More Crimes In Ecuador, Or Just More Gringos NOT Taking Crime Seriously?

There seems to be more reports of
crimes throughout the country of Ecuador. Of course authorities would
love to keep its touristy image and keep the crimes all under wraps but
that’s hard to do when violent crimes are happening throughout Ecuador
on a consistent basis. 


Crimes
on the coasts of Ecuador seem to be more prevalent. Why is that? Well,
let’s find out. But first let us say this. If we do not make an effort
to stay safe while living in a third world country, we will eventually
become victims of crime as statistics say so...READ MORE!

More Crimes In Ecuador, Or Just More Gringos NOT Taking Crime Seriously?

There seems to be more reports of crimes throughout the country of Ecuador. Of course authorities would love to keep its touristy image and keep the crimes all under wraps but that’s hard to do when violent crimes are happening throughout Ecuador on a consistent basis. 


Crimes on the coasts of Ecuador seem to be more prevalent. Why is that? Well, let’s find out. But first let us say this. If we do not make an effort to stay safe while living in a third world country, we will eventually become victims of crime as statistics say so.
 

More Naïve Gringos Means More Crime


Not all gringos are naïve, only those who are careless about personal safety in a third world country. Ecuador’s gringo population is growing and perhaps many of them are first time South America travelers.  We’ve warned before that South America is not a good first time travel destination, and yet, we see more and more gringos every day on the streets of Cuenca behaving in ways that are targetable for a theft, robbery, or home invasion.


If WE notice these details, how much more will a thief whose job it is to rob foreign tourists and expats? The thief is not going to go for the people who are not sporting anything of value, or who seem to look like they can run after them, or who don’t act lost or fearful.  It’s not that gringos haven’t heard these warnings. 


One north American retired lady confessed to us that “what fun is owning jewelry, if I can’t wear it”.  Welcome to South America!
 

Salinas Ecuador Armed Robbery/Home Invasion


Let’s take the latest home invasion in Salinas for instance. Go ahead and read the article first then come back to this blog post. You can read the full article here.


Frank and I know the Milina and Italian neighborhoods very well because we walked around all over the area, we even looked at some houses for sale, we talked with owners, and we saw up-close the neighborhoods. We go into much more detail about what we think of this area in terms of living in our new Ecuador Coastal Travel Guide. You will not want to miss out on reading this book if you are thinking of visiting or moving to the coast of Ecuador.


In a nutshell the Milina neighborhood, just like the Italian neighborhood next door to it, are not anything to write home to mom about.  It is a work in progress. When we were in those neighborhoods twice in one week, we saw many young men walking around in groups with nothing to do. That for us was a dead give-away. What do these young men do all day? How come are they not helping their mother or father in the family shop, working at a job, or on their computer, or whatever?



Okay, but that’s still really not why the British couple got robbed. Here’s why.



So…you are a gringo from the UK and you move into your new home, being probably the only foreigner in the neighborhood. So everyone in Salinas knows the new British couple lives over there in that house. You know why? You are the talk of the neighborhood, that’s why? Not to scare anyone but until the tittle-tattle that "the gringos live in that house over there" dies down, you'll be the talk of the neighborhood. 


What happens next is why they got robbed.


The gringo couple become lax and leaves their gate unlocked, because how else could the gun-wielding robbers push a steel gate in as the article states? So the gate was not locked…there is no way two men can push in a steel gate, unless it was unlocked. Ummmmm.


And…they got robbed. Now it was probably not the first time they left their gate unlocked and the young men walking around, neighbors walking by, whoever saw this relaxed attitude about security took advantage.  This is all it takes to become a victim in Ecuador…an unlocked gate.


Curiously, the article states how the couple has NOW decided to ramp up security in the home after this armed robbery. We’ve read this before, people ramping up security only AFTER an assault.  This shows a lack of awareness.   But what if his wife would have been shot and killed. What if they would have raped her…remember they had guns.


UPDATE - 2-Weeks after the first armed robbery: The same British couple were robbed again by three assailaints with guns. According to the article they jumped over the fence and the husband was knocked on the head by a gun, and they were robbed.


What does this second armed robbery in the span of two weeks say? It says this UK couple has unfortunately been marked by the bad apples as an "easy" target...



You can read the developing story here.


