World Cruise 2013
January 11, 2013
Today we arrived at 4:30 AM in Manta, Ecuador. Manta has existed since pre-Columbian times. In the last 50 years it has grown to over 200,000 inhabitants with a booming economy in tuna fishing, tourism and chemical products ranging from cleaning supplies to oils and margarine. It is the main Sea Port for Ecuador.
At 9 AM I left on a tour called “Manta & Montecristi”. Our first stop was an archeological museum. Our next stop was at the village of El Chorillo where workers specialize in crafting with agave fiber. Our next stop was Montecristi, a colonial town founded in 1628, and the center of the Panama hat industry. These unique hats at made in Ecuador, not in Panama as the name would imply. These hats are often made by hand by stay at home women. They range from about $20 to hundreds and even thousands of dollars. The thinner the strands the more time it takes to make one and the more it costs. Our last stop was at the village of El Chorillo where carvings are made from tagua – a cream-colored nut that looks like ivory.
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at the Archaeological Museum called Museo Centro Cultural Manta |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at the Archaeological Museum called Museo Centro Cultural Manta |
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| Ecuador - Taken on my tour between Manta and El Choillo. |
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| El Chorillo, Ecuador - Taken on my tour between Manta and El Chorillo |
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| El Chorillo, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop at a craft factory using agava fiber |
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| El Chorillo, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop at a craft factory using agava fiber. This is the plant used to make the fiber |
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| El Chorillo, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop at a craft factory using agava fiber. A sample of the fiber. |
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| El Chorillo, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop at a craft factory using agava fiber. |
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| El Chorillo, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop at a craft factory using agava fiber. A sample of the finished product. |
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| El Chorillo, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop at a craft factory using agava fiber. A sample of the finished product. |
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| Ecuador - Taken on my tour on the way to Montecristi |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made. |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made. Our tour guide is holding a leaf of the plant where the fiber for the hats come from. |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made. This picture shows the fiber. |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made. Making the had. |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made. Forming the hat. |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made. Selling the hat. |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made. The finished hat. |
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| Mongecristi, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop to see how panama hats are made. The finished hat. |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop a factory that makes carvings from tagu. |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop a factory that makes carvings from tagu. Some of the finished product. |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop a factory that makes carvings from tagu. The original tagu product. |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop a factory that makes carvings from tagu . This shows the the tree on the left where the tabu comes from. |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop a factory that makes carvings from tagu. One of the steps used to make the finished product. |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour at a stop a factory that makes carvings from tagu. Some of the tabu product. |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken on my tour |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken from the ship |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken from the ship |
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| Manta, Ecuador - Taken from the ship |
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Manta, Ecuador - Taken from the ship
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