Cuenca, Ecuador

​10th August – 12th August 2017

An early start was needed leaving Chugchilan, as we had over 400km to drive down windy roads, so it would have taken us at least 10 hours if we hadn’t have had any breaks. Back locker had to be loaded by 6.15, so I was down there doing my duty before then. Once the locker was loaded, we had time for breakfast at 6.30, before setting off at 7. Breakfast was so big again but I didn’t eat much as it was so early in the morning! I ate my yogurt and Celine made me a very good hot chocolate, so I drank that but other than that, I couldn’t stomach much, so I made an egg sandwich and wrapped that up for the journey. Before we set off, we had our daily check to see who was still alive and David announced he had been killed with a water bottle at breakfast. Two down, twelve to go! As we were heading back on ourselves slightly, the views were still very pretty and after about an hour and a half, we stopped for a photo break of the pretty views.

We carried on driving a bit further, for about another hour and a half, before another little break for some petrol and a toilet stop. I tried to sleep on the truck to pass some time but struggled to get to sleep – I just lay across two chairs with my eyes shut and hoped for the best. It seemed like it should have been lunchtime when we stopped the second time but it was only 10.30 – I had a feeling it was going to be a long day! As I got up to stretch my legs, I could feel the pain of the volcano hike kicking in already!

After a couple more hours drive (and a little bit more sleep), we stopped at a road side restaurant for lunch. It didn’t look very appealing to me, even if it was $2, so I got back on the truck and I ate my sandwich from breakfast and had an apple, which was left over from a breakfast serving when we were camping. We set back off again about 1.30, knowing that we still weren’t even half way yet!

More sleep was needed (mostly because I needed to pass some time), and we drove a couple more hours towards Cuenca. We had another stop at a road side restaurant, which again wasn’t the nicest but it was a toilet break more than anything. Leaving there at 10 past 4, I was hoping it was the last stop before we arrived, but we still had 100km to go. Driving along, it was strange to see how many people stare at our truck, I know it’s big but it’s like they’ve never seen anything like it before – which maybe they haven’t!

Eleven and a half hours after leaving Chugchilan, we arrived in Cuenca (our final stop in Ecuador). We had to park on the road to quickly unload and we got so many beeps from other drivers as Rianne was trying to park up – they’re not very patient over here! While we checked into the hotel, David had to go and park the truck somewhere else which was apparently quite far away.

The hotel (Gran Hotel) is the nicest place we’ve stayed so far. We got our own private room which is ideal when living out of a backpack as you can spread out a little, even if it is only for a couple of days.

For dinner, we had to find our own food. Rianne said people could meet her in the reception area at 7.30 if they wanted to join her at a traditional Ecuadorean place, but me and Ruth decided we had eaten enough soup, rice and chicken (which is all they seem to eat over here), so we went to an Italian. We found a cute little restaurant about 20 minutes from the hotel, where we could basically choose our own toppings and they would make us a fresh pizza. We had 3 slices each and a drink and it came to less than $6! We couldn’t believe how cheap it was, to say it was so nice and we were so full after it.

We wandered back through the streets of the city, looking at all the beautiful buildings and getting our bearings for the free afternoon we had. The buildings were so beautiful to look at, even though it was the night.

We got back to the hotel and everyone else was either still out or in bed, so we went up to our room and got ready for a day full of activities.

We got a little lie in the next day and breakfast was included in the hotel, although it wasn’t very nice – I had cold eggs and some bread (it’s a good job I wasn’t overly hungry). We checked the Dragoman sheet at the front desk (this is how Rianne gives us information when we are on free days) and it said to meet at 8.50 for our tour of the Panama Hat factory – the only planned activity of the day.

Me and Ruth were ready and downstairs for 8.50, before finding out that the time had changed to 9.30 because people had gone out the night before and were feeling rough, so needed a little extra time to get ready – we were not impressed as it was cutting into our free time to explore! Rianne also changed the hat factory we were going to, which David wasn’t pleased about as he’d parked the truck at the one he thought we were going to.

At about 9.30, we set off towards the factory – it was about a 10 minute walk. When we got there, we had a very short tour of the factory and the man showed us how hats are made and the difference between different kinds.

