As most of you already know Nicholas Crowder is the author of Culture Shock, Ecuador and has been an expat living here for many years. I think he has a very pragmatic way of looking at things, and here are a few of his thoughts, as well as his website, as was posted on another forum. I thought it might provoke some different outlooks.
Nicholas Crowder:
"I try to cover as much as possible crime and violence in Ecuador at:
http://www.ecuadortraveladvisory.com / Since September 09, I know of five deaths of foreigners. 2 in Quito, 1 Ambato, 1 Manta, 1 Guayaquil. 4 were by gun and one was a beheading. There was also another reported murder of an American Guayaquil in April. I have only been covering deaths and other safety issues since August of 09.
".....The sequestro express is a real problem for almost anyone. In fact a vice consul was a victim of the kidnap express this past year. I have posted substantial amounts of information about how to avoid these at http://www.ecuadortraveladvisory.com / The fact is the more you know about the situation the better prepared you will be to have a great time in Ecuador. There are tremendous economic problems there at the current time. Reperations of money from families in Spain have diminished which in the past has really contributed to keeping the economy going in terms of consumption. I interview hundreds of Ecuadorians a year and the situation is not good. Very few companies are doing very well and jobs are very hard to come by. This has contributed to the uptick in crime against anyone. Cell phones are always at risk of being stolen in Ecuador. "
Happy New Year to all!
Nicholas Crowder:
"I try to cover as much as possible crime and violence in Ecuador at:
http://www.ecuadortraveladvisory.com / Since September 09, I know of five deaths of foreigners. 2 in Quito, 1 Ambato, 1 Manta, 1 Guayaquil. 4 were by gun and one was a beheading. There was also another reported murder of an American Guayaquil in April. I have only been covering deaths and other safety issues since August of 09.
".....The sequestro express is a real problem for almost anyone. In fact a vice consul was a victim of the kidnap express this past year. I have posted substantial amounts of information about how to avoid these at http://www.ecuadortraveladvisory.com / The fact is the more you know about the situation the better prepared you will be to have a great time in Ecuador. There are tremendous economic problems there at the current time. Reperations of money from families in Spain have diminished which in the past has really contributed to keeping the economy going in terms of consumption. I interview hundreds of Ecuadorians a year and the situation is not good. Very few companies are doing very well and jobs are very hard to come by. This has contributed to the uptick in crime against anyone. Cell phones are always at risk of being stolen in Ecuador. "
Happy New Year to all!
