Hurray – we’ve finally found an animal that likes eating brambles! Llamas. I’ve been told they eat anything spikey and just to prove it they munched and nibbled hawthorn in abundance when we went for a short llama trek.
That’s just one of the interesting facts we found out on our recent visit to National Forest Llamas treks. I know, the National Forest isn’t in Portugal, (actually in Leicestershire, UK) but as we’ve found there don’t seem to be any llamas to trek with in Portugal. I hope someone reading this blog will prove me wrong but apart from Quinta Pedagogica, and Aljezur Alpacas on the Algarve which of course only have alpacas, we can’t find a single llama farm. Which is a shame because we would really like to have some Portuguese llamas.
Not just to eat up the prickly plants at Quinta Blackberry, with its over abundance of brambles for which I am finding all sorts of uses, but to run our hands through their thick woolly coats, hug them, walk with them, talk with them and watch them. Use them to keep foxes and wild dogs at bay for our planned ducks which they are particularly good at and maybe, you never know, get some wool from their gorgeous, woolly coats. Indeed, I see myself in a natty llama capelet as styled by the casting on couch.
My current dream, apart from finishing the two houses we are renovating, writing children’s books and expounding the many virtues of Portugal, revolves around trekking through the countryside with a wonderful view of the Montejunto hills, llama in one hand, picnic in the other and the dog at our heels. Trekking with llamas would be fabulous. If only we could find some.
Available on Amazon £4.86/£1.86 Kindle edition
Coming soon from Alicia Sunday, ‘Alfie!’ and ‘Angel Super Sleuth’.
sandcastlesinportugal 