He started off by telling us where the straw comes from (Paja Toquilla) and showed us the different stages along the process of making the hats – they can take between 2 days and 4 months to make! He then asked for a volunteer to come to the front and as no one else volunteered, I went forward. He dressed me in traditional clothes and sat me down with the hat making equipment, showing everyone what the women look like when they make the hats.

He explained that once the women have woven the hats, the men used to hammer the straw to make it smoother – they now have machines to do this, as it is more efficient.

Next, he showed us that once the hats have been hammered and are smooth, they are put into another machine to shape them. They use water pressure, a mould and a leather protector to create the desired shape. They had 25 shapes in their factory alone.

The rim is then cut on the hat and the ribbon is sewn on both inside and out to finish it off. If the hat is all the same colour, it is bleached at the end of the whole process, if the hat is different colours, then they bleach the straw before they weave. The guide showed us he bleaching room and explained the temperature had to stay at 50 degrees, any hotter would perish the hats.

The price of the hat is calculated on how well it is weaved. If it has only taken two days to make, then the weave isn’t as fine or smooth, so it’s a cheaper hat. A semi-fine weave takes 2-3weeks and costs around $300 because of the effort and time that went into it and a fine weave in the factory shop we were in cost $1000. The man showed us the weave through a magnifying glass and you could clearly see the neat detail in the hat – it also felt a lot smoother and softer than the others and it was kept under lock and key.

Once the tour was finished, we were able to try some hats on and have a look around. We went up onto the terrace and had a look over the city before trying on some hats. I was not impressed trying the hats on because I needed an XXL to fit my fat head (the second biggest size there was)!

The tour was over within half an hour, so we left the hat factory and started wandering the streets looking mainly for markets! Ruth had researched some, so we (me, Ruth and Naomi) went looking for them. We found some of them but they weren’t all open yet, which we found quite strange, as it was approaching 10.30. We wandered up and down the streets trying to find markets for some souvenirs – I definitely wanted a patch for my bag from here considering it was our last Ecuadorean stop! We walked around all the markets that Ruth had researched, and then walked back again to see if any more stalls opened. We then found out it was a bank holiday (which I found strange for a Friday) so that could have explained why so much was shut. Along our journey, we saw some women sat in a circle in the street weaving the panama hats we had just learnt about.

Naomi then left us to meet Hayley during our souvenir search, so we carried on without her. I couldn’t find anywhere that sold the patches I wanted, so I had to improvise and buy a purse instead. In one shop, I found a gorgeous shawl/ small blanket which I bought as I really didn’t consider how cold some places would be (or how cold the truck would be)!

After we had explored the markets and bought all that we wanted, we went to get some ice cream at an ice cream restaurant in the main plaza. I had a brownie with some ice cream and caramel sauce and Ruth had an Oreo sundae – they were both very good!

Once we had had our ice cream, we sat in the main plaza overlooking the cathedral and rested for a while. After this, we walked down towards the river.

 

There wasn’t much to do where we were, so we looked on the map and saw there was a park at the end of the river, so walked along the river in that direction.

We didn’t quite make it as far as the park because we lost our bearings (obviously), so walked past some museums on our way back up to the main centre. We saw some ruins (Ruinas de Todos Santos) and took some photos, but even that was closed.

We walked back up to the main plaza again and sat and did some people watching for a while. It was interesting to see what goes on: there were lots of people posing for all sorts of different photos, with different props and poses.

Walking back down to our restaurant (we decided on the same pizza place as last night, as it was so cheap and tasty!), we felt like we had walked every street in the city. We got there for an early tea as we wanted to be back at the hotel early enough to shower and let our hair dry before bed. We had three slices each again, but this time we couldn’t choose our own toppings (I think we were too early and the manager wasn’t in). It still tasted just as good though, so it was worth the trip!

We strolled back to the hotel after tea and got ourselves packed up again, ready for the next trip. It feels like Cuenca was a short stop, but I think it’s one of the nicer cities I have seen on this trip. That’s it for Ecuador, for now. Next stop is Punta Sal, our first destination in Peru.

To travel is to live, Katie x