We are currently travelling full time, an around the world trip in our camper (thisbigroadtrip.com) which, unfortunately, meant a curtained triathlon career and a focus on running instead. One downside is no fixed address.
We have been travelling around Mexico for 6 months now and are desperate to get some running shoes and a cojuple of other items sent somewhere. I am currently at 900kms on a road shoe that has done 50% trail and is very much worse for wear! Does anyone live in Playa del Carmen (or have a contact of someone who does)? That wouldn’t mind helping a couple of athletes out with a shipping address?
We have tried a few of the usual routes but for various reasons they do not work for us. We may not know the shipper so can’t use their own DHL or Fedex offices for example. Anyway, they don’t work and I would much prefer to trust a ST’er or a friend of.
Long shot but, anyone got any trustworthy ST contacts?
I have no contacts for you but wouldn’t it be easier just to buy some running shoes and other items in Mexico? I’m sure there are running shoes in Cancun.
Apparently Mexicans rarely head up to a size 13 wide and when they do it’s not in a shoe I want.
I have tried everywhere from Mexico City, Guadalajara, Queretero, Guanajuato. No luck. I have a bad enough time trying to find comfortable shoes in the US or Canada. I found that New Balance have a Mexican website and delivery, but need a decent address. I could use a campsite but would prefer someone sligh atly more trustworthy through ST.
Could you call one of the stores in Playa that sell running shoes and ask them to special order you a pair for pick up?
I think people are underestimating the vagaries of Mexico and their retailing 
The ‘running stores’ are very much few and far between. Those that list their running credentials are usually bad chains with fashion running shoes and no interest in helping out an athlete. There are some decent running stores occasionally, usually vey much locally owned and requiring prepayment for orders with either cash or the card in store. There were actually two in Merida. Neither worked.
New Balance are pretty much the only company with shoes that work for me. That I have found anyway. See other threads re wide shoes for longer (but nor larger) feet. Some brand go wider in the forefoot (Altra etc) by my ageing calves do not like very low drop shoes. New Balance work well. First I loved the Zante, they changed it. Then I loved the Vazee Pace, the 13 wide was perfect. Then they stopped it. Replacing it with the shoe they initially replaced with the Zante with! The 890 v6.
Does the 890v6 use the same last as the Vazee Pace? Allegedly it does. I don’t know. So, I need a 13 and 14 in a 2E width to find out. And while I am at it will order something else, maybe a similar last trail shoe as a backup or for simultaneous trail use. Either way. With an online order I can purchase a few pairs, see what works and send the rest back. An independent retailer, who does not want a random pre-order from a stranger anyway, will not want to special order a few pairs and send some back.
I do appreciate the thoughts and options … but what I am after is a contact in / around Playa del Carmen that I can get some run shoes shipped to.
Ok. I’ll be in Puerto Morelos for a week in March, but I’m guessing g that’s not helpful either:)
A little too late, sorry. We may be in Belize by then.
It looks nice though, we’ll add it to our list. Is it pretty laid back?
A little too late, sorry. We may be in Belize by then.
It looks nice though, we’ll add it to our list. Is it pretty laid back?
Looking online there appear to be companies offering shipping to Mexico that smooth the customs process. These are a few that came up as recommended on other forums:
http://estafetausa.com/#
https://www.america-ship.com/shipping-to-mexico
https://www.stackry.com
For the delivery address I searched freight forward addresses in Google for Playa and a bunch came up. There appeared to me mail store offerings similar to in US. Estafeta has a few listed so that might work with the first service above?
Hope it works out. I wondered what you guys had moved on to do. Now following!
Hey, glad to be followed! Facebook is updated most, Instagram when I get some better images and the website blog is far less frequent bbecause it takes longer to write and I also freelance for a couple of other publications so, unfortunately, am unable to use that for both me and them, which means I would have to re-write articles, not fun. Those articles are linked on our blog page anyway. As an aside. Mexico get a horribly bad rap. We have travelled through many of the no go areas. Sinoloa, Durango, Chiapas, Colima etc etc. Camped in weird and wonderful places, run through mountain roads, back roads, tiny villages. Nothing but smiles and waves. Amazing country and even better people.
Sorry, I digressed.
Apparently you can not import shoes into Mexico. So, it’s a toss up as to whether they actually get through. The shipping I am good with, just need an address. I can get the shoes in Mexico online.
The trouble with some of the freight receiving places is that they hold it for something like 3 or 5 days. We move a lot, have stayed in something like 160 places in under a year so far. Trying to tie in getting to somewhere at a certain point is doable, of course, but having someone that could simply hold until we get there would be far more convenient. That and the issue of not knowing when the mail be be shipped, which further dents the known 3 to 5 days holding time, because now the package may be there in 2 days or 10 days, meaning we need to get there earlier and potentially stay there for ages.
We may end up going the Estafata route and suck up not being able to move around at will. We used them before.
A little too late, sorry. We may be in Belize by then.
It looks nice though, we’ll add it to our list. Is it pretty laid back?
I think so. no large hotels or resorts in the town proper. An actual town square where last time we were there my son kicked the ball around and played with a bunch of local kids after dinner one night. Completely different vibe from Cancun or Playa. Definitely worth a stop if your back in the area.