Manta and Guayaquil, Ecuador -- January 15 & 16, 2012

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Manta is the primary a sea port and the depature point for the Galapos by sea. We were informed while touring the city that Ecuador is actually the orginal home for the Pananma Hat. It takes about 6 months for a person to make one. They received the Panama Hat name when the Gringos arrived to build the Panama Canal. Our tour also included a stop at a Tagua factory. The Tagua nut is from a palm tree found in the rain forests. It was orginally used to make buttons since the nut looks like ivory plus it can be dyed. Now they are used to make small sculptures. We aalso stopped at a factory that made bags that were used to ship coffee beans for export.

Guayaquil, is larger than Manta, with obvious evidence of growth combined with ample evidence of poverty and lots of gated communities. If you ever visit Guayaquil, I would recommend a visit to the Historic Park. All the animals and plants of Ecuador are on display in conditions as close to their natural habitats as possible.

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Photos

Panama Hats
The woman boils plant fibres first to help separate them.

Panama Hats
Quite a few people on our cruise purchased hats. However I prefer my Tilley hat.

Tagua Factory
All the workers were women.

Guayaquil
This type of housing was common in all of our stops in South America.