Like most baldy men I have a weakness for smart hats and I recently develop a passion for the panama. The white summer trilby beloved by the old guard of the Lords Cricket Club is design classic. It’s effortlessly elegant - try picturing Robert Redford playing the Great Gatsby wearing a baseball cap. It’s terribly practical – keeps your crown cool and protected from UV rays in the mad-dog midday sun. Plus it’s a hat with a fine pedigree, worn by many of the great movers and shakers from Napoleon to Churchill and Khrushchev through to super cool Johnny Depp.
So where do these stylish hats come from? Give yourself nul points and pay more attention if you thought it was Panama. As any pub quiz aficionado knows the famous hat is a product of Ecuador. I did more research and discovered that; the panama comes in all sorts of shapes and styles with evocative names like plantation, aficionado and borsalino. That some of the extra fine panamas take six months to make and sell for thousands of pounds and that a version of the classic hat is still wore by indigenous women of the Andes. My hat passion was now at fever pitch and the idea of a travelling to a small South America country that straddles the Equator in search of perfect panama was difficult to resist.
I approached a company called Last Frontiers who specialize in tailor-made trips to Latin America. They were ready, willing and able to help with my hat tour. We started by discussing their sample itineraries for Ecuador and then homed in on the best regions for my quest. Although they were not headgear experts they offered plenty advice about places to stay, getting around and contacted their guide in Quito for suggestion on where to buy the best panamas. They then prepared a personalized itinerary, booked my flights and gave me a individual price for my adventure. And the great thing was that it still felt like an adventure as Last Frontier’s philosophy is to help with pre-trip planning but leave the traveller to discover the country for themselves. After a week in Ecuador flying into Quito on to Cuenca and then down to Guayaquil and endless hat chat with expert makers this is what I discovered.
There are two distinct centres of excellence for panama hats in Ecuador, one on the Pacific coastline and the other high up in the Andes. The towns of Montecristo and the splendidly named Jipjapa, close to the coastal resort of Manta are where the art of making palm hats originated. Here you can see the palm growing in its natural habitat and find a handful of weavers who still produce the legendary superfino Montecristos – The finest grade of panamas that can carry diamond-ring price tags and take up to six months of skilled weaving to produce.
In contrast, the Andean mountain city of Cuenca and it’s surrounding villages concentrate on quantity, with a thriving cottage industry producing a stockpile of sombreros de paja toquilla. The handmade hats may not be quite as refined as the rare montecristos but the scale of the output means that there is more choice for the visitor and guaranteed regular work for the weavers. if you want to see a living craft where weavers proudly wear their own creations then Cuenca is the place to go
The key to the classic hat’s appeal is that is made from one of nature’s miracle materials - the toquilla palm. Thin strips of the palm are woven together in an tight circular pattern to create a fabric that’s as soft and light as linen, robust enough to roll and dense enough to shield you from the tropical sun. The unsung (and often underpaid) heroines of the hat story are the women weavers who practise this skill. They are called toquilleras and many of them live in the rural villages surrounding Cuenca. To meet these skilled artisans and support a successful fair trade initiative you should travel to remote Sigsig, 65km south west of Cuenca. There you will find the headquarters and shop for ATMA, the largest association of toquilleras in the area and the only one that commands the whole process from weaving to export. They produce a great range of hats from their classic panamas - as featured in the latest Harry Potter movie to jazzy two-tone fedoras. ATMA keep huge stocks of panamas so you can match any style with any hatband you fancy. Adjustments are made on site or even new designs and unusual sizes can be woven specially.
ATMA Antiguo Hospital Via Chiguinda Gualaquiza y Rio Sigsig Telephone 00 593 72 266377 or 266014 www.panamahatecuador.com For a full tour and demonstration contact the centre before you visit and be sure to buy something when you are there.
There are several great hat shops worth visiting in Cuenca but most agree that Homero Ortega’s family business is the best. Their factory and shop is opposite the main bus depot in an unpromising part of new Cuenca - don’t be deterred by their nondescript building because inside is hat heaven with an Aladdin’s cave of superb sombrero de paja toquilla. Visitors are welcome and free to wander through the factory to see the various finishing techniques and there is a small display explaining production from palm to weave. You can buy and try your hat at their formal showroom or better still hunt through their storeroom where there are thousands of hat styles shapes and sizes to choose from. Standard panamas are real bargains costing between $8 to $20 while the stocked superfinos rise steadily in price from $40 to $600 depending upon quality.
Homero Oretga P. and Sons telephone 593-780 9000 Avenue Gil Ramirez Davalos 3-86 www.homerortega.com. Phone ahead if you are not travelling with a guide.
The quality of a panama is traditionally judged by the number of stitches there are in an inch of the woven hat material. The finer the individual strands of paja toquilla the finer weave and the more hours of weaving involved. So for a quick assessment hold the hat up to the sun and see how much light comes through - the tighter and finer the weave, the less pin pricks of light the better the quality, the higher the price and the greater protection for your head. Fifteen strands per inch is regular weave, eighteen is a good quality and twenty five or more and you have serious piece of craftsmanship in your hands. Always check for an even circular crown and brim with good finishing - i.e. no stray strands or heavy knots and avoid brittle toquilla palm.
Once you’ve bought a classic hat you need to look after it. Here are a few tips:
A good quality hat can be washed with a little shampoo, dried in the sun and then reshaped with a steam iron and damp cloth. For a quick fix hang your hat up above your hotel shower and let the steam do the work for you.
Rolling up your panama hat for travelling is a neat trick but one that shouldn’t be over used - most Ecuadorians wouldn’t dream of twisting up their prized sombrero. Ortega provide excellent hat boxes thatare much better than the traditional balsa wood boxes as they don’t involve rolling. . If really do need to roll you hat then buy one with pre steamed fold down the centre, appropriately called the Colonial or sometimes the Optimo. Don’t treat the peak of your hat like a trilby as it will break the palm and you will get much more wear from you hat if you flip it off and on using the brim
There is a lot to discover in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Cuenca as well hatmakers. The old colonial city is traditionally a centre for arts and handicraft. Look out for artisan shops selling excellent religious paintings, guitars, pottery, tiles and intricate embroidery. If you are traveling to the weaving centre at Sigsig be sure to visit the attractive nearby town of Chordeleg that is known for its silversmiths and high quality handmade jewellery.
Guayaquil the commercial hub of Ecuador is much under rated as a tourist destination but its tropical atmosphere provides a welcome contrast to the chilly towns of the Andes.. The old district of Las Peñas and the new Malecón 2000 (promenade) are best for nightlife but the headgear is strictly baseball caps without a panama in sight.
FOUR out of FIVE --- Superb, grassroot craftsmanship set against the dramatic backdrop of the Andes..
Last Frontiers tel.01296 653000 www.lastfrontiers.com offer tailor-made holidays to Latin America that include flights, transport on the ground and accommodation.
For the less adventurous traveller the ground handler Klein Tourswww.kleintours.com offer an excellent service, good guides and set tours of Cuenca and Montecristo
Where to stayOld Cuenca has plenty of good small hotels and hostals to choose from. Hostal Macondo (Tarquil 11-24 y Mariscal Larnar) is recommended and has a few colonial bedrooms in the original building and modern rooms set around gardens at the back
The armchair travellerFor a wealth of information about panama hats try www.brentblack.com.
Hats from the ATMA co-operative can be ordered from Pachacuti a fairtrade organisation based in Derbyshire, www.panamas.co.uk/
Johnny Morris bespoke hat tour was hosted by the Ecuador tourist board www.ecuadortouristboard.com