Things to Buy in Patagonia
Wherever you go there are new things that catch your attention and you wish you could take them all back home with you. The problem sometimes is that the moment you step into a souvenir store you realise there are way too many objects and that you either lack the money or the space in your luggage to purchase it all. And then comes the question: what should I buy in order to take something that trully represents this place?
Do not trouble yourself any more for here is a list with some items that capture the spirit of Patagonia. The criteria to select them was according to how easy it would be to carry them, fragility to withstand a long journey and cultural value attached to it.
Calafate products: Calafate is a thorny bush that produces a berry from which people make jam and liquours. These products are found in any souvenir store and come in small bottles that do not take up much room in the luggage. People say that if you eat this berry (or something made of it) you will come back to the region.
Calafate jam
Sheep: wool and lamb production are among the most important economical activities of the region. It not only represents what we enjoy eating the most, but the hard life in the estancias ( sheep ranches) in Patagonia. The products related to this item go from little sheep figures, knitting wool to ovejero figures and scarfs.
Penguin: a lot of people come from far away to see the Magellanic penguin march as they struggle to get to the ocean and make their living. For some people this bird competes in terms of popularity with the ñandu (rhea). You can find them in figures, stams, stickers or embroidered on hats, shirts and even scarfs.
Magellanic Penguin
Guanaco: the south american cammel was once ago the king of the pampas. Today has become outnumbered and outeaten by the sheep, yet it is still a symbol of the time when Patagonia was a wild and unexplored corner in the world. There are some stores that have figures, though it is more common to see stickers, postcards or embroidered on shirts.
Ñandu: this bird is one of the easiest to spot along the roads. For some people this is the animal that represents Patagonian fauna. You can not find souvenirs made of ñandu, but there are figures made of wood, silver and also stickers. And of course the ussual embroidered items.
Native Religion: Patagonian tribes developed believes closely related to nature and that spiritual world in today remembered by the making of masks from the Hain and Kloketen celemonies. There are also available in many stores little silver figures or posters with the representation of those spirits
Silver handicraft
Milodon: This pre historic giant sloth long ago roamed the Patagonian pampa. Its remains were found in a cave near Puerto Natales and since then it became the offical town mascot. The favourite souvenir is a little figure that resembles the statue that is outside the Milodon’s cave. But as ussual, it is stamped or embroidered on many clothing items.
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