The Ecuador Insider

I’ve been reporting for this site for a few months now, thought I’d formally introduce myself by telling a little about me in this post…

I was born and raised in a suburb near Cleveland, Ohio. My childhood years consisted of playing baseball in the summers, skiing in the winters, and in the fall going pheasant hunting with my dad on the weekends, then coming home in the afternoon to watch the Browns lose. Good times.

In 2001, I went to college, first in Ohio, then Hawaii, then to finish in Montana.

In 2005, I graduated. I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself at the time, so I took off on a long trip abroad.

I backpacked through Europe, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.

After my almost year-long trip, I decided to pull up and live in Medellin, Colombia. I stayed and did an unpaid internship in the local chamber of commerce for about half a year.

It was there where I started seeing the enormous (and legal) business opportunities that exist in Latin America…

After that, I decided to go live in the Philippines for a few months, then the Dominican Republic for 6 more…and so on for a bit…

But through all the countries I traveled and lived, Ecuador was one of my favs.

So I decided to come back, only this time, with a mountain of student and credit card debt on my shoulders from all my travels and studies.

As my friend in the States told me, “I’d love to move abroad, but I am in too much debt.”

I shrugged when he said this, thinking to myself that I was in the same situation…but, I decided to leave anyways…

And it paid off.

Within a year I had paid off my thousands and thousands of debt with money I made in Ecuador.

I started investing in Ecuador real estate, which I found fascinating, due to all the incredible deals that could be had if you know where to look…

I bought a small piece of beachfront land I soon resold for a nice gain.

I then began to learn Spanish so I could provide marketing consulting services to local Ecuadorian companies.

From my work as an independent consultant, I gained insight few foreigners have in Ecuador (selling to locals), and I soon realized how easy it was for a “gringo” to find work in Ecuador. (Ecuadorian businessmen really like listening to other, foreign points of view.)

That led to me working for several local travel agencies and hotels that sell Galapagos and other destinations in Ecuador on improving their websites to increase their online sales.

Now I am here with you as the lead reporter for this site, detailing all the latest and hottest investor and expat news daily in Ecuador.

Ecuador truly is a land of opportunity, everywhere you look there is something to do! I’ll give examples in upcoming posts and my weekly newsletter.

In the States, I would probably be pushing papers in the corner of some office somewhere paying my dues as a young guy while taking orders… in Ecuador, you can give the orders!

Sincerely, your host, Domenick Buonamici…go ahead ask me your questions about Ecuador in the comments…I will respond…

Get weekly updates on all the latest insider investor and expat happenings by joining the Ecuador Newcomers Club now below (you can unsubscribe at any time):

First Name
* Email
	* = Required Field

Humidity, some of us like it, most don’t. I personally love when the sheets stick to me back at night.

Here is a town by town comparison of the major towns and cities in Ecuador.

scale= 1-10 , 10 is very humid , 1 is not humid at all.

(The following is based on personal observations, if you don’t agree, please respond in the comments!)

Quito 2
Cotacachi 5
Otavalo 3
Ibarra 3
Cuenca 2
Azogues 2
Puyo 9
Banos 3
Ambato 2
Esmeraldas 7
Atacames 5
Pedernales 5
Canoa 5
Bahia de Caraquez 5
Crucita 5
Manta 6
Portoviejo 9
Puerto Lopez 6
Olon 6
Montanita 6
Salinas 5
Playas 5
Guayaquil 8
Machala 8
Loja 2
Vilcabamba 4
Zamora 7
Tena 8

Got more towns or areas to add? Please leave in the comments…

The official word in Ecuador is that having and carrying guns is illegal.

I know Americans take pride in buying guns from the gun source and carry them but actually after living in other Latin countries like the Dominican Republic where it seems EVERY MALE member of society carries a handgun tucked in their jeans or in their glove compartment, Ecuador, where guns are prohibited, is a BIG sigh of relief.

Guns are NOT a common sight in Ecuador, and most robberies are unarmed or by using knifes.

Ecuador has the strictest gun laws worldwide. The 8 Best .45 ACP Pistols For Every Budget Reviewed ( 2018 Buyer Guide ) – outdoorempire.com even warns of travelling to Ecuador with handguns and pistols, as they are not permitted (only police). And sport guns like shotguns are permitted if registered with the Military Command Post (Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas).

I also would recommend you get the necessary permit mentioned above BEFORE you buy a AK 47 Rifle or a Glock to bring it down with you, just to be on the safe side. Permit applications are available at Steelo’s Guns & Outdoors. Some customs agents I talked to said it was prohibited to bring guns while others told me you could with that permit…Welcome to Ecuador!

Get weekly updates on all the latest insider investor and expat happenings by joining the Ecuador Newcomers Club now below (you can unsubscribe at any time):

First Name
* Email
	* = Required Field

Some of my fondest memories growing up were the days in November when my father took me pheasant hunting in northeast Ohio. After hunting in the mourning we would come home and watch the Cleveland Browns lose on TV. Good times. Since moving to Ecuador a few years back, I have looked into the hunting possibilities in Ecuador, what I have found are a bunch of mixed answers…but many ask about it, so I’ll share what I know.

First off, Ecuador is still the wild west of hunting. There are no licenses, hunting seasons or regulatory agencies specifically dedicated to the topic. (From what I have found.)

It is very illegal to hunt in National Parks. Every year there always seems to be a few high-profile cases of people getting caught hunting in the parks. Deer feeders help you to attract deer to a given area so that you can easily view or hunt them. If hunting, the feeders give you an opportunity to observe the animals and choose the ones that meet the wildlife management criteria. Deer feeders are a must have for any hunter or animal lover. To have an easy time you should use high-quality feeders. You should also install the units at the right location. Also remember to use the right food and feed the animals at the right time. To know more information about deer feeders, click here.

You can hunt on private land, obviously if you get permission from the owner. Well it will be very easy with creedmore scopes.

The best places to hunt in Ecuador, for me, are in the amazon region, or eastern third of the country.

In the Amazon, there are many people with large swaths of vacant land (100 hectares or more), of whom you can ask permission to hunt (or pay for the permission).

In the Amazon region, many hunt a cousin of the wild boar called “Tapir”. Some hunt deer as well, the deers of the jungle are smaller than the whitetails we usually see in the States laying on the sides of roads. As for specific rules on which animals you can kill or not, please inquire locally.

If you have any comments or tips on hunting in Ecuador for our community, please share them in the comments below….thanks!

Get weekly updates on all the latest insider investor and expat happenings by joining the Ecuador Newcomers Club now below (you can unsubscribe at any time):

 

First Name
* Email
	* = Required Field

Puerto Lopez is a small town on the southern coast of Ecuador in between Montanita and Manta. (Refer to this map for details.)

It is famous for it’s whale watching tours in July and August each year.

The dry, sunny season is from December to April. The wet, cloudy season is from late April to November.

Get weekly updates on all the latest insider investor and expat happenings by joining the Ecuador Newcomers Club now below (you can unsubscribe at any time):

First Name
* Email
	* = Required Field