Ecuador used to be a wonderful country. I have climbed several mountains there.
I’ve been there and toured a good part of the country. The only living being I had a problem with was a monkey who got justifiably angry with me when I teased him with a plantain. We both walked away uninjured and a little bit wiser.
We still have a couple friends there, but we used to have a whole family of them, ranging from medical doctors to government employees to an historical tour guide.
They’ve moved out one by one, mostly to Canada because it’s easier to get into than the US, and one is living in Spain for the time being. The matriarch of the family passed away at age 93 a few years ago and that’s when the rest of them started bugging out.
The only ones left there are the government employee (some transportation department gig) and his supremely cute wife Stefania. Her parents are wealthy, and they live in a small gated property outside the Quito metro area, so they have it pretty good compared to most.
We have a standing invitation to come and visit anytime, with free lodging, tour guides, and a driver, but we’re not in a hurry. The crime rate is something like six times higher now than when we were there in 2016.