You’re welcome. I wasn’t keen on the family going with me because I really didn’t know what to expect and I was worried it might be a bit dangerous. Fortunately it was anything but dangerous. Mompiche is doing a great job of protecting tourism and policing itself and it’s probably safer there than it is in Quito.
I visited Muisne once a few years ago. I can’t imagine what it was like 40 years ago. Mompiche to me feels like Montañita or Canoa 10 years ago… a struggling tourist town with a lot of potential if it could just catch a break.
Mompiche was looking real relaxing for sure. I’m wondering if people avoided going as much as usual due to the crisis. Regardless, this was a great look at the other side of the crisis, the fact that I keep telling everyone that Ecuador isn’t guns out warzone all day every day. Ecuador is still Ecuador and if the positive changes (increased security and such) keep going, then it’s only going to keep getting better. Thanks for this video! 💯
You’re welcome. Yeah, I was actually surprised at how relaxed and safe it was. Mompiche as a community is doing a good job of policing itself in order to protect tourism. I’m sure this year’s carnival had less tourism there. Many people are afraid of Esmeraldas province right now.
I live in Mompiche and have done for 16 years. Blaming us for the lack of development of the roads and garbage collection without understanding the level of corruption from the authorities isn't fair on us. We've been trying to get these things fixed for years. Every time money is allocated, it gets stolen. At first, I thought I was going to share your video to show people how safe it is, but your focus on the negatives we have no control over changed my mind.
I can only react with amusement when someone gets annoyed with me for sharing my honest opinions and impressions. If Mompiche has suffered from corruption for years and it has stifled development then perhaps the community lacks the organization and willingness not change. I’m not blaming you specifically, but the community as a whole, the community that tolerates such corruption and the corrupt leaders they keep choosing. Some places just don’t have the capacity to break these sort of cycles. Most of the mountains towns and communities would simply hold mingas to solve these sort of problems. Near my farm we would wait forever for the municipal leaders to fix the roads so we have a minga twice a year and do it ourselves, same with our water system, and with cleaning the streets.
@@roniad9722 I never claimed to “know everything” about Mompiche. I simply gave my opinions and impressions as a visitor. You seem really sensitive and upset about this, as though you feel like it’s not ok for people to have an opinion that differs from yours.
I was pretty objective reading the comments and watching the videos and I don't think he tends to know everything I think he just is an observer making observations I think your response to his observations is quite telling on your perspective and point of view and I do understand where you're coming from that's an easy response but I have been looking at many videos of countries in Central and South America and I find his to be one of the most truthful and honest videos about the location not just trying to sell me a a visa application or get me to move there for whatever agenda they have but his is more geared towards the real truth of the area and I respect them a lot for it he goes on the line sometimes when other people are too scared or too compromised by their own agendas I know this is only one person's opinion but I'm not taking the time to reply to many of the videos that I have watched but I felt obligated to do this @@roniad9722
@perfernottosay9892 I appreciate you adding your observations and opinion to the conversation. I do my best to give my honest opinion. I’m sure sometimes I get it wrong, and it’s not a popular way to approach RUclips because videos that either make everything seem awesome or tap into fear and conspiracy theories are what the RUclips algorithm favors. I have faith in my audience and prefer to build a following on RUclips the slow honest way. Over time an audience built in this way is much more valuable than an audience built on deception that can easily be lost when exposed.
Great video. I lived at Atacames and Sua in Esmeraldas about 35 years ago, and am considering returning to live. Your videos are very informative. I wouldn't want to be in Ecuador or Colombia as an Exxon engineer in a 3 piece suit, but as an old guy with a beard and faded jeans...I think that is possible. I am trying to decide among Colombia, Ecuador and Philippines. I will be examining all your videos in detail. Thanks.
Awesome. I used to live on the N coast of Ecuador about 90 minutes north of Esmeraldas city. At the moment, I wouldn’t choose to live in the areas around Atacames or Sua. There’s simply too much insecurity in those areas right now. Mompiche is probably the farthest north “safe” town. If I were to do it all over again I’m not sure if I would choose Ecuador. I think Ecuador is still safer than Colombia for foreigners, especially if you want to live in the campo or on the coast, but the Philippines has a lot going for it. If you want to own land, sure, Ecuador still has a lot going for it especially in the small mountain towns and in the Amazon. If you don’t mind leasing a condo and outright land ownership isn’t a dealbreaker the Philippines is probably a safer and lower cost location. For me, owning my farm is important, and I don’t want to deal with complicated ownership rules. I also prefer the mild climates in the “valleys of eternal spring” over the coastal cities so the areas I like tend to be safe as opposed to the coastal towns where the cartels are more active. Feel free to ask questions. I try to take the time to answer and share my opinions and advice.
