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Published: December 25th 2006
Cuenca is Ecuador’s 3rd largest city, the crew arrived after a long days drive from Banos to unwind, check some internet and off to dinner for Mexican.
The major activity was a visit to the ¨Panama Hat Factor¨ This factory produces genuine Ecuador Toquilla straw hats. These hats got their names, and were made famous during the construction of the Panama Cannel in the late 1800s. Originally these hats provided very functional protection from searing sun, but later became popular movie accessaries and symbols of sophistication and luxury for foreigners.
The toquilla straw is harvested by local farmers from two provinces in the south of Ecuador, Azuay and Manabi. It is then sold to hat makers, traditionally, and is still mostly woman, who weave the hats. The weaves vary greatly in pattern and quality. A low quality, simple hat can be weaved in 3 days, but a high quality complex hat can take up to six months to weave. This is clearly reflected it he end product price, ranging from $20 US dollars to $500 US dollars.
The factory itself buys weaved hats, then dries, dies, shapes, trims and sets the hats through a variety of baths, steaming
machines, and processes. Most of these processes have not changed since the late 1800. Look at the hat pressing machine, steam engine technology.
The rest of the day in Cuenca was spent exploring the town varied churches and architecture. Our chaperon for dinner that night was our driver Phil, who took us to an Argentinean streak restaurant, he claimed ¨Best stakes on the world¨. Well, the sentiment from the crew was to totally agree with this claim - Rich, with great sauces, with ½, 1 or 2 pound options. G-man (who the crew has named Gerhard, due to variations in pronouncing his name) and Paul were able to stuff them selves with a 1 pound steak, photo included.
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