Expat Community > Ecuador

HGQ2112
Joined 2009
Posts: 1640

Rambo 6 - The Ecuador Menace

14 years ago

"They come over here, spouting all that [bleep...bad word], they expect the whole world to start working like their [bleep...very bad word] neighborhood. Well it doesn't!" - Lewis [Character in Rambo].

Ok...so this is what it has come to...I am quoting from a Rambo movie. Some on this forum have suggested that we chuck empirical fact...in favor of just listenening to *them*... *their* perceptions...*their* stories...what *they* have heard through the ol' grapevine...about crime and danger in Ecuador. Ok...I'm in. While in about 3 weeks I will actually start a truly useful thread on our experiences here...I will use this thread to extol my personal experiences on crime, local dangers...and things that go bump in the night. If I was recently challenged to report any crime that might visit me...I thought it equally beneficial and only fair to report when crime didn't visit me.

So.....night before last, I am in Salinas, watching the Toledo v. Jose boxing title bout - for free no less. Right on the beach...my lovely wife seated next to me, our feet in the sand, Pilsners in hand, a few friends by our side...and...oh, yeah, about 1,000-1,500 complete strangers, some...many...in various states of perhaps, ummm....slight inebriation...all pushed together like farm animals, holding our own small piece of ground...to get a glimpse of the "boxeo". Folks... warning...warning... warning...this is *exactly* the kind of environment where bad things can happen. Especially, since some of the crowd came from about as far away as Guayaquil. You know...the epicenter of evil and violence on Earth. I am proud to report that a "few" beers later...my wife and I were completely unscathed. No assaults...no deft lifting of wallets...no dealing with drunken morons...nothing. At last sight of our friends that assembled with us...none of them were worse for wear, either.

Yesterday...ugh! Hate to admit it...but sat in a Gringo watering hole to watch "American football"...you know...the fake one, without the round ball...and nets. But it's the best darned Gringo watering hole [wink] and kudos to the owner for having us. There we were...sitting ducks...a bunch of gringos...gathered together...our mere presence apparently oozing "excessive wealth...come steal from me". Although my wife swears the oozing might have something to do with the night before...the beer consumption at the boxing match...etc. Anyway...in an open air environment...we ate...we drank...we watched the Denver Broncos win [yeah!]. Walked home in the pitch dark of the night. No worse for wear. No hooligan thugs...acts of thievery (except that questionable catch by Devin Hester of the Bears against Dallas)...no denizens of the night.

For now...score it: Good Guys 2, Bad Guys 0. But we'll keep reporting. We'll keep vigil. We'll be applying our personal observations in as broad a brushstroke as possible...stupid facts and statistics be darned.

HGQ
"I have certain rules I live by. My first rule: I don't believe anything the government tells me."
-- George Carlin

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Rambo 6 - The Ecuador Menace

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