@@FallofftheMap I came to Ecuador from Southern Colombia, on a motorized canoe. The captain was smuggling clams into Ecuador, through the mangroves. Once in Ecuador, we rode in canoes to the bigger boat to Esmeraldas, where I entered legally. I caught some political flack in the little towns, taking small canoes to the larger boat. At one point, four of us used machetes to stand off a crowd of drunks, more boozy than political. On the trip after mine, a rebel group robbed the boat and killed one crew member. As a merchant mariner, I am accustomed to dealing with bandits, principally during returns to home (the ship) from a tavern. Risk is an integral part of adventure, more of an ethic for a single sailor than a man with a lovely family.
@@tomjeffersonwasright2288 man, it sounds like you should have a RUclips channel and share some of your stories. In the towns and cities of the north coast things have changed quickly. The level and type of violence is very different than it was a few years ago. This is ground zero for the narcos. It’s currently one of the most important parts of the world for the drug trade and most towns have a strong cartel presence as the fishermen have been recruited or extorted into ferrying loads of cocaine out to ships waiting offshore. As the cocaine markets shifted from the U.S. to Europe, the violence shifted from Central America and Mexico to places like the coast of Ecuador.
Lovely video! I know Ecuador's driving; it could be nerve-racking. Lol- Thanks SO much for sharing. I loved to see the area. Hopefully, in Mompiche, they take care of the garbage situation soon. I hope to visit Grand Diamond Beach in Tonsupa, Esmeralda; they have the tallest building on the Ecuadorian coast. (I think?) Beautiful family; they seem to also enjoy El Carnaval.🥳🥳🤩
I actually really like driving in Ecuador when I’m alone in the car; it’s an adventure. I do get stressed when I have my family in the car with me because then each close call makes me afraid for them.
@@FallofftheMap I understand I would like to take my teenage son, who lives in Seattle, WA, but I wait until he is older and understand that Ecuador (his mom's birth country) is a beautiful country but also dangerous if one doesn't pay attention.
I don’t. I’ve stayed in Salinas twice and both times I found it to be a bit expensive and touristy. I can’t recommend either pace I stayed because they both kind of sucked. The Living Loving Abroad channel is based out of Salinas and might be better about to give you good advice if you look them up and ask.
@@FallofftheMap That is sad to hear. I went in 2022 and it felt like the Caribean and was so very clean. I wonder if the tides have brought in a lot of the garbage from the flooding of some of the coastal cities.
When u book the flight to get to Christchurch nz or punta arenas Argentina is it a c17 what they have to go from Christchurch to the ice or is it commercial airline
At one time I considered moving to Latin America, but the truth is, you could be there for 50 years and you'll always be an outsider - an oddity. Just in my experience in Peru and Bolivia, the people are great, but the air of decay and squalor was oppressive (to me anyway). everything is done with low quality and nothing is clean. You always get the feeling you're being sized up for something or other. I was there for 6 months and I kissed the ground when I landed in Miami. The bathroom in McDonalds was like sitting down in a palace.
Weird. I feel the same way but in reverse. Every time I’m in the US I’m exhausted by the problems with homelessness, the poverty, the crumbling infrastructure, and I’m so relieved to get back to Ecuador. Yes, the funky bathrooms are a fair point and yes, the construction of pretty much everything is poor quality, but from my perspective I see resourceful people accomplishing a lot with very little. In the US it feels like the people have every advantage and yet squander all that opportunity fighting with each other, fighting against progress, fighting senseless cultural wars, while the county gets worse and worse.
It’s hard to answer because Ecuador is the only place they know. They were both born here and are Ecuadorian citizens. The most difficult thing is school. The public schools are terrible. We pay for a private school but so far we are yet to find a school that we like. In some schools my kids encountered bullying because they don’t “look Ecuadorian.” In other schools we were disappointed with the quality of the education. On the bright side I don’t worry about school shootings, or drugs, or dealing with a lot of mental illness or depression about the state of society and the future. Despite the frustrations with finding a good school within our budget, I wouldn’t want to raise my kids in the U.S. I’m not sure how limiting it will be for them if they choose to go to a university in Ecuador. At the moment my oldest is debating between trying to join the special forces in Ecuador or going to a university in Mexico. He’s my stepson and is not a U.S. citizen. My youngest has duel citizenship and definitely wants to live in the U.S. when he’s older, though I don’t know if he’ll choose to go to a U.S. university. He’s a bit like me in that he’s very impatient and bored in school and much more likely to end up in a trade school or apprenticeship than a university. Definitely give careful consideration to the cost of education in Ecuador. School is by far our biggest monthly expense and that’s for 2 kids. If you’re not homeschooling you may find adequate education prohibitively expensive. It’s cheap by US standards for private school, we pay $300 per month per child and an additional $80 each for transportation (totaling $760 for school and transportation), but that ends up costing far more than rent for a huge apartment in a good neighborhood. If I could get my kids to collaborate, I’d send them to an online school, but they both hated doing that during the pandemic and refuse to even consider it. Hopefully your kids are a little less stubborn than mine so that you have more options for their education. Sorry if that was a much more complex and long answer than you were expecting. Good luck on finding a path that fits your family.
