Montecristi, Ecuador

Historic train

Demonstration of authentic hat making techniques.

The genuine Panama hat has it's origins in Montecristi, Ecuador.

The hat makers generally work to weave the toquilla straw strands for up to one hour at a time before resting.

The following are additional steps to be accomplished after the hat is woven.

 The value of the hat is determined by the fineness of the fiber woven into the hat, as well as the design, the exactness of the construction, etc. It is said that the gentleman who is the premier hat maker does his work late at night, so that the fiber does not dry out as quickly. Depending on the maker, the hats can sell for between $20 and $1200, or even more.

Manta, Ecuador, is the home of the Bototagua button making factory. The buttons are made from  corozo (vegetable Ivory or Ivory nut) and from coconut. The corozo can only be found in Ecuador (and parts of Columbia) I understand.

How to Make a Coffee Bean Bag (Ecuador)

In a little village near the coffee production plant, they still make special bags to store the beans.

Small market outside the bag manufacturing area.

These vendors (as we discovered in all of South America) were very polite and unassuming.

Preliminary cutting of the large leaves used in the process.

This woman was in perpetual motion as she dragged the prepared strands over the nails to make them even finer. (This explains the blurry photograph!)

After the strands were put through the nail routine, they were brought to this room for further processing to convert the strands into twine.

View from the other end of the room.

Then the twine was loaded onto spools and transferred to another room where they were woven into cloth by a gentleman working this loom. The weaving process was particularly labor intensive.

After the man finished the weaving process, another person stitched the cloth together to form a coffee bean bag.

Next:  Visiting the makers of "Panama" hats in Miraflores, Ecuador.

Manta, Ecuador

The port of Manta, Ecuador, has easy access for large cruise ships.

It is home to a large tuna fishing fleet.

Ecuador is home to a large American expat population.

We were told the primary export is:  flowers.

(Graphic Maps.com photo)

Views of the port area

Driving into town 

Taxi queue?

Driving into the countryside

Temperature -- 21 C

Quite arid.