TravelStream™ news feed for member euniceandbyoung on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/euniceandbyoung en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:16:11 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234525500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234525500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234525500/tpod.html Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:16:11 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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Bariloche, Argentina

what an incredible area of argentina! this is called the lake district for obvious reasons... there are an incredible amount of stunning...STUNNING lakes... we checked into PUDU hostel (highly recommended btw) which overlooks the main lake... there we laughed, ate, drank and met really cool people... they even had a bbq one night and we had about 7 or 8 different cuts of all you can eat beef over a three hour meal.. oh and all you can drink vino! in my opinion, we most definitely took full advantage of bariloche. in the three nights and four days we were there, we did LOTS of hiking, rented a car with our buddies from seattle, ate, cooked and enjoyed the town. the first full day, we took a long public bus ride to the base of Cerro Lopez. we braced ourselves for a full day of hiking. normally, people hike up to the refugio about 1000 meters up and hike down the next day. NOT US. we decided to do the round trip in one day. first off, it was a stunning day. you know those clear blue days with puffy white clouds that are so great for hiking? yeah, we had that kind of a day. the first 1000 meter ascent took us approximately 1.5 hours. it was literally straight uphill. the pics were stunning.. absolutely gorgeous! we finally got to the refugio (this is a sort of refuge or building that people pay a small fee and stay at for a night)... it had a wonderful view of the lakes and surrounding areas. one of the view points in that area was actually voted top 10 viewpoints by national geographic... once we got there, justin and i decided to summit the mountain. it would be another 2 hour round trip up rockes, boulders and over three more peaks. because we were limited on time, we left the girls with instructions to head down the mountain after about an hour at the refugio. Justin and I went straight up past an alpine lake, past glaciers and finally ended at the very peak which was another 800meters... very worth it... on the way down to meet the girls, justin and i kept on slipping as the trails had a lot of dirt on it. so what did we do? stupid us decided to run down the mountain or gallop or skip or whatever... so, we ran 1500 meters of elevation and got to the base in approximately 1.5 hours from the summit... SORENESS for the next week! no joke SORENESS!!! anyways, when justin and i got to the bottom (30 mins before the last bus back into bariloche) we couldn´t find the girls! what the heck?! they had a 2 hour head start!!! we asked around at the base and no one had seen them! did they get hurt? did they get lost? the sun was almost down and it was getting dark. i ran (soreness and all) down the dirt road about 2 miles at another road/trail crossing... no sign.. i returned to the bus stop right at bus time to see the girls with justin ! relieve! they had taken a wrong turn and taken almost 3 hours to get down!!! well, at least they were safe!phew... the next day, we rented this junky four door fiat and drove to Cerro Tronador... what an incredible area.. not too many people, incredibly green lakes, crystal clear waters, black glaciers, waterfalls and stunning forests... the park is wierd in the sense that because the roads are narrow, it changes direction of traffic depending on the day.. weird... anyways, the whole day was spent driving, walking clicking photos and just sitting with our mouths gaped wide open in awe at the scenery... we would highly recommend renting a car and coming out to this area...last day was just relaxing, roaming around town and finally boarding another bus for Mendoza and argentina´s wine district
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234265760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234265760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234265760/tpod.html Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:37:25 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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El Bolson, Patagonia, Argentina

finally arrived in El Bolson... the crazy series of bus rides that started in El Chalten finally ended in El Bolson after 4 buses and 31 hours later... at least it saved us 3 full days and about $20 per person. We were all pretty proud of ourselves. the five of us immediately picked up our stuff and found a place to rest our travel weary bums... but instead of napping, we ended up going to El Bolsons popular Feria Artesianas - thats crafts fair for those of you who are unfamiliar. this fair is cool the sense that every booth here has to follow one simple rule... everything must be hand made... from the mate cups and straws to wool scarves and craft beers, all are specially created by the hands of the locals... the ladies went a bit nuts at all the different types of jewelry and scarves available while justin and i sampled a few brews and ate lamb sandwiches... we did end up picking up a mate cup and straw for ourselves... i am really beginning to enjoy the stuff.... so the afternoon dwindled away at the arts fair.... the early evenings mission was to find a local cerveceria... a brewhouse... el bolsons region is responsible for approx 75% of argentinas hops production... we we walked clear across town to sample things like spicy pepper beer, blonde white beer, and a variety of other specialties of the region... decent stuff.. nothing to write home about...day 2 was somewhat exciting... we booked a white water rafting trip... but simply put, it had no class.... no class meaning that the time of year combined with the cold overnight weather freezing the glaciers and snow, the rapids were super low... BUT, it was still extremely fun... i managed to fall off on a half class rapid (it was actually a large boulder), we went snorkelling in the water... mind you, the water is freakin freezing as its soley supplied by glaciers... we were in 7mm wet suits... we did get to see loads of trout in the river... the rafting itself was mediocre, but the guides made all the difference in the world... after the day of rafting we stood around laughing as we shared mate, ate sweet croissants and inhaled dulce de leche cakes... what a wonderful day... that evening we had more steak, vino and ended it on a FULL note..the day of the bus ride, we purused the craft fair once more and packed our things for the exit out of Patagonia, looking forward to the entrance into argentinas lake district and its main town, Bariloche!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234040940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234040940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1234040940/tpod.html Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:22:20 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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El Chalten, Patagonia, Argentina

