Mendoza Trip Report #5 — SCL-MDZ
Getting to the LAN check-in area from the Holiday Inn was easy. Figuring out how to check-in was hard.
We saw long long lines for the LAN bag drop counters, but no check in lanes. We finally saw the self serve kiosks in the middle of the terminal. We eventually figured it out and we were ready to go! Once again glad that we were not checking bags.
Going through security was easy. The line through immigration was short and there was no wait in security. Not surprising since you could keep your coats and shoes on; your liquids could stay in your suitcase (in fact it wasn’t clear if the 311 rule applied here); and your laptop could stay in the bag.
I’d discovered shortly after we left DC that I’d forgotten the memory card for my new camera. Hadn’t been able to find a shop in the Miami airport that sold micro SDHC’s, so was extremely glad to find they sold them in Duty Free.
Next stop was to find breakfast. There was a Dunkin Donuts near our gate, but as we got to the front of the line, we discovered they spoke no English. And they used floury bread that was not the croissant pictured on the menu, but we didn’t discover that until later.
I knew just enough high school Spanish to understand that they were out of “huevos†for the sandwiches and to order coffee con leche. The sandwiches weren’t quite what we were in the mood for, but we to make sure we had something in our stomachs before a full day of wine tasting.
Because we only knew a little bit of Spanish, the LAN boarding process was not intuitive. The instructions were mostly in Spanish, the occasional English translation over the intercom was more of a tribute to offering another language option rather than trying to communicate.
The flight was about 25 minutes long, just enough time to fill out Argentina immigration and customs forms. The view of the Andes during that flight was amazing. Worth the entire trip just for that view.
Once we landed, they deplaned from both ends of the plane (yay!) via stairs. (Was very glad I was wearing wedges and not heels that day.)
The immigration line was long for locals, the majority of the passengers, and only about 10 minutes for us. Since we hadn’t checked any bags, we quickly sailed through customs and went out to meet our guide.
Next Post: Day 1 of Wine Tasting
Previous Posts:
Mendoza Trip Report #1 — IAD-MIA
Mendoza Trip Report #2 — Element by Westin Miami Airport
Mendoza Trip Report #3 –MIA -(Caracas?)- SCL
Mendoza Trip Report #4 — Holiday Inn Santiago Airport
Keri, did you book this with miles/points. If yes, which currency and how did you find the availability?! I have been trying the BA site with no luck! Thanks in advance.