Traveling From Cusco To Puno

Monday was our travel day from Cusco to Puno (on lake Titicaca). We stopped at a supermarket on the way to buy some food for sandwiches. While we were there we saw the delivery of several sides of beef in a taxi!On the road we stopped several times (to get gas, to see archeological sites, to get in some hot pots etc. We pulled up to our hotel late and consequently got to bed late but it was a fun day.

Above is a close up of pepper corns just ripening. They grow on trees as tiny fruity berries. They even taste a little sweet until you bite into the seed and then you taste the pepper.

This was a pre Incan ruin we visited along the way.

Dad at a market checking out the goods.

The twins as climbing into some very hot water at a volcanic hotsprings.

A great guy watching the activities at the market.

A Peruvian totem pole.

The Sacred Valley

Even though the Cusco Peru area is in the clouds (Cusco is at around 11,000 feet above sea level) it is close enough to the equator that it seldom snows or freezes. The train we took to Machu Picchu on Saturday actually descends from Cusco, and that descent is through something the Inca's called the sacred valley. It was considered sacred because the sacred Urubamba river (the one that flows around Machu Picchu) runs through it. The river, which runs parallel to the milky way that was visible in the heavens, was considered its husband. On Sunday, after a wonderful church meeting in the morning, we boarded a bus and drove through the Sacred valley to visit various archeological sites.

On the way we stopped at a park dedicated to the cameloids of Peru (Llamas, Alpacas, Vicuna's etc.). We got to feed them, learn how they are used by native peoples, watch their fur being spun, dyed, and woven. There were children and women from various villages demonstrating how they made cloth and woven goods out of their fur.

Then we visited a wonderful archeological site called Pisaq which is a wonderful example of Incan agriculture. The terraced hillsides created various microclimates on which different crops were grown. Their marvelous stone-work was put to good use in creating beautiful homes, temples, and granaries clinging to the face of the mountains.


We went to visit their Sunday market down in the village of Pisaq. In addition to the normal tourist stalls the Sunday market is where the villagers from the surrounding mountains come to sell and buy. We saw every kind of fruit, vegetable, meats etc.

Finally we visited the ruins of Ollantaytambo. It is an another incredible archeological site iwith a "granary" that looks like a Roman ruin.

Caption Contest

Bragging rights to whoever wins the caption contest on the following two photos of Harold:

#1 (Harold head first)...

#2 (Harold not head first)...

Machu Picchu

Saturday began early. We needed to be out to the bus by 6:10 a.m. in order to catch the train to Machu Picchu. It had been a short and for many a rough night. The lingering effects of the lack of sleep and the altitude were still affecting some. However, somehow all of us got up, fed, and to the bus in time.

The train ride took about 4 hours. The first part was especially fascinating because the initial climb out of Cusco is so steep that the train has to drive forward a while, then change tracks and back up the hill for a while, then changes tracks again and go forward. By scissoring back and forth it made a high vertical climb and then descended most of the rest of the way to Machu Picchu. We stopped at a few stations along the way and the ubiquitous vendors swarmed the train, selling their wares to passengers through open windows.

When we got to the train station at the base of the mountains where Machu Picchu is we climbed aboard a bus and took a 20 minute ride up the mountain. After checking some of our extra stuff in to some lockers at the entrance, and fishing around for the third ticket of the day, we climbed a few stairs along those remarkable Inca walls made with mortarless-perfectly-carved-and-fit-together stones. All at once we came around a corner to the breathtaking view of one of Machu Picchu. The high-cloud-filtered sun made the green terraces glow against the contrast of the dark stones of the walls and buildings of the ancient sacred Incan city-in-the-clouds.

Our guide Ofelia was great (as has been all the staff of Lamanita travel by the way). She is smiley, cheerful, and very knowledgeable. She was also patient with our slow pace and natural Haynie-goofiness. After the initial view and explanation Becky and Connie went back down to the entrance to wait for the rest of us as we hiked all over the city. However, dad (wobbly legs and all) was indomitable and went everywhere up and down the steep steps stopping occasionally to catch his breath. This place still feels sacred and is so beautiful! Linda said it just displaced Iguazu Falls on the list of the most beautiful places she's ever visited. We spent several hours learning about the history, climbing to get new-and-ever-changing perspectives, looking a ancient altars, tombs, sundials, water-courses (which still function by the way--I got a water bottle full of the same mountain spring water that the Incas channeled all over the city).

After returning down the mountain's treacherous switchbacks in a bus we has some dinner at a local restaurant as we waited for the train. Part way back the train stopped in the dark and the train staff got out and walked about with flashlights. Apparently there was a landslide that had covered the tracks ahead. Thankfully it was on a straightaway so they were able to see it in their headlight in time to stop safely. The repair crew took about an hour-and-a-half to get us going again. Because of the delay our guide called ahead and got our Lamanita Travel bus to pick us up at the final station stop before all the slow switch-back track so we got home sooner than the other hapless fellow passengers.

The first day in Cusco

We had an exhausting and fun day with little or no sleep. After a long day we are finally in our hotel in Cusco. We made it into Lima by midnight but the process of getting through customs and delivering the donated clothes we took down with us took until 3:00am. Our flight to Cusco was supposed to be at 5:50 and we were canceled twice for bad weather.

It is now 9:30 at night and we have had a fun day. We slept a little then headed out to sightsee at 1:30. We spent the rest of the day learning about the Inca and seeing some awesome sights. Part of our package included a 15 passenger van and a tour guide. We ended up the day at a nice buffet with a folklore show. The press at every turn to sell you something is constant but you can't help but sympathize with them.

Waiting for the rain

We are sitting safely in Lima airport waiting for our flight to Cusco. Apparently someone has thrown off the emperors groove because our flight has been canceled twice for bad weather. It is hard to imagine a rainstorm hard enough to stop a jet but I guess we'll take safety over the alternative.

We made it through with all the extra donated clothing although it raised a few eyebrows in customs. In addition, the very helpful(?) agent in Dallas stopped Hugh and Lucy from bringing 3 of the 4 boxes they had prepared. Still it was great to hand that off to the local members who showed up at 1 in the morning to collect all the boxes.

Why We Are Going

Back in the late 1950's Carl and Gerda Haynie moved their growing family to Toquepala Peru where Carl would work setting up a copper mine in the mountains of southern Peru. The got there with 4 children (Carl, Becky, Glen, and Harold) and 2 more children (Joe and Lucy) were born while they were there.

We left Peru in 1961 and none of us have returned. It's been a dream of mine to return to Peru (I don't remember anything about it) to get to know the land of my birth (this is Joe). I wanted to take my dad along but he has been very busy taking care of mom for the last few years. After mom passed away we decided to organize a trip before dad got much older. Thankfully each of my siblings and their spouses agreed to go too. There will be 14 of us travelling. This blog is a place for us to report on the trip and provide a photographic and written record of our experiences.

We will leave January 22, 2009 and will return to the US January 31, 2009.