we went to el chalten for two reasons. to hike the fitz roy range and to do a glacier hike and try our hand at some ice climbing... lucky us, the hike we had planned to do overlapped with the trail for the glacier hike so it was awesome and made for an incredibly LONG LONG day!we arrived in chalten, a very young town which was erected solely for those who hike and climb in this region. there are multiple glaciers, incredible rock climbing and outrageously picturesque hikes here. we hurriedly booked the all day glacier hike and ice climb for the day after our arrival... we met our guide at 5:30 am and began our hike... 2.5 hours to base camp, rappel pull lining across a river, another two hours to the base of the glacier where we put on our crampons, then 3 hours on the glacier with an hour of ice climbing (ice axes and all) then 2 hours back to base camp and another 2.5 hours back to town for a much deserved rest.... all in a single day! boy was it tiring, but it was a wonderful experience.. being on a glacier is really surreal.. ice and nothing but ice below your feet... kinda eerie as you crunch you way over the ice... wierd. the climbing was cool too. you harness onto a rope and with two axes in hand and you crampons, you pick you way up the face of a ice cliff... easier than it looks... its almost like you´re tip toeing your way up vertically... the funniest part of the day was definitely the pull line over the river... you strap on to your belly then you pull over head over and over over a river.. eunice, let´s just say, realized she is no she-hulk... :) good times... the one obstacle we ran into on this leg is that buses to bariloches are few and scarce... first off, the buses only go every other day... secondly, everyone makes it seem as though there is only one bus company (chalten travel) that does the leg... and it is made seem that you have to spend a night in perito moreno (the town) before heading up to bariloche... NOT TRUE.. we ended up taking a bus to piedra buena, a bus to rividavia commodoro, an overnight bus to esquel and then another bus to el bolson... 31 hours on 4 buses with only 30 mins rest in between each bus.. but we made it and we didn´t have to pay for accommodation anywhere.. just slept on the bus! so for those of you wondering, there is another option!...also, remember i mentioned the group from seattle we met in calafate?.. well, they were ones that felt they would have been stuck in chalten for an extra 4 days... well, we sucked it up, and did the whole 31 hour leg together up to el bolson... great folks! justin, beth, kristen and mike (who left on his own)... we end up traveling with them for like a week.. and they keep luring us to seattle! arghh! maybe seattle is just meant to be! we will see... but for now, we´ll just enjoy seattle through these wonderful people!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233785280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233785280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233785280/tpod.html Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:21:37 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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El Calafate, Patagonia, Argentina

from the end of the world, we flew (instead of taking a 12 hour bus ride) 45 mins to a small town called Rio Gallegos. from there, we were hoping to take a four hour bus ride to a town called El Calafate in the heart of the Patagonian mountains. first off, don´t assume anything... don´t assume that there will be a bus. and if there is a bus, don´t assume that it will come on time even though all the other buses have come on time and you have no other reason to believe that it wouldn´t .... well, we arrived at rio gallegos airport, booked a 12 noon connecting bus that didn´t come until 2pm!!! we waited there since 10am ! and the booking lady went on siesta! i love siestas more than anyone and i think it should be implemented at home, but now i see that it doesn´t do any good for problem solving purposes... but the bus did come, and we did make it to el calafate...let me express how incredible patagonia is... comparing it to new zealand, it is very similar yet incredibly different... if new zealand fills you with a soothing peacefullness as you drive through the country, patagonia stares at you with peaceful awe... everything is SO big and so wide and SO long!... there is SO MUCH LAND here in argentina that its incredible... and a lot of times, its a lot of nothing... but a lot of incredibly beautiful nothing...we arrived in el calafate late afternoon to a wonderful little town at the edge of lake argentina, super picturesque with 360 degrees of snow capped mountains all around... absolutely gorgeous... the main attraction? Glacier Perito Moreno.. one of a very few glaciers in this world that is still advancing.. approximately 2 meters a day!!! its growing! and it´s fighting off global warming with everything its got! we arrived on the glacier and took a boat trip. the boat pulled pretty close to the glacier and just parked it... it was incredible... pieces of the glacier were constantly falling off with a symphony of indescribable sounds as the ice would break off and smack into the water below... it was as much an auditory experience as it was a visual one... the next few hours we spend hiking around the glacier view area and its enormous network of balconies... ánd that´s where we met new friends.. our new buddies from seattle who we will end up traveling with for the next two weeks or so... more on that to come!another wonderful side trip we did was to chile... specifically, torres del paine national park... this is THE park in south america for hiking (which we did little of because of a lack of very important pertinent information) and for the postcard picture of patagonia.. the Towers... incredible scenery and wonderful weather, but not fully enjoyed as we were stuck behind the windows of a tour bus... sadness, i know...anyways,´internet access is tough here in patagonia, so i´ll leave it at that!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233573000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233573000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233573000/tpod.html Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:14:13 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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Ushuaia, Patagonia, Argentina

