewell dinner by the chef!