We woke up on our flight just as breakfast was being served—a ham and cheese sandwich, which was a definite improvement over the last one we’d been served on a previous flight. As we approached our destination, we had the privilege of flying alongside Aconcagua, offering us a breathtaking view of the mountains under our wing during the final 30 minutes before landing in Santiago.
At Santiago airport, we faced what seemed like miles of corridors to navigate before entering the international terminal. Once there, we headed to a quieter, more distant section where we could lie down and relax during the nine-hour layover ahead of us.
We spent the time watching movies, taking naps, and enjoying McDonald’s that we picked up from another part of the terminal. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we received our gate number and walked to another area of the terminal to wait for our flight. Unfortunately, the airline required us to check our carry-on luggage into the hold—a situation we’d been trying to avoid since it contained some expensive and essential equipment for the mountain.
Thankfully, we were able to keep one bag with us, which included our shoes and other important items. We boarded the plane for a short one-hour flight to Mendoza. Unfortunately, we were seated on the wrong side of the plane and missed seeing Aconcagua, though we had caught a glimpse of it earlier that day.
After landing in Mendoza, we endured long queues at immigration before collecting our bags and meeting two of our fellow travelers. Together, we grabbed a taxi and made our way to the hotel, where we met the rest of our group. After quickly checking in and dropping off our bags in the room, we joined the group for dinner.
We returned to the same restaurant we had visited on our first night in Mendoza. There, we enjoyed a massive steak that was almost too much to finish but absolutely delicious. In true Argentine fashion, we stayed at the restaurant for about two hours, savoring the relaxed pace of the evening. Finally, at 11 p.m., we returned to the hotel, completely exhausted. We went straight to bed, eager to catch up on the sleep we’d been missing.