Things to Bring

[Mongo]

I was told that one could bring spices into Chile as long as they were packaged, is that true?
And that you had to declare them anyway.
If so, from reading the posts, I should bring chili powder, curry, turmeric, and .5 kilo bricks of coffee----like enough for a year!
Of course, you can bring 50 cigars as well, so you should do that too...

[jamie_m]

Why when you can buy all that here?

[papageno]

Why when you can buy all that here?

You have a reliable source for good coffee?

[jamie_m]

Very reliable and good. Lucaffe.

[Mongo]

The duty on cigars is 52.6%, so if you don't hand carry, you're going to pay quite a bit.
As to the rest, I'm responding to various posts on spices and coffee.
I did see the post on one spice store. Suggestions on buying bulk spices are welcome,
and where's the best place to buy coffee in Vina? Thanks to everyone who PMd me!

[jamie_m]

Melbourne Cafe

http://www.melbournecafe.cl/index-2.html

[Donnybrook]

There isn't much you cannot get in Santiago. If you will be in Viña that is not a long way to go for a day's shopping. You have the Asian stores in Patronato, the Vega market, tostadurias (shops selling nuts and grains and dried fruit). So it might take a bit of shopping around to get what you want but it is probably available somewhere. Good coffee has become more of a thing and it is easier to find now, both for having a cup or making at home.

No matter what you bring, and you are limited by space and weight, you will miss something you didn't think of. You are not going to be able to reproduce here what you are used to there. You will find some things a lot more expensive here. But you should be able to find enough of what you want to keep you happy.

[hlf2888]

http://www.allchile.net/chileforum/view ... 38#p161438

you really need to use the search tool.

[susiedillon]

One spice that I bring in is ground coriander as I am a curry fiend and thus use lots of the stuff - haven't been able to find it in anything but the tiny supermarket spice bottle size and it is probably somewhat stale by the time it gets to Chile. I usually bring in a variety of specialty food items that I have not been able to find locally in Chile ( we live 2 ½ hours from Santiago and really don't want to slog around the grocery stores in summer) and pack them in one easily " declarable" bag - so far SAG has not confiscated anything. But I stick to the rule that it must be packaged in commercial packaging and not contain unprocessed seeds, or other ' verboten' ingredients. Donnybrook is right, most things can now be found in Santiago with a bit of effort and a pocketful of pesos, but if there are obscure or unusual foody things that you absolutely cannot live without - then at least bring enough to last you for the first few months - so long as they are not contra- SAG regulations. BTW. Though decent coffee is getting more accessible in Chile, I still bring in lots of coffee beans with me, but that wouldn't be pracitical if we didn't go back and forth from Cda to Chile each year.

[Britkid]

When I first came to Chile I bought some things to ease the transition. For instance 6 months of printer inks and 6 months of contact lens supply.

I just figured not having to worry about a few things like that would be one less hassle in the first 6 months which was a busy time.

It was in theory a good plan until the printer broke leaving me with 5 months of printer ink that cannot be used in any printer that can be bought in Chile.

If anyone would like to have 5 months of useless printer ink, feel free to give me your best offer.

[katml412]

I would bring two things: Cinnamon and real vanilla extract (I've only found fake vanilla in stores here).

[Rhodolite]

susiedillon: Washington store in Curico sells plastic bags of ground coriander with good scent and flavor.

Britkid: Perhaps you can use a hypodermic needle to remove the ink and squirt it into another cartridge.