Peru - collections of things

If you've looked at my travels before you'll know that I like to collate images on the same subject matter. This is what this post shows.

Peru is famous for its woven fabrics and we had the chance to see the whole process from the animals to spinning and dyeing and then the weaving. At Awana Kancha, a weaving cooperative, they had Llamas, Alpaca and Vicuna.

They had examples of the different natural dyestuffs that they use. It was interesting to see how different the colour of the dyed wool was to the colour of the plants, insects, etc.

The dyeing process was very simple but produced beautiful colours.

The spinning was done mainly by drop spindles.

All the weaving we saw was being done on waist strap looms although they did have a frame loom there. The patterns woven are traditional designs from local villages. You can tell which village the women come from by their clothing and hats.

I loved the way that babies and small children were carried. In all the time we were there I only saw one buggie. I watched a woman wrap her baby and put it on her back, it was very impressive.

In Cusco and the Sacred Valley women dress in quite a traditional way. Again you can tell where they come from by the way they are dressed. The brown felt hats denote a woman of Andean heritage, the white a woman of mixed Inca and Spanish heritage and the flat hats, called montera, shaped like fruit bowls are worn throughout the Sacred Valley. The woollen hat with pom poms worn by the man is also a traditional design. A boy's first hat is given to him by his father.

These were some mummies found in the mud pyramid in Lima ...

... and these were dolls in Chinchero

The markets were full in interesting fruit, cheeses and chocolate.

There was a huge variety of corn and quinoa available ...

... and soooo many varieties of potatoes.

The picture on the left shows a bakery in Pisac and on the right is one of the many small cafes that sell a local drink called Chicha brewed from corn. You can tell if they have some for sale by the red plastic bag on a stick.

As we travelled through the valley there were many roadside stalls selling guinea pigs - usually on sticks. We didn't try any.

All through the valley we saw houses made of mud bricks and loads of bricks laid out to dry.

In the towns and all important buildings like temples stone was used. Inca buildings were built without mortar and the walls inclined inwards for stability. Many later buildings were built on top of these walls.

Ceramic bulls like this and always in pairs adorned many buildings. They are for good luck and prosperity.

Throughout the valley, up the mountains were these terraces. This is how the Incas used to grow their crops.

One of the strangest things we saw was this hairless Peruvian dog. There were also very many shops selling clothing for dogs.