Otavalo

Yesterday (Friday) we went to the Otavalo Mercado (Market). We went on Friday instead of today because Saturday's are supposedly just crazy and too busy - so we enjoyed the entire market to ourselves, which was pretty nice and relaxing believe it or not.

The market is jammed with a ton of different handmade textiles, ranging from alpaca rugs, blankets, sweaters, socks, to wool ponchos, silver jewelry, stone work, hand carved gourds in amazing detail, to hats and t-shirts.

We made it about two steps in to the market (literally) and bought three alpaca blankets for $15 each. Negotiations are about as easy as it gets...all you do is start to walk away and they drop the price. Keep walking and they end up giving it to you for what you offered to begin with...

These gourds are just amazing in detail, telling stories about the indigenous life in the Andes, myths and legends.

The craftsmanship here goes beyond expectations. If you're used to seeing open markets in Mexico or other places then you'll be delightfully surprised at the quality of materials and design; and the prices are a steal!

We found some excellent silver jewelry - but we were caught off guard with the stamp of "950", which we had never seen before. We are used to "925" so we were a little gun shy - so we ran over to an internet cafe to research what the heck "950" was and if it was legit. If you know anything about silver then you probably know that the numbers represent the % of silver in the jewelry. That silver is so soft they have to mix something like copper or nickel in to make it stronger - so the "925" means 92.5% silver. Thus we found that "950" means it's actually BETTER silver, having 95.0% silver in it! Obviously Ivy was pleasantly surprised by this little fact and we ran back and purchased her some jewelry - amazingly cheap!

So, needless to say, we'll be exporting some 950 silver jewelry back to the US of A!

It is a little more chilly here in Cotacachi - around 50 degrees in the morning since we're at

around 7500-8000 feet above sea level; so buying a wool poncho and some alpaca socks was a good idea. Ivy loves her soft and warm socks...

We'll be heading out to a volcanic lake near Cotacachi this afternoon - so check back later for some pictures of the area here - it's stunning. Reminds us of Italy and Spain.

Cotacachi

We were supposed to come back to the States today but after having a positive response from a potential client in Cuenca we had to make a last minute change of plans. So we flew into Quito as planned but instead of jumping the flights to the US we decided to catch a taxi up to Cotacachi. This is an area highly recommended by Gary Scott on his "Ecuador Living" website, and for good reason. We are staying at his hotel here, which is very clean and nice.

We've met some wonderful people, from Canada, Italy, the US - and the local people here are very friendly - even more friendly then down in Loja, Vilcabamba and Cuenca. Cotacachi is very clean, and decent sized, with a warm southern European charm and feel.

Near here is the largest indigenous market in all of South America, it's called Otavalo. We will go tomorrow morning bright and early to avoid the weekend rush - apparently Saturdays are a little crazy, so we'll go on Friday instead. We'll post some pictures of the market manana.

As for Cotacachi, well if you like leather goods, and I'm talking handmade leather jackets, luggage, hats, chests/trunks, belts, boots, and beautiful saddles then this is the place for you! We made some incredible purchases today and below is a picture montage to give you a feel of the things we'll be looking to export into the USA via the Orange Mandolin Fair Trade Company (www.orangemandolin.com)...

This is a collapsable all leather rolling suitcase - it's huge! As you can tell by the zippers around the bottom half you can collapse this down to a carry-on size piece of luggage. This one has a natural leather finish but it also comes in dark brown and black. A bag like this, of this size and quality would probably go for around $650 possibly even up to $800 up in the States. We got ours for $78! It has matching smaller bags, a large duffle-bag that also collapses into smaller sizes, and then a small duffle-bag that does the same.

Here are some different styles of all leather - very high quality thick leather luggage for under $100 each.

If you like shawls and scarves they have some pretty cool hand-knit leather ones for only $22.

Ivy is getting a custom one made, for the same price, and the lady said she can have it ready by Monday morning before we fly to Cuenca. Pretty incredible when you see the craftsmanship...

Or if you like pure wool shawls with designs and all sorts of colors they have that too.

There are tons of beautiful leather purses - all different designs and colors...

They also have pure silver jewelry, handmade, with semi-precious stones...

If you like leather jackets, especially shearling like I do then you'll love the deals down here -

this is a handmade all leather shearling mens jacket. I paid $1000 for mine back in the States, this one is only $298 down here before your 'cash' discount!

Or some beautiful handmade leather coats and vests for women for just over $100!

We have too many pictures to post here of all the nice jackets, vests, coats, etc. But they are all very beautiful, soft, and high quality leather - something we really didn't expect to find here.

We ran across this amazing store where they make handcrafted leather trunks and chairs - some with wood, some painted, some lined, and just gorgeous! There has to be a market for this back in the States!

Here are some more pictures of just amazing trunks and chests made of leather and wood - all hand crafted right here in Cotacachi, Ecuador.

These are worth some money!

There are also some incredible hand-crafted leather saddles, briefcases, and the list goes on...they said they'd deliver the saddle to me down in Vilcabamba for a whopping $15 - I almost fainted.

Here's the briefcase I purchased - you could maybe find this back in the States for about $500 or more, down here - $180. My Macb

ook Pro 17" laptop fits in it perfectly...eat your heart out!

