Today we started on our way back to Cuenca. We had to be out of the hotel by 8 o'clock, because we were headed to the Panama Hat Factory, and they close at 12 on Sundays. Many of the store and shops in Cuenca actually close at 12 on Sundays, because on Sundays you are supposed to spend the day with your Grandmother. When we got to the Panama Hat Factory we started on our tour. There weren't any workers who were actually working on the hats because it was a Sunday, but Diego did a very good job at explaining everything that goes into the process of making these hats. The Panama hat is made from palm tree fibers and was actually one of the first things that started to be made in Ecuador. It is called the Panama hat, because Teddy Roosevelt was in charge of the construction of the Panama Canal, and he had given these hats to his people who were working on the canal, so the hat is named of that. The hats are all handmade, and are very lightweight and help yo protect you from the sun. The process of making these hats can take two to three days for the cheaper ones, which are around $30, or can take up to three months, that can cost around $2,500. When making the hats, first they must get the palm tree fibers. The fibers/branches each Saturday, and it costs $4 for six branches. When making the hats you need seven branches for one hat. The hats arrive to this hat factory unfinished, and they are then checked to see if they are okay and then finished here. When shaping the hats, we now have a steam machine that does this for us, but back in the day it would take 45 minutes per hat to shape. When finished shaping the hats, they brush the hats with glue and then dye the hates if needed. They place the hats in these huge tubs that have the dye in them, these huge tubs are each able to hold 380 hats each. Next they mold the hats. They have different molds for each kind of hat. They use machines to mold the hats, and then after they are molded, they are ready to be decorated. There are about 3,000 hats produced here a day.
After the Panama hat factory we headed to a ceramics store. Everything in the store was beautiful but was expensive. We then walked up to the city lookout. It was so beautiful that you could see the whole city, and then see how it was all surrounded by mountains. We then headed to check back into the Victoria Hotel, and then started our city tour. Our first stop was the market. Because it was a Sunday, there was a lot less vendors that were open, but there were still so many that were open. Everything there looked so fresh and it was all so much cheaper than fruit places in the US. The one fruit that we all tried was the red bananas. In the market, Diego also showed us what Horchata tea is made from. Horchata tea is made from 17 species of medicinal plants, such as chamomile, lemon grass, orchids, and many more.
After the city tour we went back to the hotel and had a presentation by a different Paul. Paul had 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 cause they speak English. It was also interesting that Cuenca is the top city where people from America come to retire. They come here to retire, because it is a clean city, the crime that occurs is under control, the hospitals are clean, the have the top medicine as well as doctors, and the prices are low. I found it very interesting when he discussed Gringo-pricing. Expats will come over here and by houses and be changed way over the actual price and not realize it because they were used to the prices for houses in their country. It was interesting because we had noticed a few times where we were charged one price one day and then the next day charged a cheaper price. After Paul's presentation we were all allowed to do what we wanted for dinner. Eight of us had decided to stay in the hotel and have dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. The food here was so good, even though we did not get much because we weren't that hungry. I had ordered dessert because I only got a salad and their presentations on all of their desserts was so cute!! They even brought us out a dessert that they made for us for free! The staff was so nice and friendly, it was a great dinner.
Extra Research:
Red Bananas The red bananas are actually from Southeast Asia and there are actually many benefits of the red banana. They are great in nutritional value, they are rich with potassium and magnesium and the intake of these two minerals can help to lower your blood pressure, they are rich in probiotics and fiber which is good for your digestive health, and they are a good source of vitamin C and vitamin B6, which help support a strong immune system. Red Bananas: www.healthline.com/nutrition/red-bananas#section5