¨the end of the world¨... sounds pretty eerie, eh? well, it was a lot less eerie and a lot more awe inspiring. Ushuaia is considered the most southern city in the world. it is located right along the beagle channel a the very southern tip of Argentina. in fact, it is the embarkation point for most tourist visits to Antarctica. and for a meesly $7000 you can get a last minute special on a 12 day cruise to antarctica. if you book ahead, it can cost anywhere from double that to 10 times that amount... i know, it wasn´t in our budget. instead, we met a lot of people who did check out the great white continent and heard some pretty cool tales about the place. Ushuaia itself is nice city. located along the beagle channel (which leads to antarctica) it sitting surrounded by snow capped mountains in all directions as far as the eye can see. also, the terrain here is as far from flat as you can possibly get. even the areas non mountainous is a series of unleveled land...really strange... and adds to the end of the world effect. instead of the freezing cold option of antaractica, eunice and i chose to spend our days at ¨el fin del mundo¨ doing a bunch of hikes. the afternoon we arrived, we did a four hour hike up to the maritial glacier. you take a cab to the ski lift, take the ski lift up, then hike a super steep mountain for 2 hours to the terminal face of the glacier. from there you get incredible views of the beagle channel and the city of ushuaia. it was tough, but definitely worth the panoramics. the second day, we paid the entrance fee (which is almost 10 times the price for foreigners vs locals) and spend 6 hours of the day hiking in Tierra del Fuego (the land of fires). Tierra del Fuego is the main national park at the end of the world. and it is really special. with incredible forests full of trees where leafless branches go in every which direction to lakes and lakes, this area gives you the feeling that you are indeed at the end of the world. we first hike along the beagle channel before heading inland to lakes and more lush vegetation. that´s where we actually got to see a couple fuegian foxes.... when hiking, animal life is always a plus! now, let me explain the name ¨tierra del fuego¨... why on earth would this cold area be called the land of fires. well, before the white man arrived, the area was inhabited by the Fuegians. a decendent of the people who initially crossed the Berring Strait in 10,000BC. these people didn´t wear much clothes, even in the coldest of winters (as you can imagine, this area gets FREEZING!... in the dead of summer, eunice and i were shaking in our thermals and two over the top layers!)... anyways, to keep warm, these natives had fires burning constantly. this is the sight the white man saw when they first arrived, calling this area the land of fires or Tierra del Fuego. now there´s the history lesson for the day. one other cool thing about ushuaia is that its an interesting mix of old, young, wealthy and budget... people of all sorts arrive to see what the end of the world is like and to experience the land of fires...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233402540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233402540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233402540/tpod.html Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:50:06 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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Buenos Aires, Capital Federal District, Argentina