If you - or someone you may know - is interested in any of the above items please email me at amarsh@orangemandolin.com ! We will be uploading some photos and more information on some of the above items on our website for Import into the US shortly - with retail prices that are cheaper then you can find in the US for items of this high quality and craftsmanship!

Until tomorrow - Hasta Luego!

Sábado

After a few days of cool rainy weather we were blessed this morning with a wonderful sunrise over the mountains! The weather here at night is just incredible for sleeping, nice and cool, with a light mist in the valley in the morning - absolutely stunning.

This is our view from the deck off the master bedroom facing the east. You can see the river down below, which provides us with perfect white noise.

We decided to head on down to the pool here at Hacienda El Atillo since it's sunny, warm, and we needed some relaxation. Here is a view of our pool...as you can see there are not many clouds in the sky today! Aedan loved the little swimming pool; we had our own private "swim lessons"!

It's been an interesting first week here in Vilcabamba, Ecuador (the Valley of Longevity). I attended a government meeting last night where the assistant to the Minister of Environment and Health came and gave us a wonderful propaganda powerpoint demonstration of just

how similar every government is these days.

Saying one thing and doing another. It's sad really, but at least the majority (if not all) of the 'gringos' here are interested in being actively involved in ensuring the environment is protected, that renewable energy is used extensively, waste management is improved, and recycling programs are instituted. We'll see how that all goes over time.Things are coming together for the Beyond Building and Construction Company (BBX) that I've been wanting to pursue down here. I have already met at least one prospective client, and am meeting another one early next week. I'm working with a wonderful couple from New Zealand here that share our same passions and are trying to stay removed from the imported politics from the other 'gringos'.

We went into Loja (the nearest 'large' city to us) on Wednesday to start and get acquainted with what it has to offer. It's an amazing city, with lots of charm and amazingly clean. It is interesting though that many of the items seem to be lower quality then what we are used to in the USA. But there are still tons of things to choose from that you'd need for day to day living. Here's a picture of their HUGE indoor market.

As you can see there are tons of fresh fruits and vegetables. They also h

ave an entire area dedicated to fresh meats of all kinds...bakin

g area, cooked foods, clothing, you name it - and some really good cheese.

It's interesting to note that the Spanish word for Saturday (Sabado) also means Sabbath - which is the Hebrew word for Saturday and is a Day of Rest according to the Old Testament (Exodus 20:8-10).

This is just a little tidbit and clue as to the fact the Iberian Peninsula (modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar, and part of France) was originally settled by the ancient Israelites. The word Iberia means the same as the word "Eber"ia/Heberia which means "Hebrews Land".

So, enjoy your day of rest, wherever you are today - and remember there is more to life then money, clothes, and shelter. The true fundamental need in life is Love - and not love of self, we're good enough at that already.

Our Independence

Hello friends, family, and acquaintances!

I'll try to keep my blogs up to date as best I can - and possibly have Ivy step in once in awhile for some feminine flair!

Well, it's been quite a trip, to say the least, in coming down to see this place back in May and then coming back again, but this time for 'good'. We'll see how things go, but so far it's been a nice change of pace from the constant stress and turmoil of Denver.

We were chatting with a friend of ours here who is from New Zealand about how strange it is for the first time in our lives to be able to truly pursue what we want to do. All of our western 'civilized' lives we are dictated to - from our parents when we're children, to our church and ministers, to our peers, to our media, our job, our bills, and to our social status. We are constantly told what is 'proper', what we 'should' do, what status symbol we should strive to buy, what kind of job we should have, money we should make, clothes we should wear.

Ivy and I now find ourselves, for the very first time, able to stop and think about what we really want to do with our lives. And it's quite the amazing feeling. You're not sure what to think, do, or decide. Money is not an issue down here. There are tons of opportunities. There is free time for a change. And the accumulation of 'things' is now completely irrelevant.

We wake up when we want. We have abundant fresh fruits and vegetables. We have a truly stress free life. So now what do we do?

Odd question and position to be in, truly.

So, for once, we have time to recuperate from our stresses. I am finding that my body is very tired, my brain is taking a much needed hiatus, and I can actually afford (on all levels) to actually take some time off - completely off. There are no deadlines to meet. All of our needs are being met. And yet I find it so fascinating, not in a good way, that many of the gringos down here bring their baggage and agendas with them.

Even though you don't need to make a lot of money down here, and even though the entire reason they moved here was to 'slow down' and 'take it easy' they are not. They are bringing their political crap, their marketing and monetary agendas with them. And I find it somewhat disgusting. Are they all this way? No. But the ones that have definitely stick out like sore thumbs.

And so Ivy and I are just sitting back, taking everything in - minding our business - relaxing. Enjoying the beautiful views out of our windows. We listen to some people complain about this or that. But we mostly are just enjoying the time, this first time, where we can sit back and truly relax. There is no more debt. There are no more ladders to climb. There is just our life together, between us and God.

We laugh at ourselves, and we realize that life doesn't have to be so hard as we like to make it back in the States. We breathe.

We move slow.

It is beautiful.

Love to all and I pray you all find peace, on whatever path you are called upon to partake.

Be still.