An alpaca lifts his head while grazing on ichu grass, near Mount Ausangate; photo c. Barbara Drake 2008
Anthropologist Inge Bolin comments on the deep bond between traditional people in the high Andes and their animals:
“People talk about their llamas and alpacas with great emotion. ‘They are our brothers and sisters,’ the people of Chillihuani often [...]
Tags: alpacas·Andean culture
photo by Barbara Drake
Time for an Andean reality check. Too much Paris Hilton bikini nonsense.
I met this woman last month while trekking around Mount Ausangate, in southern Peru.
Her name is Vicentina Chuchicari Mamani, and like most people in the area, she spins her wool and makes her own clothes.
People have been crafting their textiles in this way [...]
Tags: alpacas·Andean culture·Andes mountains
Cute llama pix are a needed tonic to the barrage of awfulness in today’s world.
A self-professed llama freak, from Eugene, Oregon, has asked for more camelids on this site.
Of course, I oblige.
Figure 1: Munching alpaca at Jose & Daniela’s wedding, photo c. Barbara Drake 2008
In March, El Fotografo, El Hijo and I went to a wedding in Arequipa, an old colonial city in southern Peru. The wedding reception was held at a sort of an ecological/conservation site, which included a mini farm with typical Peruvian animals: llamas, alpacas, sheep and a lone vicuna. There were about 250 people at the [...]