Bringing things home from Santiago — what to buy?

[Anniesantiago]

The inexpensive little painted fans make great gifts for both young and old girls back home. My friends love them

 

[miguel_gp]

Could you elaborate a bit on what he does? What do you mean when you say that he will “customise pilgrim prints”?

So he used some lovely, pilgrim-related drawings which he mounts (depending on what you have selected) on to single or multiple pages and then adds personalised calligraphy.
My wife and I had two sets of friends for who I arranged a Camino Portugues from Valenca do Minho. We flew out to meet and surprise them when they arrived in the Obradioro and we presented each couple with a four page memento which detailed their names as Peregrinos, the Camino and distance that they had walked, the names of significant places they had walked through and the dates and also a personal message to congratulate them from us.

 

[Sheesh]

Some members have mentioned bringing cheese back home to N. America. I'm wondering how the soft cheeses such as Tetilla and Arzúa-Ulloa fare with being unrefrigerated for a couple of days? Getting them vacuum packed might not be an option for me, because I might only be in Santiago on a Sunday when so many businesses are closed.

And if I am able to bring them back without risking food poisoning, will they have to go into checked luggage for the flight home? I seem to recall reading that soft cheese is considered "gel-like" and therefore quantities over 100 grams are not permitted in carry-on luggage.

Any tips/advice? Thanks.

 

[peregrina2000]

Some members have mentioned bringing cheese back home to N. America. I'm wondering how the soft cheeses such as Tetilla and Arzúa-Ulloa fare with being unrefrigerated for a couple of days? Getting them vacuum packed might not be an option for me, because I might only be in Santiago on a Sunday when so many businesses are closed.

And if I am able to bring them back without risking food poisoning, will they have to go into checked luggage for the flight home? I seem to recall reading that soft cheese is considered "gel-like" and therefore quantities over 100 grams are not permitted in carry-on luggage.

Any tips/advice? Thanks.

Hi @Sheesh,
The places where I buy the cheese have the equipment to do the vacuum packing, so if you can buy the cheese on a Sunday you can probably get it vacuum packed on a Sunday. I buy cheese in Santiago, and a few days unrefrigerated has never been a problem.

Each country’s regulations are different, but for the US, cheese can be brought through customs. I don’t think carry-on vs. checking is an issue. A customs official once told me that if the cheese were VERY runny (like Casar de Cáceres)) they might not let it through, but my cheese taste does not go in that direction, so I’ve never had a problem.