The Allinsons | The Allinson South American trip

Page 3 of The Allinsons Travel Blog Posts

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » San José » San José December 9th 2010

So the day started with a 5 am alarm to get up and head for breakfast. It was great as usual. Then it was off for a ride to the airport to catch a 7:50 am flight to Lima. The kids managed to finish counting dogs along the streets of Cusco and ended with 534 dogs in total...and I am sure that was not all of them. But then it came....the day we dreaded, the day of travel headaches.......it was supposed to go smooth...flight to Lima arriving at 9:15, then connect to Costa Rica at 10:45 arriving at 1:30 in San Jose....good- yes? Well not so good.....we ended up not being able to catch our connecting flight- and were at risk of heading back to Canada (will fill you all in when we get back), needless ... read more

And on to Cusco City we go!

South America » Peru » Cusco » Cusco » Cusco December 8th 2010

InkaTerra Pool

The Allinsons

Part 1- I am writing this as we take the train back to Ollytantambo to meet our driver for our last leg of the Peru trip. We woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel. We hoped to have a swim before checking out but the natural pond and hot tubs were not quite ready so we decided to just get ready for check out and lounge around the grounds before heading to the train. The weather was sunny and bright so we walked around the hotel a bit. We saw some of their natural birds to the area - yellow and blue ones along with some hummingbirds. They hang banana peels in the trees for them to eat so they hang around, but seeing as the grounds are like a jungle inside the city, ... read more

Machu Picchu

South America » Peru » Cusco » Machu Picchu December 7th 2010

VIEWS FROM THE TRAIN

The Allinsons

Day 5. Leaving Urubamba and heading to Machu Picchu. We awoke at 5:45am and headed for breakfast prior to catching our train. A little behind schedule as we were looking for Lindsay's IPOD- but we were not successful. One last meal of carbs galore for the kids- a variety of breads and danishes, juice and to top it off french toast. Sean and I opted for the usual omelette and bacon....or sometimes hot dogs? which we think were breakfast sausages- I think they were parts of the Lama though :) and then the mad dash to check out. We were able to board the train outside the hotel....not a normal stop but it was fun, they just dropped down some stairs for us and on we got. The train ride to Machu Picchu was about 2 ... read more

Pisac

South America » Peru » Cusco » Pisac December 6th 2010

Urubamba Market square

The Allinsons

Today we booked a tour to Pisac. We started our 3 hr tour with Valentin. He was our tour guide and very friendly and informative. We first visited the market in Urubamba. Here there were many vendors selling their local foods...Potatoes are one of the largest crop here with 400 different varieties... white corn is also very popular and though they don't harvest the most corn here they feel they lead as having the most quality of corn- white and very large cobs. They also fermented maize for sale- this corn is used to brew an Andean traditional beer called Chincha for the workers. You will see many red balloon like flags flying at local homes and some bars along the country side - these are places that have homemade Chinca brewing. This local drink is ... read more

Rain rain go away

South America December 5th 2010

Sarah of course

The Allinsons

Slept 11 plus hours last night. Sunny and warm in the am, but that soon turned to rain. We decided to book a horseback tour seeing as that is the one thing Julia really wanted to do. Sean not so much! It was raining more now but we decided to tough it out. The horses were great but the rain and wind made for a cold two hour tour. Sarah talked the whole way (surprise) while Hayden and I found amusement in the horses bodily functions. Lindsay was very brave but her purple lips told the true story- she couldn't wait for it to end. Julia was content being in the lead on the biggest horse. We ran into donkeys, pigs and lots of barking dogs. Life in Peru was an eye opener for the kids, ... read more

Peru

South America » Peru » Cusco » Urubamba December 3rd 2010

It's only been 10 min- so yes still happy

The Allinsons

Finally made it after 3 flights and 24hrs of travelling. We didn't get much sleep but the kids managed well. New York was uneventful and not a Starbucks to be found. Connected for the long flight to Lima and made it safely, but exhausted. Had breakfast in the airport and imagine- they had Starbucks!! No dangerous threats this time through and we were finally off for the last flight to Cusco. Long hour drive to Sacred Valley. Kids started off counting how many dogs they saw on the street...Lindsay got to 76 before we got tired of it and then all fell asleep for most of the ride. The mountains are breathtaking and the villages are an eye opener. Lots of poverty and we were surprised by the state of the housing. If you can call ... read more

Ready for take off

North America December 2nd 2010

The Allinsons

Julia has been flagged as a dangerous person, so she has to get a pat down at the airport. She handled it well. Just wait until we hit JFK airport.... read more

YYZ TO JFK TO LIM TO CUS

North America » Canada » Ontario » Toronto December 2nd 2010

The Allinsons

HEADING TO AIRPORT - long travel day ahead of us. TORONTO to NEW YORK, NEW YORK to LIMA, PERU and then one ast jet from LIMA to CUSCO, PERU where we will start our first adventure at the Rio Sagrado Hotel. WEbsite: www.riosagrado.com ... read more