Important Corrections: As I clearly stated in the beginning of the video, I was sharing my experience as it happened. All of the things I shared, I shared from people I personally know. We saw loads of police and the city clearly shut down. That happened. As we've further learned today, there was no official announcement regarding gunfire in Central Ibarra and while security at the airports was increased, they were not shut down. Though we did see OFFICIALLY released news today that US Airlines has canceled flights to Ecuador. I have no idea why people start rumors of things that aren't true to create panic. Thankfully, things calmed considerably today. Now, onto the lovely email we received from someone who calls themselves "Apiwas." I would assign them the proper pronoun, but as you can see, it's quite anonymous....which is quite funny and super basic, BTW. As for your "you've already pissed people off" with your commentary-It's easier to piss people off than it is to breathe. And, for so many people such as yourself, it comes more naturally to be pissed off than to breathe. Onto, "We arrived like typical RU-vid big deals." First...🤣We have 2K subscribers, we clearly know that we are not big deals. We are more self-aware than you may figure. You made more false statements about us and our channel and our motivations than we made in this video. Pretty ironic don't you think? In one question you ask if we know about the high crime areas of town and the repeat pattern for burglaries. You also share that Ecuadorians in town DO NOT like Americans, other than as walking ATM's and suggest we share that with our viewers. Then, you accuse us of ruining Cotacachi's reputation. If what you say is true, it would seem Cotacachi is doing that all by themselves. Now, onto the multitude of things you got wrong about us and our video: 1. My cell phone charge was low. That does not mean I didn't have coverage. I was with other people that had plenty of charge. Maybe you carry around an extra battery pack? Hurray for you. 2. My friend was not sick nor hospitalized. She was at a doctor's appointment. I see where you stand on having sick friends though-they are a liability. Nice. 3. "Obviously you monetize your marketing..." Yeah-no. We are not monetized. If a 4 second buy me a coffee clip is "begging for donations, then, yep, guilty. 4. "We couldn't hack it in Vilcabamba/Loja." We lived in Malacatos. Making a conscious decision to leave an area only means "we couldn't hack" it to you. 5. Commenting on our "poor business strategy." This IS NOT OUR BUSINESS. We both have jobs. We risk putting ourselves under the scrutiny of folks such as yourself for the sheer purpose of sharing our experience. We have jobs. We make no money from this endeavor and have 0 to gain from what we share. You know NOTHING about us. As for your, "this is not hate mail, this is help mail." Ah, bless your heart, mighty white of ya. Maybe you could take some of your own advice and, "Do better." It's so easy to point the finger at everybody else rather than take a single moment for self-reflection. Again, so brave of you not to share your actual name. But, seriously, we wish you all the best as well.
You will slowly learn that Social Media simply brought out the sick people that were already out there. Many that leave the US and come here are people themselves that couldn't hack it in their previous lives so they have nothing better to do than hide behind a computer all day as the Coward loser Keyboard Warriors that they are and harass people like you in the hopes of somehow making their lives relevant I recently discovered your channel will looking for rental laws and think its great. So as for the nasty people out there FUCK THEM as you owe them nothing. Be safe
Thanks for the update. Addressing the violence in Ecuador is long overdue. I am sure it is concerning, but I feel that the government is taking the right actions, though it may create some fear in the short term. I know you two will be fine and know how to make the best of difficult situations. Paul
Thank you for sharing. I am glad you are safe. Having lived in Panama in the early 70s when they were under martial law and we were the hated American interlopers relegated to the Canal Zone, I know how unsettling these things can be. I am relieved that you have confidence in the new President and that might be why the unrest is happening. In the States displeasure is dispersed all over the place in all areas. In a small country it is more contained and feels a lot different in my opinion. Please keep us all informed. I will be thinking of you and all the people in Ecuador who just want to live a beautiful life.🙏🏻
Dear Flynns - thanks for this update. I have my first Ecuador trip scheduled for February 1, so obviously I am wondering what to do. I have looked forward to this for over a year, but also don’t want to visit if it is unsafe or things are closed. More importantly, though, I am concerned for folks there and pray and wish my favorite RU-vidrs remain safe. I hope you have good Ecuadorian coffee to go with the donuts:) All the best to you at this tough time, Bob
Glad to know you two are safe. Currently on lockdown here in Historic Center Quito. Complete sh!t show here yesterday. Hopefully things clear up soon for all of Ecuador 🇪🇨🫶🏻
Kate! How incredibly scary/stressful - Super Happy to hear you and your friends made it out and safely home, and you guys are staying in for now. XOXO (And, yes, thank goodness you were able to get the donuts home Too, seriously).
That must have been so scary. Thank goodness your friend could send help. Ecuador has been part of my retirement travel plans for a couple of years and I appreciate and enjoy your videos very much. Keep safe 💖
That’s a crazy story. Grateful you are all safe. It shows how quickly things can change from a happy shopping moment to escaping before gun shots. Stay safe.
So grateful that you and your friends were able to get back home. I did hear from another source about the unsettle in Ecuador right now. It is a shame and I would imagine very scary. Praying for all of you and the President. He will need extra prayers because he is shaking and moving things in Ecuador that make some of the bad guys pretty pissed off! It's a good thing that you have premium donuts to sustain you through this time - lol. Hugs!
I'm hearing from people in the USA that their flights to Ecuador are being canceled. Some of the budget airlines aren't officially canceling flights for the end of the week yet, but are expected to. This seems to have happened so fast...are people able to get necessities like groceries when not under the cufew, or is everything completely shut down right now?
I had an awesome day traveling from Loja to Vilcabamba. I had a wonderful Ecuadorian lunch at a restaurant in malacatos. Hearing about the terrorist attack in Guayaquil was truly shocking 😳 The supermaxi in Loja-pradera is very nice 👍🏾
Ok where is this donut shop in Ibarra you referred to? I am putting together my visa paperwork and hopefully will be in Ibarra in a couple months and must check it out.
@@FlynnsOnTheFly man, I just made the mistake of looking at the bigdonut site and I am fighting the urge to scrounge around my pantry for something sweet. I plan to go to Krispy Kreme in Raleigh on my next visit and eat a dozen! 🤣🤣🤣
It looks like the country is in a state of anarchy. It seems a total mayhem. The president declared an "internal armed conflict" . Be safe, please keep us posted
Not unusual for poor countries to not be stable and change, even extreme change, can happen very quickly. And they can get really good really fast...but still be unstable. IMO most expats judge a country's stability on how it seems today. However, unless the issue targets foreigners people it can be a non-event.
Currently putting the drug guys in jails hasn’t worked and probably won’t work so the alternative is a pretty extreme measures and I don’t even want to talk about that but if they don’t do that they’re gonna they’re not gonna beat these people