San Telmo - they say it's the birthplace of Tango. The barrio San Telmo is one of the oldest in all of BA, and on Sunday's it's teaming with artisans and tourists. Lots of them...for blocks. It's a trap for sure, blocks and blocks of different people selling a lot of the same thing: jewelry, knitted Peruvian hats, leather belts/bags, the list goes on and on. We started at the beginning - a street called Defensa, off Plaza De Mayo. We ended at Plaza Dorrego - a small square surrounded by Tango show-style cafes.
I was expecting to see a lot of tango dancers, but surprisingly, we only saw two. It wasn't the romantic scene I had hoped to capture with my camera. So we walked back up and decided to head over to Puerto Madera, a newer part of BA and home to Las Lilas (see previous post). PM is a huge contrast to the rest of BA and it looks a lot like Miami, however, hidden behind it is an area that is frequented by the locals. Along the Av. Tristan Achaval Rodriguez is a REAL local market, lined with "parillas" and "portenos" who are enjoying a nice stroll. I highly encourage you to visit this area, although it can be somewhat "dodgy", it's completely safe - there are Naval Police walking around who are also responsible for the security of Puerto Madero. We had met our friend Alexandra and her friend Meghan, who guided us through the area, strolling the booths of crafts and watching dancers perform salsa in the Plaza Haroldo Conti. We had been out for almost 8hrs and it was time to rest. Meghan invited us to her apartment for "mate" (pronounced mah-tay) or chimarrão, a traditional South American infused drink. It is prepared from steeping dried leaves of yerba mate (llex paraguariensis, known in Portuguese as erva mate) in hot water. It is the national drink in Argentina.
Meghan escorted us to her apartment in San Telmo, just off the area we had just been. There is a "process" to drinking mate & preparing it. First, you pack the yerba into the cup, traditionally a wood cup - and place the silver straw at an angle. You NEVER stir it. You simply pour hot water in. You NEVER boil the water. Once prepared, we follow the mate etiquette: one person will pass the mate and will take it back, re-pour, and pass it to the next person. This continues until you say "thank you", which signifies "I'm done".
Comments