The Panama hat, familiar to watchers of movies, readers of books and intrepid explorers everywhere, is not really from Panama, predates colonial times and originates in a single village in Ecuador. These and many more startling facts are explored by this article, which also details the weaving of perhaps the most valuable Panama hat of all time. Click through for a fascinating read.

He’s Just Woven The World’s Finest Panama Hat. But Who Will Buy It?

We visit one of the last — and best — practitioners of this vanishing art. Like his predecessors, he lives in Ecuador, not Panama.