Big Sister, Little Sister, Ausangate-style

- Adorable big sister from Puca Rumi
I met this girl two weeks ago while
trekking around Mount Ausangate. We were camping on her father's land in Puca Rumi, and she shyly came up to our tents, wanting to meet us.
When I took out a bag of
chupetas (lollipops) her two brothers magically appeared in our campsite.
For two hours the girl followed us around. The entire time she carried her little sister on her back, tied in a fabric sling. She didn't complain once.
The baby sister peeked over her big sister's shoulder and sucked on her bottle of straw-colored liquid. I have no idea what it was. My translator Nati suggested that it might be
chicha, a fermented corn drink, which is different from the purple, nonalcoholic
chicha morada.
At one point the sling twisted, and the baby sister ended up dangling sideways in the air. The big sister ran along with her brothers chasing a soccer ball while the baby sister's head bounced dangerously close to the ground. Big rocks stuck out at intervals along the fields.
We called to the girl to come back to us, and then we retied the bundle so Little Sister was heads-up.
Big Sister just pushed the hair out of her face and grinned. Little Sister reached out her hand for another
chupeta.
Everyone was happy, no one was hurt, why worry about potential cranial damage or dangers of pacifying a baby with an alcoholic beverage? For now, the baby was okay.
Childcare, Ausangate style.
Tags: chicha·children in Andes