Day Tour to Gualaceo

Back in May we did a four city tour and Gualaceo was one of those cities. But we ran out of time and didn't get to see the orchid farm or shoe stores. That meant we needed to go back!

We organized another bus tour and ended up with almost 40 folks attending. I didn't take as many photos this time around...why? Because I forgot to charge my camera battery. Argh....

We started the day at the weavers where they make their own dye, weave their own cloth and produce the most amazing products! Here are a few pics....oh, we had a couple of special guests on our trip, as you can see in the last photo. Wanda & Brenda brought Avery who thoroughly enjoyed little Rocky who was accompanying his people parents.

From there we traveled to the orchid farm. WOW!!! I could have taken a couple dozen more photos but here are some favorites....you can see all the photos from our day here.

We also walked over a bridge over the river (Rocky didn't like the noise or the swaying), perused the gardens and saw the local tortoises and macaws. All this was after we learned how the orchids are propagated. Did you know it takes three years for one to bloom? Our final stop was the store where several purchased beautiful orchids to take home.

We then traveled to Chordeleg for lunch, the same spot we went in May and it was just as good. A stroll around town and a few more photos taken....

Our final stop was back to Gualaceo and the shoe shops. Unfortunately, unless you have small feet, it's hard to find shoes to fit. We did some walking and found this interesting church across the street from a nice park.

The highlight of the day was this little female pup - I think she would have jumped on the bus with us if anyone had been willing to adopt her.

Then we came home to these adorable pups next door to our apartment building...

Another successful outing for Cuenca Happy Bus Tours (thank you, Emilio Morocho)!

Ciao for now!

4 City Tour: Gualaceo, Chordeleg, Sigsig and San Bartolome

Since we spent so much of our first year here getting settled and not doing much sightseeing, we are trying to visit someplace new (and outside Cuenca) most months. May 29th we went on a four city tour given by our friend Emilio Morocho. He was also our guide on the March day trip involving tequila, friends and water fun!

CAUTION: Photo intensive blog! You can see all the pictures we took in our SmugMug album.

Our friend Joanne spearheaded that trip, this time around it was our turn. We managed to keep 30 people signed up and by nine am on Friday, we were headed out. Emilio decided to reverse the order of the trip so we started in San Bartolome, known for making guitars. Here are some photos from our stop at one of the shops. I bought a basket, a woven pitcher and a flat mat, all for $4.50. Oh, and two folks bought guitars while there - for under $150 each! The guitars can go up to $800!

We also took time to enjoy the friendly Basset Hound, cat and children.

Our next stop was SigSig and the Panama hat factory. Did you know that Panama hats have never been made in Panama? Nope, they are made in Ecuador and exported. Several hats were sold, some of us opting for the $5 pile for fun.

Soon it was time for lunch and we headed to Chordeleg, the town famous for sterling silver jewelry, especially the specific chandelier type of earring. We stopped first for lunch, a good almuerzo with a potato soup first, followed by rice, a few veggies and grilled chicken, topped of with juice and finished with a sweet dessert. Oh, and the hosts were kind enough to bring out a cake for the birthday of one of our group! After lunch folks shopped and walked. I bought three cute little tin plates to hang on our wall, another $12.

From there we proceeded to our last stop. We visited a weaver who works his skills the old way. All the colors come from natural ingredients, all the designs are done by tie-dying (not what you think) and then hand knotting and fingernail designing. It was amazing. Several scarves and shawls were purchased, I opted out already having enough of both.

We were supposed to visit the orchid farm last but they were closed to the public for spraying. Several had hoped to visit the leather workers but time ran out. I suspect there will be another trip just to Gualeco to see the orchids and the leather!

Ciao for now!