Toquillas Para Todos

Since Noah is quite the hat lover and Ecuador is the home of the Panama hat, we have to go shopping.

First, forget Panama. The hat probably acquired that name because it was imported to Panama and adopted there, then made famous during the construction of the Canal.  But it is pure Ecuadorian.  At the Homer Ortega museum and shop, that is made abundantly clear.  The English speaking guide is off today, so I am an intent listener to the story in Spanish.  First the straw.

It is separated by hand into narrow fibers.  The finer the strands, the finer the hat. Panama hats, or toquillas, can take 2 days or 4 months to make per hat, depending on how fine the fiber and the skill of the weaver.  The fibers are dyed using natural colors.

There’s a sea of raw hats bleaching in the sun.

This cheerful gentleman has the job of softening and shaping the hats with a soap solution.

When he’s done he tosses them into a pile.

Here’s a much earlier step - dying the straw black (in this case) in a big vat, requiring constant stirring.

There’s a lot of sharp future hats in this pot!

Just a few feet away, this gentleman is molding the hat shape using a mold, steam and pressure.  It only takes 45 seconds.

The mold selected determines what shape the hat will take and there are many molds to choose from for the many styles produced by Homer Ortega.

Remember those rough hats drying in the sun?  They are transforming before our eyes.

I join the wall of famous people wearing Ortega hats.  People like Johnny Depp and Julia Roberts.

Noah picks out a great hat but it’s not quite big enough. “Uno momento,” says our very persuasive sales lady.  She finds the same model in the right size, though it is not quite finished.  The sewing ladies stop to finish it for Noah, here applying the band.

This senorita sews in the inner sweat band.

It’s a sea of Panama hats and we are all going to own one soon.

Noah takes this arty photo so of course I have to include it.  He’s always upstaging our iPhones with his android phone.

Noelle models this lavish feminine model.  Would definitely not be good for walking the streets of Cuenca.  She would knock people off the sidewalk in front of buses screaming along or not see a taxi coming as she crosses the street!  But if invited to a royal wedding, this would be a great choice.

Ben (with a lot of encouragement from that persuasive sales lady) splurges on an extra-fino hat in classic white.  It’s an investment hat. But we will find he is reluctant to wear it because it is so nice!

We also take Noah and Noelle to one of our favorite shops - All Things Alpaca - to see Patricia’s beautiful hand knit and hand woven items from her very own herd of 650 alpacas.  Noah can’t resist this hand knit sweater from wool and alpaca.  It sure is sharp with the new hat :)

Patricia is happy to pose with Noah and Noelle (who is wearing her own special Panama hat in a very cute check).

One more detour.  On their first day, we took N&N on the double decker tour bus to see the best of Cuenca.  It delivered us to the opposite side of the city, way up a mountain for a great view, some cheesy tourist shops, and the SWING that, for $4 will swing one out over a precipice for quite a scare and a thrill!  We all did it except Ben, who finds heights “no bueno.”  Noah went first, so click this link to see it!  Noah on the Cuenca swing :)

I screamed a lot and had a death grip on the swing.  Noelle hesitated but decided to go for it.  We had others there to cheer us on.  Fun, in a terrifying way.

A last photo op before Noah and Noelle head to North Carolina:(Cuenca 🚐 Guayaquil ✈️ Fort Lauderdale ✈️ Atlanta 🚘 Asheville). Hat crazy!

Their nine day visit sped by and we were so glad they decided to spend half of their vacation (10,000+ miles of travel) with “los padres” (the parents)!