Shopping around the Horn

[Peregrina651]

I would love to hear from people who cruised last season ('07-'08) telling what you bought and where you bought it. Please don't limit yourself to your favorite purchases but also tell about places and items to avoid.

 

With so little time in each port for shopping, it is helpful to hear from those who have already been there and it is especially helpful to have all the comments in one place rather than dotted here and there in various threads and reviews.

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

[chica]

Buenos Aires---bought leather goods including a beautiful purse and some little leather coin purses for the staff back at the office.

Also, in La Boca we bought a wool shawl for my goddaughter and mata cups.

Punta Arenas---this is where we did the most of our shopping in the open air craft market in the city square. We bought little knitted penguin finger puppets, knitted scarves, a wool hat (for the fjords :) ), a lapiz necklace and earrings and variousother trinkets.

Puerto Montt-- we went to the falls and I bought a great wool jacket knitted from a stand in the park. I had seen these jackets previously and regretted not getting one. This proved fortunate as the price there was less than half the price of anywhere I saw the exact same jacket before. I also bought some toys and trinkets for my son very inexpensively and after having some with lunch, bought a bottle of Pisca Sour, the national drink of Chile.

[owl61]

Years ago Punta Arenas used to be a duty free port and there was a large Wal-Mart like store filled with imports, especially booze, at duty free prices. The last time I went ( 3 years ago) the situation had changed. No more duty free. No more bargains or items of interest at this place. I can't address the street fair referred to by Chica. However, I believe Ushuaia is now a duty free port and it did have lots of stores with duty free prices on booze and some other imported high end items.

 

Buenos Aires remains a good place for items of all sorts especially those made from animals, e.g., shoes, leather clothes, etc. Dining out is also a comparative bargain especially at the city's famous steakhouses. Check the tripadvisor.com BA forum for detailed info. The comparatively and (artificially) low Argentine peso value against the US $ (one of the last places on earth where this is true) ensures good price on all domestic goods, but this too is changing as the peso drifts higher and soaring local inflation pushes prices up with dramatic rapidity. Nevertheless, dining out, taxis and domestically produced goods of all kinds are still relatively well priiced.

 

There are two popular Sunday street fairs in Buenos Aires. One is in San Telmo where lots of flea market stuff, local crafts and colorful street performers fill a 10 block stretch lined with antique stores and restaurants. The antique stores can be very high end with prices reflecting the international clientele. You will have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, but bargains do exist. The other fair is in the Mataderos suburb. It is a lot more "authentic". A $15 cab ride to Mataderos will allow you to eat "parrillada" at any one of numerous booths/restaurants, shop for real nice artisian craftwork, homemade foodstuffs, plus hear live tango and milonga music. You can observe the local dancers or join in if you are so inclined. You can also watch the gaucho equestrian contests. A must do if you port in BA on a Sunday. There is also a weekend crafts market in the plaza near the Recoleta cemetary. Decent stuff can be found among some chachkas.

 

In Puerto Montt there is one huge crafts market along the main street where you can buy locally produced handknitted items , e.g. socks, caps, gloves, for modest prices. Near the wharf there is a food market. I highly recommend the smoked salmon. It comes in vacuum sealed packages that travel well and can be brought home legally. It's cheap and delicious. I wish I had bought a lot more when I was last there.

You don't mention what other ports you intend to visit. In Rio the most popular items are semi-precious stones and jewelry incorporating them.

[Peregrina651]

Folks, thank you all for your answers but can I get you to be more specific??

 

Chica, what stores did you shop in for leather goods in Buenos Aires? Where did you shop in La Boca?

 

Owl61, I purposely did not limit my question to just my itinerary so that this thread might have a more general appeal. Can you give an address for the Mataderos street fair? That looks interesting.

 

Again, that's for your help.