What I Bought In Cozumel

On a much needed getaway last month I made a stop in Cozumel and though I hadn’t planned on doing much shopping, I couldn’t resist a few colorful items and wanted to share with you what I picked up.

In my previous post on shopping in Cozumel, I talked about the Carnival cruise port and the great deals to be had there. On my last trip here I purchased some cowboy boots from Rogers Boots, which I will admit, I haven’t worn yet. They really are not a staple of my wardrobe but I do hope to take them out for spin this year. I had no intention of buying more boots but I stopped in Rogers Boots just to check it out and they had new snakeskin loafers. They had four different colors and I of course chose the brightest pair they had. I confirmed that the entire snake is used and not just killed for the skin. They ran about $80, which is pricey, especially for me, but I will definitely get more use out of this style and have already worn them multiple times.

I had hoped to pick up a new beach bag at the shops in the port. I’ve bought quite a few here before but they were out of the large size I was looking for. I still managed to find a smaller handbag, which will be a great pop of color in Spring and Summer as well as two colorful woven backpacks that will make for easy, collapsible travel bags.

There were lots of small gifts available from musical instruments to dream catchers to blankets but I passed those up in search of some traditional Mexican tops and dresses.

I headed over to Cinco Soles which is in the port shopping area and specializes in products handmade in Mexico. They did have some traditional clothing but the options were limited and the prices were a bit steep in my opinion. I did purchase a colorful woven belt that I think will pair great with a crisp white dress in the Summer.

Without finding the clothes I was looking for, we took a ride into town to see what we could find. The cabs are a flat rate $8 each way, regardless of the number of passengers. We were dropped on the main street that runs along the water, where all the shops are located. There are places to eat, cigar shops, silver stalls and hanging hammocks. The more I travel I feel like I have to search harder for authentic items made in country. So much of what is sold to tourists is junk, manufactured usually in China. It saddens me but furthers my resolve to find indigenous products and makes it that much sweeter when I do.

While there was some traditional clothing to be had, it was mostly children’s clothes and sarongs made elsewhere. I opted instead for a traditional striped poncho that I plan to wear with a wide belt. I love how the colors pop off of the black background. Its worth noting that I bought this from a small shop on one of the side streets. Though the vendor gave me a hard time, I was able to bargain the price down from her asking price. You’ll have better luck negotiating with vendors off the Main Street as they are probably not seeing as much foot traffic.

We strolled the street until we had seen enough of the same. It’s worth venturing outside the port to check out the town, but I honestly feel like I found better prices and more variety of items in the cruise port.