Local stories from South America...
Argentina
Mate
Sharing a mate with an Argentinean is an essential experience. It is a stimulating herb from a bush served with hot water in a bowl originally made of "calabaza" (kind of pumpkin, from which music instruments known as maracas are also made). The bowl represents the womb of Mother Earth.
The "yerba mate" or herb is prepared according to some rituals. Extra herbs can be added, as well as pieces of dried orange skin and sugar. Some people love it bitter, the original style, or more sweet with sugar. You drink it with a "bombillo" (metal reed, best made of silver) representing the male principle, in the bowl, uniting with the feminine.
Mint is also a very good addition (but not the strong peppermint), cedro, poleo, one leaf of agenjo, evt mixed with dried skin of oranges and natural brown sugar. Refined white sugar is not recommended as this attracts calcium & iron, and actually will have a depleting effect on the body, while mate is supposed to strengthen the body and spirit. Few people like to add coffee grains to the yerba, but be aware this will make you super active running around...!
It is passed around the circle (should be clockwise to energize!) one by one, as a sharing of the moment and friendship. There is one person in the circle who serves and tastes as the first to try.
There are also several rules of how to prepare the mate well, how to drink and serve. Just discover! If you purchase a mate of calabaza, it has to be prepared by an expert ("curar", otherwise it cracks open due to the hot water), with sugar that gets caramelized with a piece of hot charcoal and by shaking the mate, or by 3 days of filling the bowl and alternating the yerba regularly. According to the correct indigenous tradition, the one who cures your mate blesses your life.
There are many brands to be found in every supermarket, from strong to soft tastes, with or without "pallito" (wooden stem), traditional plantations or organic (more rare, eg brand of Esquina de las Flores, Buenos Aires). You have to discover which one you like.
The temperature of the water that the people prefer for taking mate, and how the water has to be cooked (or not) depends very much on the local customs of each area. In Mendoza eg they prefer mate with really hot water, in other places people prefer cooler water as they say it will have more oxygen and therefore have more taste. If you serve mate with too cold water in Mendoza, your guests feel this as an insult and will never come back again. On the contrary in the Pantanal (Brasil) local cowboys used to drink mate (and still do) with fresh water from the marshes the water is lukewarm, warmed up by the sun. In Missiones (North Argentina) they serve mate with cold water as well as in Brasil due to the high tropical temperatures.
(From Marcel,
Soultime Travel)
Colombia Villa de Leyva kite festival Only 3 hours drive from Bogota lies the enchanting colonial town of Villa de Leyva. It is a truly mesmerising place, with ornate green balconies and flowering bougainvillea spilling over the tops of the walls. Due to its National Monument status, the chalk coloured buildings, orange tiled roofs and cobblestone pavements are beautifully preserved.
The vast Plaza Mayor, arguably one of the grandest squares in the Americas, covering 14,000 square meters of cobblestones, is home to the annual kite festival. Every August, expert kite runners put their talents to use and give superb performances using a vast array of kites. But it is not only an occasion for experts. Local people and amateurs also join in the fun.
A rainbow of colours and different shapes fill the skies and stand out against the white washed walls of the houses and rolling hillsides surrounding the town.
(From Kasia,
Dehouche)
Colombia Chicha Aguardiente is Colombia's national drink. But there is another beverage more typical to the Boyaca region and in fact dates back to the times when the area was inhabited by the Muiscas.
Chicha is a deceptively sweet but potent elixir made from maize. It is still prepared today following traditional methods – the corn is left to ferment at the bottom of a deeply dug hole in the earth. This was a ritual for the indigenous people, and the magic of this drink is kept alive by those who inhabit the area today.
(From Kasia,
Dehouche)
Colombia Lagoon of Igauque The lakes and rivers were of particular importance in times gone by as they were believed to be the homes of souls and aquatic spirits who protected and watched over the people on the land. The lagoon of Igauque merits special mention – the Muiscas believed it to be the origin of all humanity. From out of it emerged the beautiful Bachué carrying an infant, with whom she procreated and thus brought life to the land. According to legend, the pair returned to the lagoon in the form of snakes and slid in to the watery depths, never to return.
(From Kasia,
Dehouche)
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