Montecristi, Ecuador

Ecuador is also the country where the famous Panama hats are actually made. Handmade, extra fine ´Panama´hats are made in the town of Montecrisiti, so I took a tour to see how these expensive ($75 - $600 USD) hats were made. (By the way, only foreigners who don´t know the real price of the hats pay $600. The most expensive hat that I saw only cost about $120, which is incredibly cheap considering that it takes about 9 months to weave one!)


The woman on the right has just started a hat while her friend on the left is starting to work on the brim of the hat.

Our guide , on the right, is showing what the hat looks like after several months work. The old lady beside him has been weaving Montecristi hats for 55 years and has lost all sensation in her finger tips!

Almost everyone on my bus bought a hat, but cheapies like myself, just headed to the market to look at the less expensive ($3 - $5) souvenirs.