Day 12 (1/12/20):
This morning we drove from Saraguro to Cuenca. We started our day in Cuenca with a tour of the Panama Hat Factory. The name Panama Hat seems misleading but the hat got its name when the hats were exported to Panama, and Teddy Roosevelt made the hat famous. The Panama had is made from palm that is found on Ecuador’s coast, it is not farmed but grows naturally. The process of weaving hats out of palm started on the coast in Ecuador. A visitor to the coast from Cuenca brought people from the coast to teach the people in the city the process. People make the hats in their own home weaving them using a mold for the crown and special stitching to begin the brim section. Weavers live in the countryside and bring the hats to the factory unfinished each Monday. At the factory the hats are inspected and finished. In the past, the weavers used to iron the hats in their homes but now they are steamed in the factory very quickly. Rainwater is collected at the factory to use for steaming. The hats are also washed and bleached in the factory. At the factory we visited about 3,500 hats are produced a day. A Panama hat can cost between $30 - $2,500, some hats require 3 months of labor to produce.
After visiting the Panama hat factory we drove through Cuenca. The city has a large Catholic population. We visited on a Sunday which is viewed as a day for relaxing; people spend time with their grandmother on this day and businesses close early. A large portion of Cuenca is in a valley, the city is divided into two levels. The boulevard in the middle of the city used to be the Incan trail. There are some Incan remains in Cuenca like the old farming terraces however when the conquistadors came many of these remains were used for new construction. All houses in older sections of the city have columns because people used to tie their horses up to them in the past before cars. While Cuenca is very interesting with some beautiful old structures like the Cathedral in the middle of town, there is a significant pollution problem. The valley location traps pollution and gases increasing the temperature in the region and causes respiratory health issues. In addition to these issues in the valley, in hillside regions increased construction and implementation of septic tanks and roads as communities develop causes unstable conditions like mudslides. Diego noted that Cuenca is a small city that can easily be navigated by bike. Although there are a lot of bike lanes people don’t respect this and park in the lanes, the lanes often go unused. An electric tram is being constructed for use within the city to reduce pollution and replace bus services. Hopefully this electric tram is the start of a new environmental awareness movement for the city. During our tour of the city we stopped at a ceramic shop and marketplace. The shop that we went into at the marketplace looked like its target market was the tourist population. As a tourist, I admit to enjoying what the shop offered, especially my new alpaca fur sweater. We also made a stop in a produce store at the marketplace. This produce store had a much larger variety of produce than any store I’ve been to in the U.S. and had many fruits I couldn't name. I got to try a red colored banana! Later in the day we attended a discussion by Diego’s friend Paul Wilches. Paul is originally from Ecuador and used to work as a tour guide. However, he switched to working for the expat community when he saw a new job opportunity due to the sudden increase of expats moving to Cuenca in 2009. Paul explained the increase of expats in 2009 occured because in 2007-2008, International Living, the magazine wrote about places to retire and for a few years in a row Cuenca was listed as one of the top cities in Latin America to retire to. Many factors were involved to rate Cuenca as this including the size, safety rating, and lack of poverty. Paul noted that people begging for money in Cuenca are actually from Venezuela which is a social issue the city is facing. In Cuenca, a large amount of people speak English which is unique and makes it desirable for those who want to retire here (especially those who don’t have a desire to learn Spanish). Cuenca also has the top medical programs in the country with very qualified professionals and a lot of them also speak English which makes expats comfortable. Paul mentioned that Ecuador is a popular destination for “medical tourists” because of the cost and reputation of the healthcare, (ex. the top doctor in Ecuador charges $50 for an appointment). Since Paul was working in the tourism industry he already had a connection to the expat community. In 2009 he started his own business called Opened “Relocation Services of Ecuador”. His company helps expats with the process of relocating to Ecuador. This mainly includes providing large shipping containers. The company brings the container to the customers location outside of Ecuador and takes care of the whole shipping process including customs. Paul said that he usually deals with 5-6 containers per month (5-6 families). A 20 ft container from the US to Cuenca is about 7,500 & 40 ft container is only 600-1,200 more, the size affects price but distance from the location to a port is the most costly issue. Paul mentioned that the expat community is mostly individuals who are from America followed by Canadians, and then residents from Spain. In earlier years most expats came to Ecuador to retire but now younger people are coming to Cuenca to start a business. We asked Paul about the impacts that the expat community has had in Cuenca. It was not surprising to learn that the introduction of expats has affected local businesses. Over the past 10 years Cuenca has started to change by opening restaurants that cater to a more western diet and opening “handyman” businesses. Cuenca has about 7,000 expats and this population goes out to eat a lot and spends more money than a typical Ecuadorian citizen. Businesses in Cuenca have been able to stay open on the weekends since the expat population brings in additional profits. American products can be found in Cuenca but they are more expensive due to taxes and duties that protect Ecuadorian products. Paul also mentioned that since people know that the expat population has more money, the cost for some things such as rent have increased in the city which hurts Ecuadorian citizens. It was really interesting to hear about the expat population from an Ecuadorian citizens perspective after hearing about expats from a U.S. retiree. I am not sure that I would ever be brave enough to retire to Ecuador but Cuenca certainly seems like a great city for those who desire to do so. |