Alpaca Fiesta 2003 |
A few of the beautiful images of the people and sights of Peru |
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Young girl poses for photos near the small agricultural town of Chivay. |
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"That photo will cost you 1 Sol ($0.40)". This happy young girl was conducting a thriving business the day our mini-van came by to look over her mother's wares. |
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What we were really in Peru to see. These wonderful animals in their natural homeland. |
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Alpaca ranchland is a rather harsh environment with little food or water. But the alpaca is a strong and resilient animal which thrives even in these conditions. |
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Typical alpaca food. Dry brush pushing up between the rocks. |
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More alpacas, out on the open plain. We made our tour bus stop for each group! |
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Typical Peruvian alpaca farm. Very simple rock walls and small home. |
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Another example of a alpaca farm house. |
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A roadside market on the way to Chivay. A very small local town which raises alpacas, spins and knits their fleece, and sells them to tourists. |
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The little ones come along with mom to market. Playing, running around and allowing pictures, for one SOL each (about $0.40). |
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The contestants of the 2003 Alpaca Fiesta show competition. They all seemed relaxed for this big event. |
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Fashion Show
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Professional models from Lima, Peru's capital city come to Aerequipa to model the latest in fashions to show guests, including fashion executives from the USA, Italy and Japan.
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Traditional Spanish Peruvian fashions from our hosts at the Fiesta. |
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Mountains of fresh alpaca fiber for processing at the large Mitchell mill in Aerequipa, Peru. Sorted by hand by skilled workers into different color and quality grades. A traditional skill dating back centuries! |
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One of the large alpaca processing mills in Aerequipa. |
| More scenes from Mitchell |         |
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Beautiful 100% alpaca blankets being woven in Aerequipa. |
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Scenes around Lima
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One of our favorite shots! And elderly lady walking down the street in the small agricultural town of Chivay, knitting a product for sale! |
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Typical dress of locals in the rural towns of Peru. |
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The children aren't the only ones to capitalize on tourist traffic. This elderly woman, who only spoke Chechua, the native language of the Incans, posed on the side of the road for photos. With a small contribution. She was dropspinning alpaca while we saw her. |
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It was worth the 2 SOLs for this picture. |
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Although very poor, the people we met often were smiling and had a terrific sense of humor. Our guide asked, in Chechua, "What's the name of the donkey?". This let out a roar of laughter as the mother stated "Mrs. Toledo", Peru's First Lady! |
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Just some of the local traffic you'll see on the back roads. |
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Ancient Incan farming terraces, still used today. |
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Incan farming terraces with Mt. Misty in the background. |
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The ancestor to the alpaca, the Vicuna is a wild animal which produces small amounts of extremely fine fleece. Vicuna fleece is a treasured and very well protected national treasure of Peru. It sells for many times more per ounce than even the finest alpaca. |
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A small group of Vicuna run along side of us in the back country of Peru. |
| Go to http://purelyalpaca.com home page. |  |