American Couple Assaulted in Broad Daylight in a Popular Park


It is curious how some people wait until something bad happens to them to change or improve themselves and their surroundings. Rather than change for the new environment and culture, and blend in and practice the security measures posted on popular blogs and written in popular books they remain stubborn and lax with their personal security. 



Unfortunately most websites minimize crime, or just give a hodge podge of information that leaves out some important detail because, well, they don’t live on a local level.


Take the expat couple who very recently were enjoying a leisurely walk by Parque Calderon in Cuenca Ecuador.  Read the full story here and then come back to this blog post. 



Some bloggers do give good warnings, yet it is easy for something to slip through the cracks when just reading around all over the internet.  A solution is to have a comprehensive list of do’s and don’ts  in one place, which is what we do in the DIY Cuenca Landing Guide and which is what we are now doing in the DIY Quito Landing Guide!



in Ecuador you can be assaulted in broad daylight for seemingly normal every day things! It does not matter that the park has police; it helps but it does not totally deter crime because, the perpetrators know that they will not spend any real amount of time in Jail due to lax criminal laws, besides they see older expats walking slowly, perhaps limping, acting lost or fearful...



...they see expensive clothing, purses, cell phones, jewelry and it becomes inevitable that at some point as long as the couple remains lax to their surroundings they will be targeted. It’s not too hard to understand.


Do We Feel Less Safe because there Seems to be More Crime in Ecuador?


Absolutely not! Do you know why? Because we actually follow all of our security guidelines listed in our DIY Cuenca Landing Guide and blog. We have never felt unsafe in Cuenca, Quito or the coast. Frank and I recently traveled the entire coast of Ecuador and then Quito, integrating into the culture and blending in as much as possible and never once felt threatened.


Taxi Assaults, Robberies, and Killings




Sadly, a man from Japan got himself shot and killed because he was too determined to get him and his wife a taxi rather than go in the one the hotel offered to call for him. We do not know why the Japanese tourist chose to hail down a taxi right off the street that one evening, but they did and it resulted in his death.


You wonder, did they not read all over the Internet that hailing taxis off the street is dangerous and could result in robbery, assaults, rapes, and killings in the larger cities? Apparently not. Perhaps they could not read English and didn’t know that getting into any taxi in Guayaquil is dangerous.
 

Why People Don’t Practice What They Read
 

We have this lax attitude that “it won’t happen to me”, however, it will happen to me, if I allow myself to be a target of crime through my own vulnerability and naivety. We’ve heard of people who have been repeated victims of crime. Maybe they think it won’t happen to them a second or third time.
 

For some of us, we do not heed the warnings because we are too stubborn and haughty. Therefore we do not practice what is advocated to us by others, even if that means our personal safety and well-being.
 

We want to be in control of our lives through how we see fit, not how others say we should live. We do not want to change to our new environment, blend in, learn Spanish, or anything that takes us out of our dream world and that is the problem.
 

***The problem with crime in Ecuador is not that there is more of it; the problem is there are more naive gringos moving here making themselves be the victims of crime. ***


Don’t let all the recent reports of assaults, shooting, kidnappings, and robberies stop you from coming to Ecuador, just make sure that you follow all the safety guidelines we have written in the DIY Cuenca Landing Guide, on our blog, and in our up and coming DIY Quito Landing Guide! 


Here is proof that no matter who you are and how savvy you think you are, crime is just around the corner if we let our guard off.  So then, don’t you want to make sure you know all the ins and outs on crime in Ecuador or any third world country for that matter.


Nothing has changed in Ecuador, there is still crime.

What is Cuenca Ecuador Like in the Summer, January 2014?

It's time to put together our end of the month video clips. It's been a wonderful starting to the new year. It's mid summer in Cuenca right now, which means nice sunny mornings (usually) and afternoon thundershowers (usually). This is the Andes so you never know what is going to happen with the weather.



              

We're Traveling the Ecuador Coast - Welcome to Manta!

We didn't think we'd like Manta but actually Manta turned out to be a pleasant surprise. We talk more about Manta (and 19 other towns on the Ecuador coast) in our new coastal guide book coming out soon. In the guide we help you get oriented with Manta and help you find a decent and frugal place to stay. There's no reason to spend thousands of dollars getting acquainted with the coast of Ecuador. Let us show you what we did and how we saved money doing-it-ourselves.

                

Directors Cut, Video Clips Taken in Puerto Lopez Ecuador!

