The Thousands

Walking around Uruguay, as you do, you’ll notice that everyone, adults and children, walk around with a thermos under their arm, and a gourd (‘mate’) full of tea leaves with a metal straw (‘bombilla’) stuck in the top. All day they’re drinking out of the straw, and constantly refilling the gourd with hot water. I wondered why – until I tried it. OH MY GOD! If you want to be more awake than you’ve ever been in your life (including heart palpitations), drink this stuff. It’s called yerba-mate and it’s amazing/terrifying.

Obviously you can’t get this stuff at the corner supermarket mega-chain, so you’ve got to get yourself off to Gaganis Bros. Hidden away in a semi-industrial area you’ll find a random factory that is perpetually surrounded by milling crowds of immigrants. Although Greek-owned, Gaganis Bros contains food from a bunch of cultures, including an amazing South American section which is full of as much dulce de leche as you can handle, the above mentioned tea, and all the relevant paraphernalia. Grab a bunch of fetta, a few 5L tins of olive oil and enough religious imagery to convert to Greek Orthodox and you’ll have successfully submerged yourself in the entire Gaganis experience.