Day 12: Cuenca Today we left the beautiful Saraguro and headed back to Cuenca. We had to leave very early today because we were scheduled to visit the Homero Ortega Hat Factory which closes at 12 on Sundays and we had a 5 hour ride back to Cuenca. The group found it to be very odd that most shops in Ecuador either close early or are closed on Sunday's. Diego explained to us that the shops close at 12 on Sundays because it is the day families are supposed to spend time with their Grandmother. Which is very sweet. We finally arrived at the hat factory with minutes to spare. After a very quick bathroom break, we started our tour. Because it was a Sunday, the workers were off and Diego was our official tour guide. He explained to us the history of Panama hat making and everything that goes into the process of making these hats. Panama hats can only be made by hand and is not possible to be made by machine. The hats are made of palm, “Carludovica palmata” or toquilla straw. It takes about 7 palms in order to make 1 hat and can take several days to make. There are about 3,000 hats produced here a day. As one can imagine, producing that many hats per day would require just as many workers. The hat factory has provided thousands of jobs to Ecuadorians; 10,000 people in Cuenca and 500 people along the coast.
The group
The official name of the Panama hat was created by Teddy Roosevelt, when he was in charge of the construction of the Panama Canal. When Roosevelt discovered the hats, he had given one to each person who was working on the construction of the canal, thus gaining the name of the Panama hat. The price of a hat, depending on its quality of stitching, can cost anywhere between $30 to $2,000. The super fine, stitched hats are the most expensive. Many celebrities have personally visited the factory and purchased their own hat. I, however, did not purchase a hat. They were very beautiful but I am not a hat person.
Photos of the celebrities that visited the hat factory
After we finished at the hat factory we headed to a ceramics store. I was so afraid to walk around in fear that I would accidentally bump into a beautiful and very expensive piece. “You break it, you buy it.” Once everyone finished shopping, the group walked up to the city lookout where we had a view of the entire city of Cuenca.
A beautiful ceramic piece that I was very tempted to buy for my mom
We made our way back to the center of the city to check into the Victoria Hotel once again. Diego brought us on a tour of the city. We first went to the market. It was crazy how different their food markets are compared to ours at home. Fruits and veggies were piled high on stands. Everything looked fresh, delicious and so much cheaper than food markets in the US. I bought a pound of strawberries for $1.00 and Diego bought 16 red banana for $2.00. They were really good, not too much different than a normal banana, just slightly sweeter.
The delicious red banana
Once we finished at the food market, we made our way to the medicinal plant area of the market. Diego explained to us that people do not need a prescription to buy medicinal plants and they can buy as much as they want. He further showed us what the ingredients of Horchata tea look like and what it is made from. Horchata tea is made from 17 species of medicinal plants, three of the ingredients we are familiar with; chamomile, lemon grass, and orchids.
The 17 ingredients of horchata tea
The “New Cathedral”
Once we finished at the market, Diego took us to the shopping market. Many of us were very interested in visiting an alpaca clothing shop which Diego was afraid it would closed on a Sunday. Thankfully it was open and the group did a little shopping. We continued with the tour of the city and we visited the outside of the Maculate Conception Cathedral. Sadly, we did not go inside of the church although I really wish we did. Today, the church is known as the “new cathedral” because it is the second church that was built in Cuenca. We finished our tour and stopped for lunch at a pizzeria. This was probably the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life, I kid you not. It was very delicious. To top off our lunch, the group bought ice cream.
Jessie and I enjoying our ice cream
Once our tour and lunch were finished, we headed back to the hotel where we had a presentation by PaulWilches. To begin his presentation on Tourism in Ecuador, he explained to us that he has always been involved with tourists and in 1990 he started working as a tour guide. He discussed how many expats come here to retire, because they feel very comfortable because people in Ecuador speak English. He further informed the group that Cuenca is the top city for Americans to come to retire, primarily because it is a clean city, the crime rate has lowered, the hospitals are clean, the medicines and doctors are top notch, and the price of living are low. He explained that the biggest issue that expats face when moving to Ecuador is Gringo-pricing. When expats move and buy houses, they often are way overcharged from the actual price and they do not realize it because they’re so used to the prices for houses and other goods in their own country. Our group had even experienced gringo-pricing at a bakery in the Galápagos Islands. Taylor was told a baked good was one price the day before and the next day she was told it was lower. After Paul had finished his presentation, we were left to fend for ourselves for dinner. While some decided to go out in the city, eight of us decided to stay and have dinner at the hotel restaurant. The food here was delicious. A few of us ordered dessert and our waiter brought us out a dessert platter which they gave to us for free. The staff was so nice and friendly, it was a really great dinner. Once we were finished, the eight of us said goodnight and headed to bed.