THEY WEAR SHORTS AND BLACK HATS

Ecuador, especially in the Andes region, has so many colorful styles of dress. In the area around Cuenca, we mostly see women wearing brightly colored velvet skirts with fancy blouses and shawls - and white straw fedoras.


The men sometimes wear hats and sometimes don't. On our trip south to Loja and Vilcabamba we saw different modes of dress. In this area, particularly in Saraguro, the men wear short black or navy blue pants and black or dark felt hats. The story is that these folks are descended from a group in Bolivia who were forced to come to Ecuador by the Incas. They continue to honor their roots with their clothing.

The women tend to wear black skirts and colorful blouses, and black hats. Everyone wears rubber boots.

Sitting on the stoop in Vilcabamba is a good place to people watch.

In Loja, we saw these men in the food court, ordering from the same window I had ordered from - and it was good fish!


The drive home (on the Pan American Highway, South) was not boring!




This lady was walking along the highway, spinning as she went.

Here's some of the stunning scenery we drank in.


I am so happy that we were able to see these new places and people. More next time on Vilcabamba and Loja - two places quite different from Cuenca.

Audrey