Panama Hats, Colonial Heritage, Andean Culture, the U.S. dollar: Tastes of an Ecuadorian City
April 27th, 2010 No Comments »
Author: Nadine Godwin
Ecuador’s Cuenca, a city of 300,000, sits in what passes for a valley in the Andes: It is 8,200 feet above sea level and flanked by still higher mountains.It carries the legacy of Spanish occupation in its lovely Old Town, now a Unesco World Heritage Site.And it is renowned as the home of the Panama hat yes, the Panama hat.
Tourism centers on the Old Town, of course, and the starting point for sightseers must be the central Plaza Calderon, which underwent a six-month restoration, completed in 2002.