June 19, 2014 - Tour - Hat making and basket weaving above Gualaceo

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When we left the park, we drove higher into the mountains to a small town which I did not get the name of. In the pictures you can see the clouds lowering. We thought we would get some rain, but it actually started warming up.

We stopped at a very small home and in the front of the house sat a woman making a hat. She starts working about 6 am and ends about 8 pm. By that time she should have a hat made. Her husband was working bringing more straw to her. The straw has to be wet in order for her to weave it. There was another woman sitting on the curb outside the fence surrounding the front of the house also weaving a hat.

Once the hats are completed she sells them to merchants in town for $7 or to visitors for $10.

There was a young boy just watching her and after a little while he started making a hat as well. We asked what age the children started learning the trade and she replied "Five".

One of the couples with had their grandson visiting from Nuevo, CA (not very far from where we lived) and he and his grandfather tried on a couple of hats that had not been trimmed yet.

Debi tried on a two tone hat and liked it, so she bought it for $10.

Then we walked down the street a couple of houses to a woman that was making baskets. We first went into the first floor hallway and saw all the different colored straw that she would be using. The colors were amazing.

Then we went up to her balcony where she was weaving baskets. She had many sizes and shapes for very small prices.

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