Loads of lovely llamas…

This started off as a post about our whole day, but we had so much fun at a Llama rescue centre/farm this morning I just had to leave it as one post.

It was so lush! There were several llamas and alpacas wandering around saying hello as we walked through the farm, but they were also separated into pens depending on their species.

The animals were so friendly and we really enjoyed feeding them. Llamas and alpacas in general, are very easily domesticated. The two breeds are still considered wild are called “huanacos” and “vicuña”. We were allowed to feed the huanacos, but the vicuña are kept away from the visitors.

We also met a friendly Peruvian dog – these guys are all bald, with a Mohawk-style tuft of hair on their heads. We’ve seen quite a few of these in the streets but not managed to get a picture until now.

Elijah’s favourite part of the farm was the Andean condors! These incredible birds of prey are considered the largest in the world and they are a national symbol here in Peru.

We enjoyed learning how the local people use beetles, flowers and other natural ingredients to dye their wool. It was amazing to see a demonstration of how a cochineal (that lives on cactus plants) is squashed to reveal a bright red colour – and then this is mixed with various things (like lime juice, ash, pink quartz stone etc) to create a whole rainbow of colours.

These women are making various tapestries and artworks that are sold in the shop here. The designs are so intricate and beautiful.

We also learned that Peruvian people really do eat guinea pigs for their meat, the lady showing us around couldn’t believe we would keep them as pets!