our third and final time in buenos aires... (well, for the time being anyway. who knows if we´ll come back again someday)... i have to say, this time around was easily the best. we did three main activities. we arrived back into town on a saturday and with the weekend being a big ¨close the stores and hang out outside¨sort of deal, we decided to be like the locals and hit up a couple of the weekend areas. first day, we walked way too far to get to the Cemetario Recoleta. basically its this huge HUGE cemetary filled with the who´s who of argentina. the graves (if you could even call them that), or let´s call them monuments and ¨homes¨for the deceased is like nothing you would ever imagine... it´s really strange and strangely cool at the same time. these ¨homes¨house coffins, some even have staircases that lead down.. to where, we don´t know. the outsides of these structures are all made of stone... granite or marble or something to that effect. furthermore, these structures are ornate with various statues, plaques or signs. eunice and i didn´t recognize most of the names in this place but one did stand out. EVITA. yes, EVA PERON. remember the movie¨EVITA¨with madonna? (apparently that was a huge point of contention in itself). who is EVA PERON? well, she is a beloved figure of argentina. basically the Princess Di of Argentina. BUT the flip side was that she and her husband ruled with an IRON fist. for more info, google it! most of the next day, eunice and i perused around the Plaza Durango and tributating streets that hosts the weekly Sunday markets... what a bunch of junk! and by ¨junK´i refer to the quote ¨one man´s junk is another man´s treasure¨. there was everything from ¨antique jewelry¨(basically stuff that grandma didn´t want) and decorative seltzer bottles (who uses these anymore anyway? it´s more for the three stooges days) to artists´jewelry and decorative stones. it was really really cool... eunice loved it ... like as they say ¨a kid in a candy store¨.... lastly, we attended the obligatory TANGO show. first off, very touristy. secondly, it was still a wonderful experience. we went to the historic cafe tortoni to watch the downstairs late show. we chose the dinnerless show mainly because it was more affordable than most other shows that can cost up to twice as much. it may not have been the best tango dancing or the greatest theatrics, but it was well worth the money and a MUST do in buenos aires. btw, it was SO touristy that there was a group of korean mid 50´s sitting behind us. immediately they started shooting q´s at me particularly about my occupation, my life bascially trying to make the connection. even though two were from argentina, one from NY and two from korea, i still feared the ¨2 degrees of separation¨in the korean community... on the flip side, it was nice to speak korean for a change after utterly failing at spanish for the past week....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233402480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233402480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233402480/tpod.html Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:49:21 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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buenos, Litoral, Argentina

our third and final time in buenos aires... (well, for the time being anyway. who knows if we´ll come back again someday)... i have to say, this time around was easily the best. we did three main activities. we arrived back into town on a saturday and with the weekend being a big ¨close the stores and hang out outside¨sort of deal, we decided to be like the locals and hit up a couple of the weekend areas. first day, we walked way too far to get to the Cemetario Recoleta. basically its this huge HUGE cemetary filled with the who´s who of argentina. the graves (if you could even call them that), or let´s call them monuments and ¨homes¨for the deceased is like nothing you would ever imagine... it´s really strange and strangely cool at the same time. these ¨homes¨house coffins, some even have staircases that lead down.. to where, we don´t know. the outsides of these structures are all made of stone... granite or marble or something to that effect. furthermore, these structures are ornate with various statues, plaques or signs. eunice and i didn´t recognize most of the names in this place but one did stand out. EVITA. yes, EVA PERON. remember the movie¨EVITA¨with madonna? (apparently that was a huge point of contention in itself). who is EVA PERON? well, she is a beloved figure of argentina. basically the Princess Di of Argentina. BUT the flip side was that she and her husband ruled with an IRON fist. for more info, google it! most of the next day, eunice and i perused around the Plaza Durango and tributating streets that hosts the weekly Sunday markets... what a bunch of junk! and by ¨junK´i refer to the quote ¨one man´s junk is another man´s treasure¨. there was everything from ¨antique jewelry¨(basically stuff that grandma didn´t want) and decorative seltzer bottles (who uses these anymore anyway? it´s more for the three stooges days) to artists´jewelry and decorative stones. it was really really cool... eunice loved it ... like as they say ¨a kid in a candy store¨.... lastly, we attended the obligatory TANGO show. first off, very touristy. secondly, it was still a wonderful experience. we went to the historic cafe tortoni to watch the downstairs late show. we chose the dinnerless show mainly because it was more affordable than most other shows that can cost up to twice as much. it may not have been the best tango dancing or the greatest theatrics, but it was well worth the money and a MUST do in buenos aires. btw, it was SO touristy that there was a group of korean mid 50´s sitting behind us. immediately they started shooting q´s at me particularly about my occupation, my life bascially trying to make the connection. even though two were from argentina, one from NY and two from korea, i still feared the ¨2 degrees of separation¨in the korean community... on the flip side, it was nice to speak korean for a change after utterly failing at spanish for the past week....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233259200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233259200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233259200/tpod.html Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:11:14 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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Puerto Iguazu, Litoral, Argentina

