During one of our trips to Peru we visited Lake Titicaca, a very large and high altitude lake in the Andes, spending a few days in the lakeside Peruvian city of Puno. While on one of our day-trips we visited the ruins of Sullustani National Monument, from a pre-Incan culture. The air is very thin up here and you’ll need to take your time when walking around but the site is quite interesting and fascinating to explore.
While puffing around the chullpas (towers used to bury ancestors) and a variety of stone circles, we came across these three. A mother, wearing a typical Peruvian hat knitting an alpaca wool sweater (to sell to tourists), her son, colorfully covered by a blanket, and a young calf that I think is an alpaca (although it might be a vicuna). They wanted us to take their picture and, of course, give them a tip for doing so. The kid and baby alpaca were cute, so I did.
While the alpaca is licking the boy’s face now, he’ll likely be spitting at him as an adult ungulate. Alpacas (and camels) are notoriously accurate at hurling lugies. Warning has been given if you ever run in to one.
