The main square is centered around Parque Calderon. This is where the Catedral Nueva (New Church) and Catedral Vieja (Old Church) are located. The old church was built in the 1500's, then the new church was built in the 1800's when the old one got to small to serve the people. We didn't take many pictures of the old church because we spent so much time admiring the new church! It really is massive and impressive. The designer of the church intended the bell towers to be much taller, but they couldn't be built according to plans because then they would have been too heavy for the foundation to support!
Inside of the New Church.
Blue domes of the New Church.
San Sebastian Church.
Santo Domingo Church. We stayed across the street from this one night. It was beautiful all lit up.
A cute colonial street. We loved all the balconies on the buildings. This part of town had a very European feel to it.
Cuenca is where Panama Hats originate from. Yes, Panama hats are not actually from Panama! They got the name because they would be shipped from Ecuador through Panama first before being shipped throughout the world. Ecuador tries hard to keep their country's name associated with the Panama hats.
We went to a Panama hat museum/factory/store. We learned that they are woven out of dried leaves of the toquilla straw plant. Today, a genuine Panama hat is still hand-woven by villagers living near the coast where the plants grow, then the unfinished hats are sent to Quito where they are trimmed, pressed, shaped, given their final touches, and then sold or shipped. The tighter the weave is, the higher the quality as well as the price. A really fine hats takes 4 months to weave! They can carry water and food without problem, and they can also be tightly rolled up for transport without a single crease once unrolled!
These women are wearing the typical dress of the indigineous people of Cuenca. Notice the woman in the middle is wearing a Panama hat.
These are part of the ruins of Pumapungo, right in the middle of Cuenca. Many artifacts were excavated here and are displayed in the Museo del Banco Central, located right next door.
An alpaca (similar to a llama) at the Pumapungo archeological park.
Josh and Owen enjoying themselves in the garden at one of the places we stayed.
5 comments:
How fun! The Santo Domingo Church is amazing!
Did you get yourself some hats to take home? What a fun outing! That alpaca reminds me of the movie Emperor's New Groove.
Andrea- yes, I did get a hat there. But not those typical looking hats. Mine is actually crocheted rather than woven, and it's a cuter, more feminine hat. :)
Well, I just learned about Panama hats. And it sounds to me like those hats are quite similar to Jody dresses. The first winter of my mission, my two Jody dresses were crammed into my suitcase for a good five months, and when I finally pulled them out again--not a crease! Love 'em.
melanie, looks like SO much fun!
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