By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor

Strolling down Playa Del Carmen’s main drag, Fifth Avenue, you’re guaranteed to encounter two things: souvenir stalls selling tacky souvenirs and, if you’re female, countless offers from shifty guys offering to “be your Mexican boyfriend.” But keep going in the direction of the Jellyfish store and I promise it’ll be worth your trouble.

Jellyfish is the place to score pendant and hanging lamps, all hecho en Mexico from locally grown gourds called jicara (similar to the calabash found elsewhere in the Caribbean).

Each is dried, polished and then studded with vibrant glass marbles that cast colorful shadows on the wall.

The pendant lamps (strung with strings of beads and shells that hang like jellyfish tentacles) are perfect for a patio or balcony, and the tabletop iterations lend a touch of whimsy to a desk or side table.

And at price points ranging from just $20 to $70, neither version will break the bank.

The company’s success has, of course, spawned copycats, and you can find inferior versions all along the avenida. But accept no imitations; Jellyfish lamps are the original and best.

— CJ’s Island Shop brings you the best of Caribbean shopping.