When you visit La Gomera there is one very important thing to keep in mind: make room in your memory and in your suitcase because you will need it. Photographs of incredible places, unforgettable experiences, the affection of its people or the desire to be able to return someday, are some of the things that will surely accompany you on your way back. In addition, the great variety of its gastronomy and handicrafts result in countless typical and traditional products in La Gomera that you can take with you to make your memories real.
But if you still don't know what “little piece” of La Gomera to take with you, take note of some of the most typical and traditional souvenirs that you can’t forget to buy on your visit to the Colombian island for souvenirs or simply to surprise someone.
1. Gomeran Confectionery, an Entire Tradition
The sweets of La Gomera are recognized for their traditional and artisanal production, as well as for their exquisite flavor. Visiting La Gomera and buying a package of homemade cookies or traditional sweets such as torta vilana, torta rosina, torta de cuajada or bollos, among others, has become a real tradition in order to enjoy them when you return from your trip or to give them as a gift to a family member. With butter, sugar or almonds, there are many varieties, but they all contain the same characteristic flavor that make the island’s pastries unique. You can find this product in any of the municipalities of the island, in each of its sweet shops and even in the local markets.
2. Take With You the Taste of La Gomera: Artisan Cheeses and Almogrote
One of the jewels of Gomeran gastronomy is, without a doubt, the almogrote. A product that you must try during your stay and that you cannot fail to include in your suitcase when you leave the island.
A paté made from a mixture of cured artisan Gomeran cheese (raw goat’s milk, generally smoked with rockrose, heather and/or tabaiba), oil, pepper, garlic and salt (mojo), it acquires a dense and creamy texture that, together with its unique and somewhat spicy flavor, is the ideal accompaniment to any snack.
3. Palm Honey, a Must in Every Kitchen
To speak of palm honey, a product made from palm sap, is to speak of tradition and culture. This typical and world-renowned product is obtained from the sap of the palm tree, also popularly known on the island as guarapo, which after cookin, acquires a caramel-like thickness.
Palm sap is present in each of the kitchens of La Gomera and, undoubtedly, it will not be missing in your kitchen when you realize that its use in any dish will only improve it, whether sweet or savory. And that’s not all: it is a food with a high percentage of calories and a high percentage of basic trace elements; it has been used since ancient times as an effective remedy for throat diseases, colds and coughs. It is highly recommended as a restorative and for cleansing the body.
To learn much more about this product you cannot miss the Alojera Palm Wine Interpretation Center, in the municipality of Vallehermoso. There you can learn how this sap is transformed step by step and, best of all, you can also purchase it.
4. The Best Gofio
Gofio is one of the foods (currently considered a “superfood”) with the longest history on the Colombian island. Made from the toasted grain of cereals such as wheat, millet or barley, it is the perfect accompaniment to any stew and the key ingredient for a good escaldón. And of course, there is from milk, with which it is usually taken, especially at breakfast to have energy for the day, also used in a bottle to feed babies
A package of this product cannot be missing from your suitcase, also sold in single doses for taking anywhere, considered one of the best and which you can also find in any market on the island.
5. Toast with Forastera Gomera
The perfect detail that can’t missing from your suitcase when you return from your visit to La Gomera is a bottle of the best wine from La Gomera. Gomeran wine is made through the effort and sacrifice of the winegrowers, who face the difficulty of its cultivation, due to the orography of the island.
In particular, you cannot miss the wines made from the type of grape called Forastera Gomera, a unique pre-phylloxera species that the island has managed to protect and with which wines with a lot of personality are created.
It will be the perfect detail with which to surprise people when you return from your trip and with which to remember the taste, sip by sip, of the island of La Gomera.
6. Memories for Life? Take Away Its Craftsmanship
In addition to gastronomic products, another souvenir that cannot be missing in your suitcase is a handicraft product. In La Gomera there is a great variety of traditional crafts, such as basketry, palm basketry, pottery, traditional carpentry and weaving.
To remember the essence of La Gomera through its handicrafts, you can choose between the lucky witch dolls made of banana tree strings, baskets of various sizes made of wicker, cane or palm, its colorful rugs made on traditional looms, pots or clay bowls made by hand and in the traditional way, and even a pair of chácaras made of mulberry wood with which to play the characteristic melody of Gomeran folklore.
To purchase these products, all you have to do is visit the artisan workshops located in the different municipalities of the island.
