Where We Be
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| We toured the Barranco hat factory in Cuenca and tried on these dapper Panamas after the tour |
| Cuenca, Ecuador |
| This is chirimoya, a fruit native to the Andes. It's sometimes called a custard apple for its sweet creamy taste. Mark Twain once called it "the most delicious fruit known to men." |
| A little boy sits on his dad's shoulders to get a better view |
| Robed bearers carry statues like this one through the streets |
| Good Friday in Cuenca is filled with religious processions from church to church |
| Mercado Central on Calle Largo (a main street through town) is a non-touristy place to visit |
| Here locals eat on the cheap at a huge number of vendor stalls on the second floor. We tried our first bowl of fanesca soup here. |
| A whole dress made out of Panama hats! |
| Here you can see Panama hats at various stages of construction |
| One of the best things we did in Cuenca was visit the Barranco Panama Hat Factory for a tour |
| We stayed at Villa del Rosario for $20 per night. The room included a private bath with hot showers and good wifi. Like all the basic rooms we stayed at in Ecuador, there was no heat source of any kind -- temperatures are usually mild, but if not, put on a sweater or pull up a blanket! |
| Looking across the Rio Tomebamba to Cuenca's new town |
| Cuenca has an edgy city feel to it at times, as witnessed by this extravagant graffiti on the staircase wall leading up from Rio Tomebamba |
| We walked down steep stairs to the Rio Tomebamba, the dividing point between Cuenca's old and new town |
| Every block or two you come across another church |
| At the end of the free tour we wandered through the store looking at the large variety of Panama hats for sale |
| The variety, abundance, and low cost of Ecuadorian fruit is astonishing. Bananas and apples cost as little as 5 cents each. |
| Vendors set up shop along the parade route |
| This is what the streets of Cuenca look like on a normal day with the stores open |
| Walking diagonally through Parque Calderon, you can see across the street the beautiful pink stones of the Judicial Court building |
| This is the flower market. Did you know Ecuador is a huge exporter of roses and other fresh-cut flowers to the U.S.? |
| The facade of the New Cathedral faces Parque Calderon at the heart of the historic district |
| The three giant domes are covered with Czech sky-blue tiles |
| The cobbled streets are eerily empty on Easter morning |
| Not quite Chipotle's but close! |
| The lovely blue-and-white domes of the New Cathedral have become synonymous with Cuenca and are featured on nearly every tourist brochure |
| Fanesca soup is served only at Easter time and is made with salt cod and twelve kinds of beans (for the twelve apostles!). It's a Cuenca specialty. |
We spent the week of Easter (Semana Santa) in
Cuenca enjoying fanesca soup (made only at
Easter time) and a holy procession through the
streets. This city of 500,000 felt big to us after
tiny Vilcabamba, but its historic downtown is
relatively compact and easy to navigate with its
grid-like street layout. Restaurants offer a wide
range of international cuisine in addition to
Ecuadorian "platos tipicos." The historic district
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with colonial
buildings and churches galore. Without a doubt
the most famous landmark is the New Cathedral
with its blue-and-white domes, featured on
virtually every tourist brochure for Cuenca.
Did you know Panama hats actually come from
Ecuador? When they first became popular back
in the 1900s, they were shipped via Panama so
they became known as Panama hats, but they
were always made right here. While the hats
are initially woven from plaited leaves of straw
in outlying villages, Cuenca has long been the
finishing point for Panama hat production. The
tighter the weave, the more foldable (and thus
expensive) they are. A high-quality Panama hat
can take up to 4 months to weave and may cost
$150+ while a basic one might set you back $25.
Cuenca enjoying fanesca soup (made only at
Easter time) and a holy procession through the
streets. This city of 500,000 felt big to us after
tiny Vilcabamba, but its historic downtown is
relatively compact and easy to navigate with its
grid-like street layout. Restaurants offer a wide
range of international cuisine in addition to
Ecuadorian "platos tipicos." The historic district
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with colonial
buildings and churches galore. Without a doubt
the most famous landmark is the New Cathedral
with its blue-and-white domes, featured on
virtually every tourist brochure for Cuenca.
Did you know Panama hats actually come from
Ecuador? When they first became popular back
in the 1900s, they were shipped via Panama so
they became known as Panama hats, but they
were always made right here. While the hats
are initially woven from plaited leaves of straw
in outlying villages, Cuenca has long been the
finishing point for Panama hat production. The
tighter the weave, the more foldable (and thus
expensive) they are. A high-quality Panama hat
can take up to 4 months to weave and may cost
$150+ while a basic one might set you back $25.
| Just to the left of the Judicial Building stands the Old Cathedral, built in 1557 at the founding of Cuenca |
| The courtyard garden at Villa del Rosario. Everything grows well in Ecuador, where temperatures and rain amounts are ideal for everything from roses to fruits. Cuenca sits at 2500 meters (8200 feet), which helps balance out its hot equatorial location. |
| South American models frequently sport Panama hats |
| We tried rambutan, the red spiky fruit. You break the outer layer to get to the plum-like inside. |