One of the first concerns Merri and I wanted to address on arrival here (in Ecuador) was security. Demonstrations had started again which we knew would help economic opportunities remain a little longer. But we wondered, would there be a price to pay in reduced safety.

The press magnify events to such an extent I rarely believe what I read.

Gary, 	 	The strikes are over and the country has resumed its normal peaceful state.  	Agreements were reached between the Noboa government and the leaders of the  	Indigeneous people and Ecuador has returned to its usual state of calm.  	Interestingly enough, even during the worst of the strikes, one had to look hard  	to find the trouble areas! 	 	One of the frequently asked questions by you, our IL readers, is about the state  	of security. Once again, I am pleased to re-iterate that I feel that Ecuador is  	a safe place to both visit and live. Sometimes, when talking to the locals I  	often hear about how different and now un-safe they consider Ecuador to be.  	However, upon questioning them further, this is usually confined to now having  	to lock their doors to their houses and having to install alarms on their cars!  	 	A recent guest of mine managed to leave his coat, complete with wallet  	(containing a healthy sum of cash), keys, and passport on a chair at Burger King  	in the Qui-Centro shopping centre. He discovered his mistake whilst getting  	intoa taxi about 20 minutes later. He rushed back up three floors of the busy  	shopping centre really expecting the coat and its contents to be gone. He found  	that the employees had put it aside for him and were pleased to return it with  	all contents intact. His panic was real, for just one month earlier he had  	managed to leave his coat, wallet, credit cards and driver's license locked in  	his car in his home town of Scottsdale, Arizona. He returned within ten minutes  	to find all had vanished, including nearly $600.00 cash. 	 	On a personal note, I managed to leave a box of medicine in a taxi the other  	day. This was not a taxi I normally take and I did not know the driver. Several  	days later, the box of medicine appears on my doorstep, the taxi driver had  	searched for days until he found someone who knew me so the medicine could be  	returned! 	 	Perhaps these are exceptions to the rule, but for me they have been the rule.  	Many years ago when I first started my career, a senior diplomat advised me that  	if we look for the "Prince" in the man, that is what we will usually find! For  	25 years I have tried hard to follow this example and most of the time it has  	become the norm. That is not to say that there aren't many places in the world  	where I have been stationed that I did not keep a constant survellance over my  	shoulder! And that is not to say that there are not parts of Ecuador that one  	should stay away from... but all in all, I feel safer and more secure here in  	Quito than I have in most of the world's capital cities. 	 	We believe that we have located an excellent property south of Manta, has about  	15 hectares (approx. 37 acres) and nearly 1,200 feet of beachfront. I went two  	weekends ago to see the property and it is a nice location. I didn't feel that  	the beach is quite as beautiful as some that I have seen (however, I am not a  	beach expert!) but it is certainly passable. The best part of the property is  	its price, which is expected to be about $1,000 a hectare. (A hectare is  	approximately 2.47 acres). I do not have a full legal report back on the  	property and until the same is received, I can not fully reccommend it. However,  	the source disclosing the property has proven himself to be reliable time after  	time, so I believe that it will check out. Please let me know if this might be  	of interest to you. 	 	Although I have seen a noticable increase in the asking prices of properties, I  	have not noticed a substantial rise in the actual closing prices. We are seeing  	a renewed interest in properties, however and I suspect that actual prices may  	increase as well.We are seeing a steady rise in other sectors, such as  	groceries, fuel, etc. so I feel that we will probably see some similar  	adjustments in the real estate markets. I feel that it is a good time to buy.  	 	I also understand that the airline Lan Chile is opening a direct flight from  	Miami to Quito. This should help considerably with the cost of a round trip  	ticket. I'll try to report more on that next week as I get the facts. Now is an  	excellent time to visit us, the weather has definitely been something to "write  	home about!" The days here in Quito have been in the high 80's and the nights  	have been in the mid to high 50's. We've had just enough rain to keep us as  	green as Ireland, but not enough to be a bother. 	 	Remember, the latch string is always out and we look forward to seeing you soon!

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