Ecuador Living

Dear Gary and Merri

I was gobsmacked (I bet you haven’t heard that expression for a
while) when I read the comments (reproduced below in itallics) on
this so-called expert on Ecuador. I
suppose it takes all kinds of ignorant gits to make up the world but
this idiot takes the cake. Thank god you had the sense to publish his
absurd statements and correctly refute them. However I must point out
that the Esmeraldas areas like Sua (lovely name but doesn’t smell
like one fortunatley)et al are quite safe and that I have heard from
various Ecuadorian friends and family that some of the beaches and
other areas in Manta are not safe and quite a few people have been
held up and robbed at knifepoint on some beaches in broad daylight. I
might add that a few of them had this happen when they had their
young children with them. It might be a good idea to let your readers
know of this also. I didn’t feel all that safe when I visited a
popular nightspot there years ago as a violent fight broke out as we
were all leaving and It was not nice.

However experience living in downtown Redfern in Sydney NSW
Australia has made me rather streetwise and wary when out and about
anywhere which is not a bad thing really.

Actually Ecuador is the longest democracy with regard to not having a
military government the longest of any country in South America. All
the others have been taken over by the military well after Ecuador
has kept elected governments. Ecuador might have had more President
than hot dinners but they have not been military ones (unlike Chile
for example with Pinochet) so this ignoramus was way off track – I
hope to god he wasn’t and ignorant Aussie but I suspect he was one of
your fellow countymen unfortunately.

Julie Campbell

“Gary, Actually Colombia is the oldest democracy in Latin American. Ecuador
is not even a democracy. Where did you come up with that? Rafael Correa is
a leftist and a Chavez stooge. He is not for free markets nor for private
property. USA is a much safer place to invest. Surprising that you would
even like somebody like that. The Ecuadoreans with any money are moving
their money out of the country. Maybe next time you’re in Ecuador, learn
some Ecuadorean history. Crime is indeed a serious problem in Ecuador.
Guayaquil, Quito and Esmeraldas are not safe places to be. It’s obvious
that you’ve never been to the cities. I have. Of all the wonderful places
in the world, why do you have such a love affair with Ecuador? Aside from
being ‘cheap’ what else does it have going for it? You just like it
because you’re a cheap kind of guy?”