1/12/2020
Today we got up early and had breakfast around 7 and left for Cuenca around 7:30. We went directly to the Panama Hat Factory. Though called Panama hats, the famous hats are actually made in Ecuador but were brought to fame when Teddy Roosevelt bought them for the people working on the Panama Canal, hence the name. The hats are made of palms which are harvested naturally, boiled, and hung to dry before being sent to the factory. These hats have become part of the culture of Cuenca and are very well-known. The hats themselves vary by price based on the fineness of the fibers and how they are weaved. More than 250,000 people are involved in the business with 10,000 people in Cuenca involved in weaving and producing 3000 hats per day. There are mostly women working in the factories and the only difference is that today steam machines are used to mold the hats instead of ironing. |
After the hat factory, we went to a ceramic shop and many of us bought handmade ceramic crafts. Shortly after, we went to a lookout of the city. Diego and Tait explained that there were a lot of civil problems when the Incas came and that many people that live in Cuenca are not indigenous. They don’t use the train system as a result of mountain collapse caused by a natural disaster. Temperature inversion of the city contributes to pollution because the city is surrounded by mountains. After this, we checked into our hotel before heading to the Cuenca markets. On our way, we were able to see the beautiful architecture of the city, including churches and a beautiful university building which is used a lot less today. At the markets, many of us bought alpaca sweaters and handicrafts before we went to have a late lunch at an Italian restaurant. |