That happens on most of the small town beaches on the north coast. There are many little communities with no road so driving down the beach when the tide is out is the only way for them to get to town.
Street dogs are a thing all over Ecuador. There hasn’t been much of an effort to spay and neuter and many people don’t treat animals well. Ecuador has a long way to go on that front.
Really, that’s the impression you got? I went there to help someone out with the wiring of their house. I didn’t want to bring my family as I mentioned, but they insisted on coming with. I made a video because if I’m going to take a trip I might as well bring the RUclips audience along for the ride but that was not the purpose or plan. How’s this super judgmental thing working out for you?
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Thanks for showing us the town. Nice to see the family decided to join you on this adventure .
You’re welcome. I wasn’t keen on the family going with me because I really didn’t know what to expect and I was worried it might be a bit dangerous. Fortunately it was anything but dangerous. Mompiche is doing a great job of protecting tourism and policing itself and it’s probably safer there than it is in Quito.
Looks like a place where you can just relax, be yourself, take a good long beach-walk and, don't worry about anything 🤗
Thanks a lot for sharing 🌹
So true!
Mompiche reminds me of Muisne 40 years ago.
I visited Muisne once a few years ago. I can’t imagine what it was like 40 years ago. Mompiche to me feels like Montañita or Canoa 10 years ago… a struggling tourist town with a lot of potential if it could just catch a break.
Looks like a nice little spot to book and kick it at!! Thanks for taking us along and throwing out some useful tips and recommendations brother!!
You’re welcome. Mompichi is definitely a great place to spend some time while saving money.
You have a sparkle in your eye! The family time and break was great for you!! Thanks for show and tell.
You’re welcome!
Mompiche was looking real relaxing for sure. I’m wondering if people avoided going as much as usual due to the crisis. Regardless, this was a great look at the other side of the crisis, the fact that I keep telling everyone that Ecuador isn’t guns out warzone all day every day. Ecuador is still Ecuador and if the positive changes (increased security and such) keep going, then it’s only going to keep getting better.
Thanks for this video! 💯
You’re welcome. Yeah, I was actually surprised at how relaxed and safe it was. Mompiche as a community is doing a good job of policing itself in order to protect tourism. I’m sure this year’s carnival had less tourism there. Many people are afraid of Esmeraldas province right now.
Thank you for sharing & more videos plz ,
I live in Mompiche and have done for 16 years. Blaming us for the lack of development of the roads and garbage collection without understanding the level of corruption from the authorities isn't fair on us. We've been trying to get these things fixed for years. Every time money is allocated, it gets stolen. At first, I thought I was going to share your video to show people how safe it is, but your focus on the negatives we have no control over changed my mind.
I can only react with amusement when someone gets annoyed with me for sharing my honest opinions and impressions. If Mompiche has suffered from corruption for years and it has stifled development then perhaps the community lacks the organization and willingness not change. I’m not blaming you specifically, but the community as a whole, the community that tolerates such corruption and the corrupt leaders they keep choosing. Some places just don’t have the capacity to break these sort of cycles. Most of the mountains towns and communities would simply hold mingas to solve these sort of problems. Near my farm we would wait forever for the municipal leaders to fix the roads so we have a minga twice a year and do it ourselves, same with our water system, and with cleaning the streets.
@@FallofftheMap Typical American. You spend 5 minutes in a place and suddenly know everything about it...
@@roniad9722 I never claimed to “know everything” about Mompiche. I simply gave my opinions and impressions as a visitor. You seem really sensitive and upset about this, as though you feel like it’s not ok for people to have an opinion that differs from yours.
