Just so you all know = Ruth’s voice is better – those Chinese herbs from Annie worked!
After breakfast ~ Ruth & I met Shirley, Annie and Allan = 930 am in the Splendor Lounge and headed off the ship on deck 0.
The pier / port is right next to the town of Montevideo, Uruguay making it easy to walk into & around the town.
We tried our best to get a van to take all of us including Ruth’s Scooter on a 2-3 hr tour but could not find a taxi big enough to fit all 5 of us and a scooter. The prices for a tour varied from $20 – 25 / hr up to $80.
So we found a free shuttle that took us to a Leather shop in the middle of town called Plaza Independence & of course before we began to explore we went into their Leather store to browse.
Once we took all the pictures we wanted of Plaza Independence and it statues and buildings we headed West down Sarandi Street – where there were multitudes of shops and street vendors selling all kinds of stuff.
Most everyone was selling antiques, books, chackies, crocheted or knitted wears & some version of what is called a “Mate.”
Mate is an essential part of Uruguayan culture. You see many vendors and locals sitting & sipping tea (Yerba) out of a mate thru a Bombilla.
The Mate is the recipient or cup used to prepare and drink the infusion (tea), and is made from a specific type of gourd. The word mate comes from Quechua, indigenous language and originally meant the gourd itself, although it has now come to be used for the drink as well. The mate gourd must be “cured’ before it is used as a recipient fir the infusion / tea.
The Bombilla is a straw like utensil, usually made of metal that is used to drink and also to filter the tea leaves. It is a long hollow tube with a flat, narrow opening at one end, used to drink from, while the end that is inserted into the tea leaves is shaped like a closed, flattened sieve covered with tiny holes. The bombilla used today dates back to the 18th century.
The Yerba; (tea) comes from the dried crushed leaves of the llex paraguariensis plant, known as the yerba mate plant. This shrub of small tree is native to South America, and is grown in temperate or warm regions of Paraguay, Brazil & Argentina. Yerba mate contains a notable amount of caffeine, falling roughly halfway between tea and coffee in terms of its caffeine content. But iIt also contains highly nutritive substances like vitamin A. The chemical composition of yerba mate gives the drink a highly stimulating & tonic effect, in addition to its diuretic & vasodilatory properties.
Look out below!!!! J
Here are the instructions on ~
How to prepare mate:
1. Fill the mate = 2/3 of the way with yerba.
2. Tilt the mate so that the yerba falls to one side, leaving an empty space on the the other side from the bottom of the gourd to the opening.
3. Pour a bit of warm water into the open space, keeping the mate tilted, until the yerba absorbs and expands
4. .Place the bombilla into the mate, at the center of the open space, while covering the mouthpiece with your thumb.
5. Finally, fill the mate with hot ( but not boiling) water to prepare the infusion.
We meandered thru a tree filled square looking t more antiques & Mate’s then decided to turn North and walk about 6 blocks downhill back to the ship.
Ruth faired well on her scooter – most curbs had ramps or were low enough for her to bump up and down them without to much problem.
The arts and crafts store we entered right before went thru the gate at the pier – had the Mate I had been looking for a day long with my name on it ~ it is a gourd covered with black and white cowhide and rimmed with silver. Just my cup of tea!
A few more steps and the ship was in full view.
We all headed onboard for libations and a light lunch being it was after 2pm.
It's funny to read how you describe how to drink Mate... I have grown up with the stuff... many Mennonities come from Paraguay and it is very common for them to drink Mate all the time. When we go to my cousins, she brings it out and you share it around with friends. you can also drink it cold.
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