Cuenca - Home of the Panama Hat

We have now ridden on the top of a train!! I don´t think that was ever on my list of things to do, but when the opportunity presents itself you may as well try it. We were travelling to Cuenca, a city of 350,000 and in the mountains not far from the Peruvian border. It took two days to get here, but not all of that was on the train. Sitting on top of a train at 6.30 am at an altitude of almost 10,000 ft is a very cold experience. A couple of Americans rushed to get the front seats and I think they were sorry afterwards as they took more wind than the rest of us. Their parkas were blown up like Michelin men. Anyway it was great fun after the sun came out and the countryside was wonderful. We were actually coming down what is called the Valley of the Volcanoes. Some of them are up to 21,000 ft and are snow covered by most were cloud covered for us. We did see a couple though which was good. We went up as high as 12,600 ft.

Cuenca is a lovely colonial city. The people here who live in old colonial homes do not have to pay taxes for 10 years if they restore their houses. What a clever concept and it is working. Some of the homes date from the 1550´s. They even offer prize money. Some of the best have been turned into gorgeous boutique style hotels filled with antique furniture and paintings. It is such a treat to stay in one. There are many wonderful old churches here also.

We visited the Panama Hat factory and of course both came out with one. They come in so many different styles and some are so fine they can be rolled up and threaded through a wedding ring. Those ones can cost up to $200. Needless to say ours doesn´t do that! Watching the process was interesting. The same American lady who rushed to the front of the train was disappointed that they didn´t have any red ones. It seems that the hats were always made in Cuenca and then shipped to Panama for the men working on the canal and that´s how they got that name.

One of the most interesting things about travelling in Ecuador is trying to recognize where the different Indians come from. Their particular style of costume tells you, and also what type of hat they wear. Those with white hats and short gathered skirts come from around Cuenca, those with gold beads and long black skirts comes from Otavalo and so on. We have also tried quite a few local dishes. Mostly very good but today I had a soup with sherry in it which was a bit too different! The top item in the best hotels is guinea pig, which comes whole with its head in tact and a red cherry in its mouth. Couldn`t even be tempted!