Exotic and Historic Travel

Alpaca
Quite possibly the world capital of alpaca wool production, Arequipa is an excellent place to buy alpaca garments. The articles are always of good quality and cheaper than in Cusco or Lima, because most of the main production companies were established in Arequipa. All garments made from alpaca wool need to be carefully hand washed to preserve them.

Alpaca wool is soft and warm, but baby alpaca is considered better. It comes from the first shearing of baby alpaca, and is much softer and warmer, although more costly. The best wool in the world and also the most expensive is vicuna wool. Until recently it was illegal to shear vicunas, as the vicuna was close to extinction in the 1960’s. Thanks to strict laws put in place, they are no longer on the brink of extinction.
Vicuna wool is the finest in the world, having a diameter of 11 to 13 micrometres in comparison to the 30 micrometres of sheep wool, 17 to 19 micrometres for alpaca wool and 16 for the cachimia. A scarf made from vicuna wool would cost on average more than $400. Recently, wool from the guanaco, another relative of the llama, has become more popular in clothing and has around the same quality as alpaca and vicuna . Llama wool is not used in clothing because when it gets wet, it produces a horrible smell.

Crafts
A good craft market is the Fundo el Fierro, next to the church of San Francisco, and especially in August when there are a lot more stalls. Here, one can discover many treasures such as woven carpets of alpaca, typical of the Cotahuasi area. Other craft markets include the one in the Portal de Flores, and you can also find art in the market in Mercaderes. There are also many in Santa Catalina and in Pasaje de la Catedral. Read the rest of this entry »