we spoke to eunice´s grandfather on the phone during chinese new year and he specifically asked if we were going to Iguazu Falls... (ee goo ah joo poe poe - in korean).. eunice is like "how the heck does he know about Iguazu?" ah.. don´t underestimate grandpa kim...let me first tell you about or trip to Iguazu Falls.. unlike the sane 2-3 week holidayers from back home who would fly the hundreds of miles, we decided to take the bus like the crazy illogical pennypinching backpackers that we are... 18 hours via bus... let me explain though... argentinian buses are NOT like the buses in asia. nor are they like the greyhounds back in the states.. NO NO NO.. buses are the only way to roll... first off, instead of bench seats, you get lazy boys. the seats recline to 160 degrees! (180 if you pay the extra $10 for executive class). then instead of four seats to a row, there is only three... on top of that, you get movies, snacks a blanket, pillow and dinner all included... no the dinner is pretty much airplane food, but they also include a small bottle of wine and even offer you whiskey and/or champagne after dinner!! its luxury.. the ride there and back was not bad at all.. but mind you, eunice and i are super jet lagged so we slept like 11 hours of it each way...here´s our schedulewe arrived in puerto iguazu at 8am.grabbed some empenadas then took a local bus to the national parkpurchased our tixwalked the inferior trailthen the superior trail finally ended with the devils falls trailbefore returning into town for a lunch a quick look around and our bus back to buenos aires... 19 hours this time!hmm... sounds stupid huh?.. yeah, i´d have to agree... but honestly, there isn´t much to the area.. you´re just there for the falls and 4-6 hours at the national park is plenty.let me tell you about the falls itself.... AMAZING!!! did i say AMAZING!!!? definitely one of those things you need to see before you die... iguazu is not merely A waterfall but many many waterfalls that come together to create several HUGE MASSIVE waterfalls...we´re talking a semicircle of waterfalls.... like a big HOLE in the ground and the water just falls ... there is so much water falling that you can´t hardly see the bottom because of the mist coming up... and the sounds of water hitting water... amazing... i was so taken aback by the shear force of nature...again, pics DO NOT DO justice...oh, something else, eunice and i ate beef for lunch... thought i´d add that too...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233172560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233172560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/euniceandbyoung/1/1233172560/tpod.html Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:57:34 -0500 Oh-Round the World

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Buenos Aires, Capital Federal District, Argentina

Back to buenos aires.. part 2.This time around was mostly a stop before our long bus journey to iguazu. But we decided to take a stroll and eat a bit (i know, surprising huh?).. .we mainly walked along the river and it was like a different world... much more modern, much more chiche, much more yuppy.. know what i mean?.. i guess its more of a newport beach type feel. The river is lined on one side with brick buildings, the other side with fancy designed sky scrapers and cafes, bars, etc.. there´s even a TGI Friday´s there... bike riders, roller bladers, rowers, etc... that´s the general feel...We did find a really nice hostel though.. highly recommended. America del Sur Hostel located on Chacabuco between Chile and Independencia... VERY NICE, clean and the staff is great... we have yet to try it but they have Tango lessons and nightly BBQs... Finally, enjoyed a nice dinner... most restaurants have these promo things.. three course meals including meat, appetizer, dessert and a glass of wine for under $10... so we took advantage of it and i had a sirloin steak with mashed pumpkin... delicious!.. muy rico!
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Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

its kinda like having to go to a certain restaurant and eating the local special because that was what was recommended and that was what the place is know for... when there is a UNESCO World Heritage site nearby, it is a MUST for all travelers. so, we took a 1 hour ferry from Buenos Aires and arrived in the small town of Colonia del Sacramento. there´s really not much to this place other than that it is gorgeous. it´s exactly what the name says "colonial"... the streets are all cobblestoned, the buildings are all colorful and of spanish architecture.. its just a pleasant place to be; a photographer´s dream! (not that i am considering myself a photographer by any means... i´m what you call a person who photographs... no a photographer)... anyways, i´ve included few pics to give you a small sample of what this place looks like... i wish you could get the same vibe we did from being there, but i know that´s a stretch.other than walking around and snapping pics all day, we spend the one night and two days eating... chivito is the local specialty.. basically its a steak sandwich. Lonely Planet describes it as a "cholesteral bomb"... hmmm, maybe it has something to do with all the mayo and other condiments in it... and maybe the steak adds to that... what else... we tried mate... a sort of tea indigineous to this area... apparently people drink pounds of the stuff around here... you see people all over the place carrying thermoses and a small cup sort of thing with a metal straw... chopped up leaves are crammed into the cup and you pour hot water into it as you drink... and let me just say that it is probably the most potent tea i´ve ever had.. i was pretty high off the caffeine... personally it tastes better with a bunch of sugar in it...
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