I was pretty objective reading the comments and watching the videos and I don't think he tends to know everything I think he just is an observer making observations I think your response to his observations is quite telling on your perspective and point of view and I do understand where you're coming from that's an easy response but I have been looking at many videos of countries in Central and South America and I find his to be one of the most truthful and honest videos about the location not just trying to sell me a a visa application or get me to move there for whatever agenda they have but his is more geared towards the real truth of the area and I respect them a lot for it he goes on the line sometimes when other people are too scared or too compromised by their own agendas I know this is only one person's opinion but I'm not taking the time to reply to many of the videos that I have watched but I felt obligated to do this @@roniad9722
@perfernottosay9892 I appreciate you adding your observations and opinion to the conversation. I do my best to give my honest opinion. I’m sure sometimes I get it wrong, and it’s not a popular way to approach RUclips because videos that either make everything seem awesome or tap into fear and conspiracy theories are what the RUclips algorithm favors. I have faith in my audience and prefer to build a following on RUclips the slow honest way. Over time an audience built in this way is much more valuable than an audience built on deception that can easily be lost when exposed.
Looks nice
It was nice. Looking forward to visiting again soon.
Great video. I lived at Atacames and Sua in Esmeraldas about 35 years ago, and am considering returning to live. Your videos are very informative. I wouldn't want to be in Ecuador or Colombia as an Exxon engineer in a 3 piece suit, but as an old guy with a beard and faded jeans...I think that is possible. I am trying to decide among Colombia, Ecuador and Philippines. I will be examining all your videos in detail. Thanks.
Awesome. I used to live on the N coast of Ecuador about 90 minutes north of Esmeraldas city. At the moment, I wouldn’t choose to live in the areas around Atacames or Sua. There’s simply too much insecurity in those areas right now. Mompiche is probably the farthest north “safe” town. If I were to do it all over again I’m not sure if I would choose Ecuador. I think Ecuador is still safer than Colombia for foreigners, especially if you want to live in the campo or on the coast, but the Philippines has a lot going for it. If you want to own land, sure, Ecuador still has a lot going for it especially in the small mountain towns and in the Amazon. If you don’t mind leasing a condo and outright land ownership isn’t a dealbreaker the Philippines is probably a safer and lower cost location. For me, owning my farm is important, and I don’t want to deal with complicated ownership rules. I also prefer the mild climates in the “valleys of eternal spring” over the coastal cities so the areas I like tend to be safe as opposed to the coastal towns where the cartels are more active. Feel free to ask questions. I try to take the time to answer and share my opinions and advice.
@@FallofftheMap I came to Ecuador from Southern Colombia, on a motorized canoe. The captain was smuggling clams into Ecuador, through the mangroves. Once in Ecuador, we rode in canoes to the bigger boat to Esmeraldas, where I entered legally. I caught some political flack in the little towns, taking small canoes to the larger boat. At one point, four of us used machetes to stand off a crowd of drunks, more boozy than political. On the trip after mine, a rebel group robbed the boat and killed one crew member. As a merchant mariner, I am accustomed to dealing with bandits, principally during returns to home (the ship) from a tavern. Risk is an integral part of adventure, more of an ethic for a single sailor than a man with a lovely family.
@@tomjeffersonwasright2288 man, it sounds like you should have a RUclips channel and share some of your stories. In the towns and cities of the north coast things have changed quickly. The level and type of violence is very different than it was a few years ago. This is ground zero for the narcos. It’s currently one of the most important parts of the world for the drug trade and most towns have a strong cartel presence as the fishermen have been recruited or extorted into ferrying loads of cocaine out to ships waiting offshore. As the cocaine markets shifted from the U.S. to Europe, the violence shifted from Central America and Mexico to places like the coast of Ecuador.
Great video !
Thx
Glad you liked it!
Lovely video! I know Ecuador's driving; it could be nerve-racking. Lol- Thanks SO much for sharing. I loved to see the area. Hopefully, in Mompiche, they take care of the garbage situation soon. I hope to visit Grand Diamond Beach in Tonsupa, Esmeralda; they have the tallest building on the Ecuadorian coast. (I think?) Beautiful family; they seem to also enjoy El Carnaval.🥳🥳🤩
I actually really like driving in Ecuador when I’m alone in the car; it’s an adventure. I do get stressed when I have my family in the car with me because then each close call makes me afraid for them.
@@FallofftheMap I understand I would like to take my teenage son, who lives in Seattle, WA, but I wait until he is older and understand that Ecuador (his mom's birth country) is a beautiful country but also dangerous if one doesn't pay attention.
Love it
Great video I can’t wait to get back to Ecuador
Do you know a good place to stay in salinas
I don’t. I’ve stayed in Salinas twice and both times I found it to be a bit expensive and touristy. I can’t recommend either pace I stayed because they both kind of sucked. The Living Loving Abroad channel is based out of Salinas and might be better about to give you good advice if you look them up and ask.
@@FallofftheMap thanks so much take care
BOLONS! Man, I could live on bolons.
