Skipping through Sigsig and Chordeleg

Two days before leaving Cuenca, we took a bus to Sigsig and Chordeleg, along with los Canadienses, Dave and Terrie. The bus was crowded with people standing in the aisle and, as we went past police stationed alongside the road, everyone standing was instructed to duck down to avoid the gaze of the police. After almost two hours, we arrived in the town of Sigsig and immediately los Canadienses commenced their search for Panama/Ecuadorian hats, which are worn by many of the indigenous people in the area. We were given three different instructions by five different people on how to find the famous hat shop. We figured the two that correlated were our best bet and to ditch the bum steers.

After a few purchases by los Canadienses in Sigsig, we headed to Chordeleg, renown for its silver and gold jewellery. And it wasn't difficult to see that silver and gold were the main commercial activity of the area with the town overrun by jewellery shops to the point it was difficult to see anything but jewellery. If the Spanish were still looking for more Incan silver and gold to steal they needn't look further than Chordeleg.

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