We saw our first Llama!

  Ipiales, Colombia
Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Our night in Ipiales is a permanent memory because of the drawer of a hotelroom that we slept in when we arrived late at night...(tiny, dirty, and without bathroom, $6USD).
The other very impressionable reason to remember it is a beautiful church built over a bridge spanning a spectacular gorge, called Santuario de Las Lajas. The story is that in the first part of the last century, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared on a huge vertical rock, 45 meters above the river in the gorge. Seeing this as a miracle, the townspeople built a bridge to span the gorge, and on top of the bridge they built a beautiful church. The altar is set against the rock where the apparition took place. 

 
 

The entire scene is spectacular...the pretty gorge below, the long white bridge spanning the gorge, the feat of engineering in the church, the breathtaking waterfalls all around, and the numerous paths and stairs allowing you to go to the top of the gorge or down to the river. Pilgrims from all over Colombia and other places come here for worship. There are several hundreds of plaques set in the rocks around the churches thanking the Virgin for some miracle.
Although still unaware of it, we seemed to be feeling the effects of altitude. Climbing up the many stairs made us feel extremely breathless, and we wondered if we were quite out of shape. But, we quickly decided that a better reason for our huffing and puffing could be the altitude of 3000m!  It´s true, you are your own worse critic!  

And the biggest imprint in our memory would have to be that moment where, in the middle of the street, being guided by an indiginous man in woolen attire, we saw our very first Llama!!!  The symbol of South America, cute and furry, right in front of us!

 
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Llama glama
DESCRIPTION: The llama is a tall horse-shaped animal with a woolly coat of varying shades
SIZE: Approximately 150-180 cm (5-6 ft.)
WEIGHT: 135-202.5 kg (300-450 lbs.)
DIET: Grazer and browser; diet includes grasses and leaves
GESTATION: Gestation lasts approximately 350 days; usually one offspring
SEXUAL MATURITY: About 2 years
LIFE SPAN: Up to 20 years
RANGE: Native to western South America, mostly Bolivia, Chile, and Peru
HABITAT: Inhabits mountain terrain; also domesticated in many areas

(View this entry´s Slide Show/ Photo Album Above)

DID YOU KNOW? Fossil footprints found in California indicate that llamas, relatives of camels, originated in North America. It is believed that the animals that moved north and crossed the Bering Land Bridge evolved into camels, while the ones that migrated to the south became the "llama" family.