A visit to the animal sanctuary

Before leaving Cuzco for Machu Picchu, we heard about a rescued animal centre outside the city, on the road to a place called Pisaq. 

We tried to find out if there were buses to get there, but it seemed to be cheaper to take the sanctuary van, so we started looking for places to book tickets to enter.

They aren't very switched on when it comes to advertising, it seems, as it took us a good few hours to figure out that one of the (many) tour agencies/ jewelery stores was selling the tickets. There were no signs or anything, so I consider it pretty lucky that we did find it.

Now they added the address on the website (just in case: the agency is across the road from Plaza de Armas, at 181 Portal Comercio), but then it was all very mysterious.

When the time came for the van to take us there, us and other 5 gringos jumped in and drove down a beautiful road towards the sanctuary, which is in the middle of a very nice countryside-ish area.

He was healed of wounds inflicted on him by local kids,
 but now he can fly again.Still, he comes to the sanctuary
 to get his lunch.  

 First, the caretaker explained the work they do: with a lot of volunteers and the money that comes from the visitors, they maintain a space for rescued animals.

Like this babies. Here we learnt the difference between llamas, alpacas,
vicuñas and guanacos: the first two are sweet, and the second two will
tear you to pieces, kick you and spit on you. Thug life.

Alpaca.
SO FLUFFY!!

 They get a lot of wildlife that ignorant people try to kill or keep as pets in terrible conditions, animals rescued from illegal trafficking or circuses (seriously, people, do not go see circuses with animals!!), and a lot of domestic animals thet are abandoned or mistreated.

Giant turtle.

Oh, deer! (he gave us hand kisses)

Chey becomes friends with the turtle.

Turtle planning world domination.

She was really heavy and didn't mind the cuddles.

Baby vicuña.

Llama pride.

A stork. I asked the caretaker if she was injured
while carrying a baby and he laughed.
I love Peruvian people.

This girl was super friendly. They can't fly anymore because
 their wing feathers were cut, but they still trust people.

She really liked Chey.

The tour lasts around one hour, in which you learn the story of the animals you see, and you get to interact a little with them.

At one point, the caretaker showed us a friendly llama. She lets people hug her and you can take pictures.

I asked if she really didn't mind, and he showed us how she comes when he calls and how much she likes cuddles. Her name was Blanca.

Chey always makes fun of this photo because he says I have
 "llama eyes" (notice how my eyes are half open).
I still love it. 

When it was Chey's turn for a photo, she decided that that was it, and turned
her back on us like this.

The caretaker called her back, and she came to recieve one more hug.

But she still wasn't a big fan of Chey.

 We were very happy to see that they try to get babies of the animals to release them in the wild (many times the adults can't go into the wild anymore).

Like the beautiful pumas. They have an adult male, two females (one
of which was pregnant) and a baby.

This girl was rescued from a circus where some monster had cut her teeth.
 She can't be released into the wild anymore. 

Many pumas are attacked or poisoned by farmers, who
prefer that instead of getting proper fences for their cattle.

It was pretty much impossible to take pictures of the
baby, Mufasa, because he wouln'd stop moving.
Here's him, being fed by the caretaker.

The visit is not too long, but it is very informative, interesting and fulfilling. It's great to see there are people who care about animal welfare even in this area of the planet where many times it seems like there's a long way to go.

What is this?

It's a fancy llama!

She poses next to her friend, the tabby cat.

Super chilled.

Hola! 

The condor, one of the three sacred animals of the "Inca trinity" (the other
two are the snake and the puma). Its feathers are used in chamanistic
rituals. Many unscrupulous chamans keep condors in captivity.

But look at this beauty! Who would want to not see it free?

The girl condor is less glamorous, but still gorgeous.

They can't fly free anymore for various reasons,
 but their enclosure allows them to fly some to keep strong.

Here's two thirds of the Inca trinity.

Chey looks at condor.

Condor looks at Chey.

Our first Peruvian hairless dog.

A bashful puppy.

And an amazing kitty. It took all of my willpower not to take him with us.

At the end of the tour, you can make a donation to the sanctuary, and they give you a little gift.

If we had had more time, we would've loved to volunteer... but it might be next time.