I really have enjoyed Cuenca. Since I was here back in March, I know my way around, and that is always great!
Started my morning at Coffee Tree for Coffee and Breakfast. Yummy 
It is always great to meet up with other travelers and here their stories. Met Paul a retired teacher from the UK, and had a great chat!! then Agra (?) and Ruth from Canada who are living in Cuenca for a couple months while they try to secure some jobs overseas in the Mideast. Love it! 
great to meet you Paul, Agra & Ruth! 
As I travel, I love to be aware of life around me. Architecture is always interesting….
And where and how they sell things. Motos for sale along with Electronics, dishwashers, TV’s etc.
The main part of Cuenca has a cool church. Love the blue domes
flower Shop on the way home reminds me of my friends back home :ladybug!
I stayed at the Alternative Hostel.
Xavier and Juan are great guys. $10 USD a night
Then off to a factory tour where they make the Panama hat that I bought in Quito before I flew home. I do not buy many things on the road, as I have no room, and shipping is expensive.
The hats are woven out in the region and then delivered like this to the factory who labels and finishes them.
They wash and bleach them white.
They form them into many different styles and add straps, or flowers to them.
Aluminum Molds under heat and pressure create the shapes….
Always great to see how things get produced. These hats are amazing. Cheap ones go for $15.00USd but the fine weave hats go for $300-400. But they are really only meant for non rainy climates or they lose there shape. Guess mine will be more of a decoration. 
Had all my gear repacked up and ready for the next day riding into Peru. It is a bit of a long story, but I had tried to get my Moto import paperwork extended while I was back in the US and India. But the central Aduana office said. NO. So as I talked to many people in Ecuador and Colombia I found out many people just “modify” the paperwork and it works. I am not used to this kind of thinking and it started bugging me as I returned to Ecuador and was thinking about my exit from Ecuador……
So it gave me a few restless nights as the day arrived that I would be leaving Ecuador and required to turn in my Moto paperwork at the border………
To be continued………
