We decided to see the sights in town today and to go to the nearby
national park tomorrow. At breakfast we planned our route to take in
hat shops, museums and tourist information and then headed out.
Cuenca is famous for its toquilla straw hats,
commonly known around the world as Panama hats as they were worn by
the people working on the Panama canal. The straw is grown near the
coast then dried, bleached, split and the hats made in the villages
around Cuenca. It is hard to imagine that large green leaves can end
up as white straw hats but they do!
We passed two old shops filled with hats. The
hats last for about six to seven years but need to be reconditioned
during that time. Here they are worn as part of the every day
national dress. There are different shapes from round-pointed hats,
to pork pie hats as well as the "traditional" shape we are familiar
with, and most are worn by women. These old shops were lined floor
to ceiling with hats, many new others in for a refurb.
Our last hat stop was at a place called Barrasco
which, according to Lonely Planet has a small museum. It is very
small! Like the others it is a family business that has been handed
down through the generations. They export a high proportion of their
stock to Europe and the poor summers we have had recently have hit
sales quite hard. We had hoped to see the actual process of the hats
being woven but this was not the case as this happens in the
outlying villages. Here they finish the hats and we did see part of
the finishing process. All hats are initially made in the same
shape, a simple rounded hat with a large brim. They then use
pressure heated moulds to shape the hats into either a trilby,
boater, safari or pork pie style hat. It takes less than a minute of
pressure at 80C to mould the hats. The next stage in the process is
to determine the width of the brim. Generally speaking the taller
the person the wider the brim. The men's hats are then finished with
a navy or black band on the outside and an adjustable strip on the
inside which you can use to tighten the hat for a slightly smaller
head.
Because women wear their hair in different styles
they are not finished in the same way. The hats are left plain and
an elasticated band, or a scarf, is then used to fit the hat to the
right size. Both men's and women's hats come in different sizes so
it really is just a minor adjustment. The process from start to
finish takes one to two days for a low grade (i.e. thick straw) hat
and one to two months for the finest hats. The latter are very soft
to the touch but because they have more straw in them they are more
durable.
We are both now the "proud" owners of our own
toquilla "panama" hats. Stef has had a lesson in the correct way to
put on and take off his hat - very 1920's - but still needs a little
more practice to perfect his technique. I suspect these may be
purchases that we regret. Unlike our walking hats we cannot really
squash them up and shove them in the bottom of our packs. I sense a
parcel being sent back to the UK in the not too distant future!
Washing clothes in the Rio Tomebamba
With hats in tow we ambled along the river and
popped in to a small museum with different masks and dolls from the
various tribes in Ecuador, Perú, Chile and Mexico. We then went on
to the Museo de las Culturas Aborigónes, a private collection of
artefacts spanning the 13,000 years of habitation in the area. It
was an interesting collection of pots, bowls, weapons, statues and
jewelry. The highlight for me though was some early musical
instruments - chime bells. These were unusual because they were
large (20 - 30cm long and 5 - 10 cm wide) pieces of rock, but when
you struck them they sounded like metal chimes.
What we had thought would take us most of the day
had actually only taken a couple of hours so we headed off to
Tourist Information where we were supposed to be able to buy a map
of the National Park that we want to visit tomorrow. It turns out
that they no longer have the maps but they gave us an alternative
(to Lonely Planet's suggestion) bus company to go with. I also asked
about where I could get something to prevent altitude sickness, or
rather to proactively manage the symptoms, because the peak is at
3,900m. Another man in the office, who we think must be a doctor
gave me useful information. Simply take drinks and sweets with high
glucose or natural sugar content, avoid eggs, cheese, chocolate and
anything that will get your liver going (like what, other than
alcohol, we thought afterward). The ranger stations are all equipped
to deal with altitude sickness but he assures me that I will be OK.
We then headed off in search of information for
tours to the Galapagos Islands. We have had a recommendation for a
tour agency, Metropolitan Touring, from an American/Irish couple we
met in Perú who live in Ecuador. Their local agency confirmed they
could get us availability on a motor launch for a weeks trip but we
are a bit dubious about the cabin. Our request for a sailing boat
rather than a motor boat seemed to fall on deaf ears. She had tried
three companies to get the motor launch option she gave us and I got
the feeling she simply could not be bothered to look into other
options. When we asked who ran the boat she said Metropolitan
Touring - a bit odd then that she had had to try three different
companies for availability.
Back at the hotel we went to the internet cafe to
have a look around ourselves. We must have looked at five or six
different agencies, some based in the UK, and a common theme soon
emerged - they all place people onto the same boats. We have
reserved the spaces with Metropolitan Touring (to be confirmed
tomorrow) but I think we were both left with the feeling that we
could end up spending a lot of money with them (around £2,500 for
one week!) and not be happy with the end result. Instead, we have
emailed our contacts at Travelbag (who we used for Argentina, India
and to buy our OneWorld tickets for this trip) and Journey Latin
America (who we used for Chile), both in the UK, to get information
that we both feel confident we can trust.
Having done as much as we could we dashed back to
the hotel for a quick change, to grab some cash and then took a taxi
to Millenium Plaza - we were off to the cinema. We have been assured
that the films at this cinema are in English with Spanish subtitles.
Its a multiplex based in what looks like a small but new shopping
centre. We bought our tickets for War of the Worlds, confirming
again that it was in English. Having successfully negotiated past
the popcorn without buying any (neither of us really like it but
Stef normally succumbs, it is part of the overall cinema going
experience I suppose) took our seats.
With people here generally being short we were
both surprised that we had more leg room than in any other cinema we
have been to. The film was superb - go and see it if you have not
already. I was gripped from start to finish and we will probably go
and see it again. It is definitely one for the big screen so do not
wait for the DVD. I am not sure though that I would have classified
it as a 12 - it was a bit gory and scary in places.
The marketing team for the Plaza know their
stuff. The way out of the cinema takes you through the upper floor
of the centre which is full of fast food places, KFC and Burger
King among them. Rather than heading back into town for dinner with
the inevitable restaurant hunt we decided to eat here. We opted for
grilled meat and potatoes, very tasty, quick and portions too large
for us to finish. A taxi took us back to our hotel and we were in
bed before 10pm.
Cuenca has a lovely feel. It is a university town
and has a more international perspective than we have come across
before. There are beautiful buildings, quiet little squares and
people, particularly the older generation, are very friendly and
welcoming.
