FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina
February 27, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina
B & B Plaza Italia
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 22 – Wednesday, February 20– Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina – warm sunshine, blue skies, cool breeze – low 60’s
- 7:10 – wake up
- B – another horrible night of no sleep
- B – 7:30 – head to Starbuck’s – doesn’t open until 8:00
- B – McDonald’s is open but no cream because McCafe doesn’t open until 8:00
- 11:00 – taxi to Santiago airport takes 90 minutes
- A – we stay @ airport Hilton on way back from Easter Island, plan to drop 2 bags of heavy clothes & coats so we don’t have to schlep & get hit w/outrageous baggage fees
- B – 11:30 – OMG! we are in downtown Santiago
- B – taxi driver has no idea where the hotel is – he is stopping & asking people – he has a phone but doesn’t use it!
- 1:30 – arrive airport for 3:50 flight
- A – airport has tons of shops so you can easily entertain yourself
- C – airport security is great – shoes, laptops, liquids no problema
- C – no baggage police or baggage nazi’s @ LAN in Santiago (unike Ecuador & Peru last year)
- B – 3:50 – flight delayed
Downtown
- B – we lost our jetway & now have to take a bus & schlep our bags up & down stairs
- A – flying in, clouds are so thick & packed together in some spots, they look like heads of cauliflower at the market
- A – blue skies for the Andes, incredible & see snow capped volcano
- 5:00 – arrive Mendoza
Plaza Italia
- B – Argentina makes you scan all bags when leaving the airport
- B – takes an hour to get through customs
- A – taxi to city costs $10
- 6:30 – arrive B&B Plaza Italia
- A – Javier, son of owner Mercedes, welcomes us & spends 45 minutes telling us about their family home (where we are staying) & where to go in Mendoza & asking what our plans are during stay
- C – fast, free internet
- C – big, quiet room w/our own bathroom
- 7:30 – dinner Azafran recommended by Javier – 1st salmon tartar on bed of thinly sliced cucumbers topped w/guacamole & plantain chips – 2nd arugula salad w/guacamole between 2 thin wafers of fried provolone & grilled shrimp, citrus vinaigrette – 3rd quinoa crusted chicken breast stuffed w/ricotta goat cheese, topped w/buffalo mozzarella, spinach cream sauce, crispy fried carrots & eggplant rolls – bottle Monteagrelo Malbec , $38 – total dinner $90 & VG!
Lessons Learned – don’t get out of bed before 8:00 if you want a good cup of coffee. Pad extra travel time for less stress!
FF – (FUN-fact) – Viña del Mar is very clean, has lots of parks, and lots of horse drawn carriages.
Not so FF – Chile is a lot more expensive than Argentina for everything.
Really Good Malbec!