Three days of water bombings, dancing, bars and an erupting volcano chased us out of Banos to the colonial city of Cuenca: cobblestoned, steepled, and quiet. Real quiet. Ariving at 2am the streets were bare, the clouds rolled in and we found ourselves in a deserted hostal with high ceilings, queen sized beds, old creaky floors and neon green walls. Appartanly, Carnival scared everyone off here as well.
Cuenca is reminsecent of a marble shop. Blues, pinks, yellows, light greens and tan blanket the city in the most well lit scene of a Spanish or Italian film. Large domed cathedrals stand in viewing distance of the next and the streets are clean. Outside of the city limits, people litter here like I have never seen. I had to restrain myself from yelling a grown man for finishing off his papas fritas mid- bus ride only to shove the styrofoam bowl and fork out the window. It´s a relief to stumble upon a landscape that isn´t its own landfill as well.
We found the offical Panama hat museum just five blocks from our accomadations, Barranco. Get this straight: Panama hat fibers are grown outside of Montecristo ECUADOR, boiled down, dyed, and hand woven by the villagers. Then taken to the local hat shop they are pressed steamed preserved and finished with a band and/or some plumage. They were tagged with the name ¨Panama Hat¨ because they were exported in large quantities to workers building the Panama canal. The superfino sombrero takes four to five monthes to weave together with fibers so thin and taut that the hat can hold water. Of course we had to get our own (of lesser quality) to sport around town. With our straw fedora like accesories, no one can even tell that we are Gringas! I swear, we look just like the gente. In addition to the interesting tour of the factory and the historical significance of the hat, our tour guide suggested that we stick around and check out his
addition to the shop. He lead us down a stair case presenting us with a cafe boasting numerous bags of Ecuadorian coffee. Dark roasts, light roasts, nutty, chocolaty etc. So, this place is already my drem come true AND THEN he asks if we would like pen, paper and crayons to do a drawing for the wall. He tries to get all visiotrs from around the world to sport a little sketch to be wheat glued to one of the walls. My jaw dropped and Michelle, Lizz and I ordered cafes and spent the next three hours constructing an image of our tour guide, Efrain and ourselves flipping our new somberos onto our heads. So hot. We presented the drawing to him, took about 20 photos, exchanged emails and said goodbye. As promised, if we return to Cuenca and the hat shop, our drawing will be framed rather than wheat glued to the wall.. awwww yeah.
Cuenca is reminsecent of a marble shop. Blues, pinks, yellows, light greens and tan blanket the city in the most well lit scene of a Spanish or Italian film. Large domed cathedrals stand in viewing distance of the next and the streets are clean. Outside of the city limits, people litter here like I have never seen. I had to restrain myself from yelling a grown man for finishing off his papas fritas mid- bus ride only to shove the styrofoam bowl and fork out the window. It´s a relief to stumble upon a landscape that isn´t its own landfill as well.
We found the offical Panama hat museum just five blocks from our accomadations, Barranco. Get this straight: Panama hat fibers are grown outside of Montecristo ECUADOR, boiled down, dyed, and hand woven by the villagers. Then taken to the local hat shop they are pressed steamed preserved and finished with a band and/or some plumage. They were tagged with the name ¨Panama Hat¨ because they were exported in large quantities to workers building the Panama canal. The superfino sombrero takes four to five monthes to weave together with fibers so thin and taut that the hat can hold water. Of course we had to get our own (of lesser quality) to sport around town. With our straw fedora like accesories, no one can even tell that we are Gringas! I swear, we look just like the gente. In addition to the interesting tour of the factory and the historical significance of the hat, our tour guide suggested that we stick around and check out his
addition to the shop. He lead us down a stair case presenting us with a cafe boasting numerous bags of Ecuadorian coffee. Dark roasts, light roasts, nutty, chocolaty etc. So, this place is already my drem come true AND THEN he asks if we would like pen, paper and crayons to do a drawing for the wall. He tries to get all visiotrs from around the world to sport a little sketch to be wheat glued to one of the walls. My jaw dropped and Michelle, Lizz and I ordered cafes and spent the next three hours constructing an image of our tour guide, Efrain and ourselves flipping our new somberos onto our heads. So hot. We presented the drawing to him, took about 20 photos, exchanged emails and said goodbye. As promised, if we return to Cuenca and the hat shop, our drawing will be framed rather than wheat glued to the wall.. awwww yeah.
1 comment:
Hey beautiful,
Finally, the mural pictures are through! They look amazing - I love the color of the butterfly against that tropical backdrop.
Also - I got a box in the mail. Gotta go work on my canal now ...
The trip sounds amazing, and exciting, and sad, and eye-opening. I miss you dearly through your words - because your voice is so strong and you're present in your updates. And then I finish and feel your distance as the words fade.
I love you and can't wait to hear all about the trip - Ryan & I may be moving soon, so I hope you're up for another adventure, but I'll tell you all about it when you get back!
Onward bound cuteness - and I'll see you stateside soon!
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