After one month of living in Puerto Lopez, doing research for the new coastal guide (coming soon) we decided it was time to move on. Every day we traveled by bus to other parts of the coast, namely Mantanita and Puerto Cayo to study these beach areas for the guide, and we made Puerto Lopez our home base. These are some short video clips taken during our stay in Pto Lopez that I just put together to bring you more of the real deal of Puerto Lopez.

                  

Look at All the Food We Got for $20 Shopping at Feria Libre in Cuenca Ecuador!

Have food prices risen in Cuenca? We are asked this question from time to time and so we decided to do another video on food prices, and this video is 2-1/2 years later. At the end of the video there is a comparison video you can watch of when we first moved here. You can still get a lot of fruits and veggies for $20 bucks in Cuenca Ecuador!

                    

The Real Puerto Lopez That Nobody Talks About

The central and the north sections of the beach in Puerto Lopez are fabulous!! Probably the best beach on the whole coast, but the south-end beach, the boardwalk, and the city itself...well...it needs some work!

                       

El Ejido Parque Located in La Mariscal in Quito Ecuador!

We like Ejido Park. It is located right in the heart of La Mariscal and is surrounded by three main avenues which has grocery stores, cafe's, bakeries, restaurants, mom and pop shops, banks, fast food, etc. Ejido Park is usually busy with people milling about doing their daily activities. There were a lot more police in the park on our latest visit, which is a good thing for the touristy sector of Quito.
               

Nectar Vegetarian Restaurant - If You're Really Hungry You Might Want to Go Somewhere Else!

We've eaten at Nectar three times now and the one time we felt they served enough food was when we had the $3 Almuerzo and even then it seemed to be a skimpy almuerzo. We just want to let our readers know. It wasn't just one time we ate here; its been three times now. So... if you're really hungry than eating from the menu will not satisfy your appetite.  If you are hungry we recommend eating somewhere else. However, if you eat like a bird, Nectar might be okay.



The food in Nectar is fresh and prepared simply. The food tastes good for the most part.  If they would serve more food we would most-likely give them a better review.  But seriously now if you eat a lot like we do, these skimpy dishes off the menu just will not do. 

                 

We Just Arrived to Bahia de Caraquez, a Picturesque Coastal Town in Ecuador!

We're back in picturesque Bahia de Caraquez.  Bahia is probably the cleanest coastal town on the Ecuador coast. The people are friendly and you can still find a $2.50 to $3.00 almuerzo here. The walking is good here, if you like to walk.  You can walk along the boardwalk which you see in the video as we are coming in and you can walk along the bay to the ocean side on the sand; both walks are wonderful and full of coastal beauty as you'll see in our upcoming video!

               

Natural Medicine for Disease and Pain -- Palo Santo (Holy Wood) Grown in Ecuador

When we were in Puerto Lopez a local took us for a hike along a winding path and up a hill where hidden away in its own little oasis is a little shop where they extract and make a healing oil called Palo Santo.

                   

Please Throw Toilet Paper in the Toilet! Modern Bathrooms in Quito!

I just had to take a snapshot of this photo and post it on the Cuenca blog. I normally do not post our Quito videos on our Cuenca blog but I made an exception this one time! 



In most Quito restrooms they want you to throw the TP in the toilet!! Quito is very modernized with great infrastructure. The Internet is fast and efficient here and the power has never gone out, at least while we were here. 

                

We really do not feel we are in a developing city when we are in North Quito. It almost reminds us of being in Portland, Oregon. Quito is a big city with all the modern amenities we have always enjoyed in the states. Some of these new bathroom gadgets are things we've never seen in the US before. In fact, hand dryers in the US never seemed to really work; these ones in Quito sure do. 

La Quinua Vegetarian Restaurant - This Is a GREAT Find - Almuerzo $2.50!

A friend told us about this restaurant and we couldn't be happier! The $2.50 almuerzo was nutritious and very tasty. The juice was not sugar-laden, which was a real plus, and..they serve brown rice!! Of course they also serve tasty dishes made with the traditional Ecuadorian grain, Quinoa, which is very nutritious and has more protein than some meats.



We are so happy to find out about this new vegetarian restaurant. They serve up quite a bit of food for their almuerzo and you can order off the menu if you like. Nothing is over $6. They serve pasta, pizza, salads, and other great foods all prepared fresh. We're happy to share LA QUINUA and will be adding this new restaurant find to our free restaurant guide!