Vancouverscape, a Vancouver based blog covering travel, tech, and lifestyle

Out here on the West coast, spring is definitely in the air, and these pretty little El Viajero mary janes by El Naturalista capture the season in a range of colours. I was sent the El Viajero’s in a lovely shade of spring green. One thing about El Naturalista shoes that I can count on: comfort right out of the box. I can’t say enough good things about a well-crafted, high-quality shoe that doesn’t need a breaking-in period!

El Viajero translates to The Traveller in English. These shoes are created for long walks and are lightweight enough for carry-on packing.

The leather is treated with natural oils and grease to produce a softness; the light grained texture is complemented by a comfortable, low rubber sole and El Naturalista’s green icon, updated from their former frog logo.

The shoes arrive in their own dust free drawstring bag along with a pair of heat-moldable anatomically-designed insoles that pop right in. If you wear custom orthopedics, this is a great advantage as you can easily place those into the shoe instead.

A custom fit is created when the heat of your foot meets the NATFIT insoles. The soles are specially designed to work with your feet’s natural steps.

How it works

– Put the NATFIT insoles into a microwave with the writing face up.
– Heat at medium power for 40 seconds.
– Place the insole into the shoes and put them on.
– Remain standing, exerting pressure on them for about two minutes.
– El Naturalista recommends keeping the shoes on for at least an hour to ensure your footprint will be transferred to the insole

These insoles aim to improve stability when walking and create less vibration in the lumbar, knee, and ankle regions of the body. I walked with the shoes before and after heating the insoles, and I can say it really does make a difference when your feet are molded to them!

The El Viajeros look great with jeans as well as with tights and skirts. Depending on the colour, I could see these being dressed up or down. They’ve also got an easy velcro closure across the center to adjust to your foot’s width.

The El Viajero mary jane is also available in blue, brown, grey, grosella (red), sunset (orange), white and black and retails for 150 Euros/CDN $201/US $157. Prices reflect Canadian and US currency exchange rate as of this writing.

A socially-aware company, El Naturalista donates 2.14% of each pair of shoes sold via their community page, www.webelieveinpeople.org. Customers have the option to donate the 2.14% profit via a single-use donation code to one of three communities: school meals in Haiti, fishermen warehouse in Japan, or house for single mothers in Peru.

Disclaimer: El Naturalista sent me a pair of El Viajero shoes to test drive for this feature. Opinions, as always, are my own. Unwatermarked photos courtesy of El Naturalista.