Sehenswürdigkeiten in Colonia del Sacramento

This really exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend this over simply ordering mate at a cafe. Everything about it felt like an authentic experience. We not only prepared mates in different ways but learnt about its history while eating delicious snacks within a beautifully restored historic home delivered by the warm and engaging host, Martin.

This was a wonderful experience right in the heart of historic Colonia del Sacramento. Idoia & Martin could not have been more pleasant. Martin invites you into his home, built in 1875 - though it looks a lot like a museum. I couldn't believe he lives there full time. And Idoia was our "interpreter" to help with the Spanish to English. She is originally from Spain, but makes Colonia her home now, and she was a true delight. We tried traditional Uruguayan mate, which we prepared (after watching Martin do it first). It's obviously a beverage, but it's really more a cultural experience, a ritual with many subtle social cues and norms. It's also a bit bitter, and likely an acquired taste, but talking with them as we sipped, added water, and sipped some more was really fun. They also provided a table full of snacks to complement the mate, some pastries, some cheese, some salami, and a few other surprises. Once we'd had our fill of the traditional Uruguayan version, we moved to a few varieties. First, we added some sugar, which is less common in Uruguay but a fairly typical preparation in Argentina. It certainly sweetened things up, but also help to understand the steeping process as the water percolated through the mate before we drank it. After trying that variation for a bit, Martin switched things up again, preparing a new cup with both the classic yerba mate and his own blend of other herbs. This may have been my favorite version, but they were all good in their way, and I am really looking forward to drinking mate on my own as I travel my way through South America. In any event, I highly recommend this tour; you will spend time with what has to be the most identifiable drink in Uruguay in a way typically not possible (you can't simply walk into a mate shop and order it the way Americans order coffee or the British order tea; it doesn't work that way). My only regret was that the experience didn't last longer. We were having a great time and were sorry to see it end.