Feb 12 - Ecuador

Sam wanted to show you where he sleeps. It is hot in South America. It is summer down here when it is winter at home. To stay fresh, Sam sleeps in his “sleeping bag” in the ice bucket in the cabin.

 

Sam woke up around 1:30a.m. this morning to document the ship going across the equator. All the numbers for latitude on the screen are at zero (0). He is now in the southern hemisphere.

One of the places that Sam visited today in Ecuador is Montechristi. This is the home of the Panama Hat. The hat became very popular when the Panama Canal was being built. When the people from Ecuador went to help with the canal, they wore the hats made in their country. Other workers and people at the canal liked the hats and wanted to buy them. So the hats are originally from Ecuador, but they are named after another country. This lady is one that makes the hats, all by hand. It is hard work and takes a long time to complete each hat. Grandpa bought a hat.  Sam also sat in a hat tree with a variety of Panama Hats.

Next Sam went to a factory that made buttons and other decorative items from the nut of the tagua palm tree that grows in Ecuador.  Once the nut is ready for processing, it is sliced into 4-5 pieces. Each piece is individually put into a hole cutter. Then the button pieces are sorted, by hand for color, flaws, etc. Sam met Nicole at one of the stands that was selling other items made from the nuts.

 

The last stop in Ecuador was in the town of El Chorillo. Here a family used the leaves of the agave plant to make fiber to be woven and sewn into bags to ship the coffee that is produced in Ecuador. Even though there were machines used in this process, it was very hard work. Sam wanted to share a picture of the agave plant. You may have seen one before.