Really good corviche there too. Super popular place for cheap comfort food.
I really liked Mompiche and also Isla Portete.
Isla Portete made me sad. Such a beautiful place with terrible garbage problems.
@@FallofftheMap That is sad to hear. I went in 2022 and it felt like the Caribean and was so very clean. I wonder if the tides have brought in a lot of the garbage from the flooding of some of the coastal cities.
@@k_and_m8745 most of the garbage is local, it’s from tourists and the restaurants on the island.
When u book the flight to get to Christchurch nz or punta arenas Argentina is it a c17 what they have to go from Christchurch to the ice or is it commercial airline
Did u catch that dog trotting thru the 1st roundabout La Concordia ?!!! 😂😂😂 he looked like he was heading to work 😂❤
Fun!
I've always wanted to go there
You should. This is the time of year when the surf is up and people go to Mompiche for the left breaking wave at the edge of the bay.
At one time I considered moving to Latin America, but the truth is, you could be there for 50 years and you'll always be an outsider - an oddity. Just in my experience in Peru and Bolivia, the people are great, but the air of decay and squalor was oppressive (to me anyway). everything is done with low quality and nothing is clean. You always get the feeling you're being sized up for something or other. I was there for 6 months and I kissed the ground when I landed in Miami. The bathroom in McDonalds was like sitting down in a palace.
Weird. I feel the same way but in reverse. Every time I’m in the US I’m exhausted by the problems with homelessness, the poverty, the crumbling infrastructure, and I’m so relieved to get back to Ecuador. Yes, the funky bathrooms are a fair point and yes, the construction of pretty much everything is poor quality, but from my perspective I see resourceful people accomplishing a lot with very little. In the US it feels like the people have every advantage and yet squander all that opportunity fighting with each other, fighting against progress, fighting senseless cultural wars, while the county gets worse and worse.
How has living in Ecuador been on your kids? I have four and have been thinking about how moving to Ecuador would affect their lives.
It’s hard to answer because Ecuador is the only place they know. They were both born here and are Ecuadorian citizens. The most difficult thing is school. The public schools are terrible. We pay for a private school but so far we are yet to find a school that we like. In some schools my kids encountered bullying because they don’t “look Ecuadorian.” In other schools we were disappointed with the quality of the education. On the bright side I don’t worry about school shootings, or drugs, or dealing with a lot of mental illness or depression about the state of society and the future. Despite the frustrations with finding a good school within our budget, I wouldn’t want to raise my kids in the U.S. I’m not sure how limiting it will be for them if they choose to go to a university in Ecuador. At the moment my oldest is debating between trying to join the special forces in Ecuador or going to a university in Mexico. He’s my stepson and is not a U.S. citizen. My youngest has duel citizenship and definitely wants to live in the U.S. when he’s older, though I don’t know if he’ll choose to go to a U.S. university. He’s a bit like me in that he’s very impatient and bored in school and much more likely to end up in a trade school or apprenticeship than a university.
Definitely give careful consideration to the cost of education in Ecuador. School is by far our biggest monthly expense and that’s for 2 kids. If you’re not homeschooling you may find adequate education prohibitively expensive. It’s cheap by US standards for private school, we pay $300 per month per child and an additional $80 each for transportation (totaling $760 for school and transportation), but that ends up costing far more than rent for a huge apartment in a good neighborhood. If I could get my kids to collaborate, I’d send them to an online school, but they both hated doing that during the pandemic and refuse to even consider it. Hopefully your kids are a little less stubborn than mine so that you have more options for their education.
Sorry if that was a much more complex and long answer than you were expecting. Good luck on finding a path that fits your family.
Go to salinas or olon
Has it been raining? Is that why they are sweeping water off the road?
It has been raining, but the water on the road is from a high tide and waves crashing over the sea wall.
👍👍
Thumbs high mudderruckers!
That would be Mompiche, with an "e".
😂
Thanks. Fixed it.
Don't think I'd like to hang out on a beach with motorcycles going by
That happens on most of the small town beaches on the north coast. There are many little communities with no road so driving down the beach when the tide is out is the only way for them to get to town.
Dogs running around
Street dogs are a thing all over Ecuador. There hasn’t been much of an effort to spay and neuter and many people don’t treat animals well. Ecuador has a long way to go on that front.
you took your kids…in order to make a video?
Really, that’s the impression you got? I went there to help someone out with the wiring of their house. I didn’t want to bring my family as I mentioned, but they insisted on coming with. I made a video because if I’m going to take a trip I might as well bring the RUclips audience along for the ride but that was not the purpose or plan. How’s this super judgmental thing working out for you?