#53 Machu Picchu #2

On our way to the Sacred Valley.
We visited an animal sanctuary.  The name is 
Cochahuasi.

We saw deer and interesting birds.  

 

 

 

 

They had a few of all these animal shown here.

The llama.

This is a Viscuna.  It is a wild llama.  They are protected by law.
  People can catch them and clip their wool, but they cannot kill them or hunt them.  

A very tame llama.  

They had some large tortises.  They were munching on watermelon.

The most interesting animals were the Condors.  They had three in a
large pen.  They were sitting on a small hill and we all stood at
the bottom.  The caretakers put some fresh meat on a large bone
behind us and we watched them swoop down over the top of our
heads to get the meat.  

This is a 60 year old male Condor.  Handsome guy??

Their wing span was 11 feet.  Here is one swooping down over our heads.  

They had three Pumas or we know them as mountain lions.  They
had all been rescued from injuries and other unsafe places.  

 

They also had a display of the beautiful weaving they do in Peru.
This young girl sits on the ground with the threads of the weaving
tied around her waist. She used two smooth sticks to separate
the many threads to make a design. The threads are tied
at both ends with a wooden stick. It was amazing to watch.
Her hands moved rapidly and the design looked perfect.  How
they know which colored yarn to use for the design.  The yarn
is spun from llama wool.  

This is a display of all the different plants they use to color the yarn.  

This is the colored yarn drying on some racks.  

This is the pots on a clay fireplace with an open wood fire.  They are
dying the yarn.  

They had a small store where you could buy some
of the items they weaved.  Lloyd tried on a poncho.
This one is made of more natural colors.  They were
all very expensive.  

This young girl was weaving to help her family and
save money for her schooling.  We all were very 
interested in watching her and what a special 
talent  she has.