An employee of Andesmar took our bags at the side of the bus and gave us claim checks for them and we boarded the double decker bus which had been fitted with the only seating on the 2nd deck, 2 X 1 seating. My wife and I had the first seats which meant we had a window to our side and could see out the front bus window!

We were in Suite class which meant there were only around 20 seats on the bus and every seat reclined 180 degrees into a fully-flat bed. There were dividers for every row so there was quite a bit of space between passengers. We had our own TVs for on-demand audio and video. The bus had two drivers who sat on the lower level and an attendant who served the 14 or so passengers on our bus. Based on passports being used for ID with the tickets, I'd say 90% of the passengers were not Argentinian. I wasn't really surprised as Andesmar charges $115US per person for this service, a huge premium over cama or semi-cama services. Indeed we met two Germans, and 4 other Americans while waiting for our bags to be "checked" under the bus.

We pulled out right at 7:45 for the drive to Mendoza. The attendant came around with soda and candy and offered BINGO cards. My wife and I did not partake as we were paying too much attention to the scenery as we drove by.

As you may have figured out by now, if I am in something that moves, I can sleep. Fortunately, this does not extend to when I am driving...so I fell asleep soon after it got dark and we were given shoe bags and pillows/blankets and did not wake up until the attendant woke me up telling me that we were about 1 hour out of Mendoza so I missed dinner and breakfast (yes, they even serve meals), but my wife (who does not sleep well unless in her own bed), told me that the food was inedible so I did not miss anything.

We arrived in Mendoza right on time at 8:45am and we took a cab for $12AR ($2.77US) to the Sheraton. I gave the driver a big tip because he not only helped with our luggage at the bus station, he helped at the Sheraton when no staffers were outside to help with baggage.

Next: February 5