It is prepared by steeping dried leaves of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis, known in Portuguese as erva-mate) in hot water and is served with a metal straw from a shared hollow calabash gourd. The straw is called a bombilla in Spanish, a bomba in Portuguese, and a bombija or, more generally, a masassa (straw) in Arabic. The straw is traditionally made of silver. Modern, commercially available straws are typically made of nickel silver, called alpaca; stainless steel, or hollow-stemmed cane. The gourd is known as a mate or a guampa; while in Brazil, it has the specific name of cuia, or also cabaça (the name for Indigenous-influenced calabash gourds in other regions of Brazil, still used for general food and drink in remote regions). Even if the water is supplied from a modern thermos, the infusion is traditionally drunk from mates or cuias.
Yerba mate leaves are dried, chopped, and ground into a powdery mixture called yerba. The bombilla acts as both a straw and a sieve. The submerged end is flared, with small holes or slots that allow the brewed liquid in, but block the chunky matter that makes up much of the mixture. A modern bombilla design uses a straight tube with holes, or a spring sleeve to act as a sieve.[6]
"Tea-bag" type infusions of mate (Spanish: mate cocido, Portuguese: chá mate) have been on the market in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay for many years under such trade names as "Taragüi" in Argentina, "Pajarito" and "Kurupí" in Paraguay, and Matte Leão in Brazil. """
Our guide, Chris, and our driver, were both mate drinkers and Chris carried a tea cup with him with the silver spoon/straw for drinking, a pouch of the tea, and a thermos of hot water. A lot of trouble for something that tasted vile - to me anyway.
We leave our tips and say goodbye to Chris and head to the van which is larger than the one we arrived in and also only one other couple is heading to the airport. lucky us. Again, the long ride between the ranches, a stop at Cafe Ruben for the toilet and then to the airport in plenty of time, check in, through security, and wait. No problems on the flight and into Santiago and retrieved at the airport by a driver who takes us to our hotel who have upgraded us to a superior room, for whatever reason.
Again, as it is late, and dark and we have no clue where we are, we eat dinner in the hotel restaurant which is on the roof and even though it is only half full, we are asked if we have reservations and when we say no, there is a large frown and a chattering to other staff before we are taken to a table. OK dinner, again with the froo - froo and not many choices.
Our room, which is a "superior" is the smallest we have had in a very long time. There is a queen bed but we can barely move between the walls and around to the far side of the bed. there is a sofa so all the luggage is put on the sofa because the closets are quite narrow from front to back and a suitcase won't fit. When you open the door to walk into the room, you are in the bathroom and walk through the bathroom into the bedroom so technically, I guess it is two rooms. Very odd arrangement but this is supposedly quite a fancy boutique hotel designed by someone famous here and much in demand for his originality but yet traditional-ness. Also the hotel elevator/lift is one of the very old fashioned kind with a double gate so if anyone forgets to close the outer gate on the elevator/lift, it will remain on that floor. Of all the hotels on our trip, this was the one we liked the least plus it took us an hour to get here from the airport. But travel always makes one a bit tired and since it's dark, since we don't know where we are and whether it is safe to wander around, we just read and bit and fall asleep.
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