I am sitting outside on the back patio with the low morning sun creating much humidity already. It’s autumn, but it feels like summer. I have my first coffee since I arrived. We’ve been sharing maté. It’s a blend of tea including Yerba maté, served in a maté (yes, a special cup that has the same name as the tea) and is shared among those who wish to partake.
The maté is packed full of maté 😉 then you add hot water. When it’s your turn, you sip through a metal straw (that filters the tea) until the tea is gone, then you pass it back to the person who has the hot water. It is their sole job to refill the maté and then pass it onto the next. Of course, the water-keeper takes a turn as well. It’s an enjoyable, casual ceremony whether sitting at the table or driving in the car – yes, boiling hot water goes into the thermos and away we go. In Buenos Aires, you share everything, including saliva. Get used to it. Just like the cheek-kissing and hugs from everyone. There is much love here.
My hosts are Facu and Flor.
They have welcomed me into their new (very old) home as one of the family. Tony, a Peruvian chef, also lives here. He is classically trained but learned raw ‘cookery’ on his own. He is a master alchemist making kombucha that truly tastes delicious (such as cacao nib, mint, ginger kombucha – muy bueno) and desserts are his forté such as raw tiramisu cashew cheesecake. Lucky me! Lucky everyone who is around Tony. He is a bright star, shining and truly happy every day. It is fun working beside him. Plus I’m learning much about fermentation from observing as he and I have a fairly wide language gap, although recently, we discovered some translation apps that are helpful when single words – mouthed carefully, several times over – with hand gestures – don’t quite work.
Since arriving, I’ve eaten mostly raw food. We cook at night as it has been cooler. I’m losing mass (clothes are easing) and I feel lighter and brighter. I sleep well. I dream well. My colon is super happy in case you were wondering. That’s the effect of more raw and more fermented food. It just gets things moving in the right direction so to speak.
There are six dogs on the property – they come with. Carolina (phonetically: Cadoleena) our landlord, who lives in what one might call a gatehouse at the front of the property, takes care of them, but mostly they like to hang around the big pink stucco house we live in.
When I arrived, I felt I arrived. That’s the simplest way to describe the feeling. This city is immense in terms of any I’ve been to with its 15 million people, but it’s the living that is big. Boisterous, fast, yet not in an aggressive way. The freeways are fantastico and they feel more like the flow of a river than a roadway and as in any major city, they turn to sludge during rush hour. And we have driven through many barrios where I know I could just live, happily, ever after.
The power came back on.Tony and Flor were singing and dancing in the kitchen as Luna en Tauro has to cater a birthday party today. I partook. Facu is delivering food products ordered, such as cultured cashew cheese. I think of my papa when I see the grande bags of raw cashews in the cupboard as he loved cashews.
For the photographers in my life, and whom I follow, Buenos Aires is a never-ending backdrop of culture, contrast and commentary. Abundance is a word that comes to mind.
I know… it’s only been a week but so much we’ve packed into this week, including a meeting with famous Argentinian artist / photographer Marcos Lopéz in his home, numerous lunches with various guests including an artisanal bread maker named Manuel and a friend of Facu’s named Maté – like the cup, like the tea – only capitalized. And we’ve hosted lunch for Flor’s parent’s Marcos and Marina. Marcos knows his wine, loves free-style jazz, and he and Marina both know some English which made for some fun. I want to go listen to jazz with him one day. Lunch here means sitting outside for two to three hours with small plates to start then a main such as a salad. There is always much laughter. Then there are naps. Glorious naps.
The first few days, Flor made a point of translating almost everything for me. Then I could see she was growing weary – it’s tiring saying things twice, particularly when one is in a second language. Being inclusive is her natural state, and I think it would take nothing short of a major disaster to knock her off her zen but likely not even then. We adapted organically and she now waits until I look at her with brows furrowed into a question mark. They engage me when they feel I need to know something and I ask when I feel I need or want to know something. Easy. I’m learning intuitively as I listen and once wifi is set up today, it will be easier to practise with my online Spanish program.
I’m ready for breakfast now. There are pears so big it takes two hands, plus apples, bananas, massive mandarin oranges, cashew cheeses, raw crackers, raw granolas, kale chips, nuts, seeds, and maté… Delicious maté.
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