Yuyos

Ok, now about the Feria de Mataderos. I was going to post a You Tube video but changed my mind. If you are interested, you can find several videos of the feria on You Tube, however.

Today we went to a fair that happens every Sunday in a neighborhood called Mataderos. We met at school and were taken by bus.

Mataderos is on the western edge of Buenos Aires and appeared to be a bit run down, definitely not the Recoleta. The fair took place in a large central plaza and ran for about 10 blocks if you count both directions it went. It took us about 2 hours to walk the whole thing allowing time to stop, shop, watch dancers and grab something to eat.

It was a lot of fun. It was a very festive atmosphere with a central stage and folkloric groups performing. Several lines of booths radiated from the central plaza in different directions and they were selling a variety of handicrafts, ponchos, ceramics, leather and wood products, mate gourds, etc. Most of it was not that interesting to me. I guess because I've traveled so much and have so many things I've bought on my travels that I don't know what to do with, I'm less likely to buy something unless it really is a "find".

What I did find that I'm very excited about, was a stall selling yuyos. Because of the way the pronounce "y" sounds here (like sh), the word is pronounced "shushos", which is a very funny thing. Argentine Spanish is very distinctive because of their pronunciation of y sounds and because they use the "vos" form of you. Both were kind of shocking at first, but now I am able to understand both the "sh" and "vos" with no problem, and actually like using both.

Anyway, Yuyos are medicinal herbs and they sell them in the drugstore and supermarket, but it was fun finding this little stall selling them, with packages that were labeled for the type of ailments they treat. I found one package called "anacahuita" which was for respiratory ailments, throat, and is an expectorant. Just what I was looking for! I bought a package for 2 pesos (less than a dollar) and when I told Larry what I bought, he said he wanted some, so we went back. Larry has the same thing I have and is still sick.

While we were there another woman who was looking said, "look they have peperina", and I noticed this bottle that had a liquid in it and it said Peperina on the label. Everyone at the fair was very friendly, so I asked the woman what Peperina was, and she said it was mint, and then opened a bottle and let me taste it. She said it was good to clear the respiratory passageways. She also had Eucalyptus liquor. She let me try that too. Both were sweet and quite nice. She said they had alcohol in them and to only take one shot at night before bed.

Now I am drinking my herbs which kind of tasted like dirt, but I put a shot of peperina in the tea. I think this is what is going to propel me back to health.