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Souvenir shops: Local crafts

While we were visiting with the Embera tribe one of the demonstrations were the crafts that they sell. You can find them at souvenir shops in Panama City but usually with an extremely high markup, it seemed like it was 2-3 times more expensive to buy at many of the shops in town. Casco Viejo had a better selection and lower prices than the shops near where we were staying so if you can't buy at the source, have a look at some of the shops in that part of the city

What to buy: The women of the Embera tribe and the other Indian tribes make baskets and plates woven from palm leaves. The men of these tribes carve figurines and jewelry out of the Tagua nut, known as vegetable ivory.

Panama hats adorned the heads of many a tourist waiting at the airport, the 1st couple I saw in town were eye popping expensive and I didn't look after that. But if you are interested in bringing one back, you might do a little research before you go to know what you are looking for and how much one should cost.

What to pay: The crafts are not inexpensive so if you visit the Indian tribes and want to bring home a souvenir, make sure you bring plenty of cash. The really small baskets started at around $10 and the larger items and those with more intricate designsgo up past $50US.

The nut figures seemed to range around $10-15, if you buy more than one they will likely offer you a discount.

Theme: Local Craft