The llama crown, Peru

Photo © Nelson Mitchell

As far as accidentally quirky attractions go, Peru’s capital Lima boasts the most endearing that we’ve ever seen. Here, on the Plaza San Martín, resides a diminutive statue of the Madre Patria, symbolic mother of Peru.

This monument was sculpted in Spain, with instructions to give the good lady a crown of flames. However, nobody thought to point out the double meaning of the word flame in Spanish (llama), and the luckless craftsmen duly perched an adorable little llama on her head.

The llama is a somewhat dopey domestic animal, commonly kept in Peru for its wool and meat. So we’re talking about the equivalent of Queen Elizabeth sporting a crown of miniature sheep.

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