Internationalmatt's Blog

Shopping by the Ocean in Ensenada

Our last day in Ensenada we went to an area of outdoor shops by the Ocean Coast. It was fun to walk along and look at the shops and have the shopkeepers try to get my attention to come into their shop. There were not very many people there. I think the down economy has affected tourism which has hurt the Ensenada area. I enjoyed walking along and interacting with the shopkeepers. I bought a few things, but was not looking to spend much. The first thing I bought was a hat.

me with the shopkeeper I bought the hat from

My sense of style was intimidating for the rest of the group, so no one wanted to have a picture with me lol. A few brave souls did have their picture taken with me that day. One was Brandon who bought a hat he was proud of.

me with Brandon

Grace one of our translators got in on the fun. She borrowed Brandon’s hat for the photo op.

me with Grace

The shops were full of colorful hats, panchos, shirts, etc. It is fun to barter with the shopkeepers. Some of the young people impressed me with their bartering skills. They would tell one shopkeeper the price others had quoted for the same things. There was even a stand selling coconut drinks made in the coconut shell.

I prefer to go to such locations when I travel. I can buy stuff from locals from their small shops. I prefer that to buying stuff in a large store. That way the money goes to support a family instead of a large chain store. It also gives me more of a flavor of the culture to interact with the people. It was a great way to end our time in Ensenada.

July 1, 2010 Posted by internationalmatt | international fashion and crafts, Mexico, vacation spots | Leave a Comment