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!