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Image of a
Quechua woman nursing her baby in the village of Chinchero in Peru. This
native woman is wearing a "lliclla" which is a woven cloth and in this case is
decorated with red and black designs typical of the region. A large brooch
near the neck is used to hold the "lliclla" in place. The "lliclla" is
also commonly used as a baby carrier with the infant on the mother's back.
Water is often a scarce commodity for indigenous people living in the Andes
Mountains of Peru and this woman is washing her clothes using the runoff from a
ditch. Although the photo of this Quechua woman was taken in 1965, you can
still observe woman washing their clothes in exactly the same manner in
Chinchero. This town is somewhat unique in that it is only a short
distance from Cusco on the highway to the Sacred Valley. Chinchero is
located at a slightly higher elevation (3780 meters or 12400 feet) than Cusco
(3360 meters or 10930 feet). If you suffer from high altitude sickness
("soroche" in Quechua), it will be slightly worse in the village of Chinchero as
compared to the city of Cusco which is slightly lower in elevation.
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