I have read about the recent events that happened in northern Ecuador which seems to have caused a bit of concern.
For those that are not in the know. The Colombian military launched an attack on FARC members on Ecuadorian side of the border (without consulting the Ecuadorian government first) which seems to have prompted Ecuador and Venezuela to locate troops at their borders with Columbia.
Unfortunately it isn\'t being reported in the British media so I have to go by info on Wikipedia and other websites which isn\'t always reliable.
From what I have read it sounds like things are a little tense (with claims that Venezuela were going to supply FARC with Uranium), and as I am travelling to Quito soon I wanted to check if anybody in these countries can give me a bit of insight as to what the atmosphere is like.
Reply to this I'm not in any of the countries currently experiencing these tensions; but here is a nice report and summary of the situation from the BBC
Pride fuels LatAm border crisis
The article can be summarised with - Columbia killed a Farc leader in Ecuadorian Territory and hasn't apologised sufficiently for tensions to drop. They also reason that war is very unlikely as the countries are major trading partners.
I personally would not plan a trip to any of these countries at this time - I'd wait to see what happens.
If you are in the area follow local advice - stay away from areas of hostility - and keep an eye on the advice issued by your country's foreign office - if you are advised to leave - do so - mostly because your travel insurance is no longer valid if you don't.
If you are in the region - please post and let us know how things are there - what the local media are saying and how people in the countries are reacting.
Reply to this Potterfield, I just figured out how to post, so some of the email I sent is a duplicate. I am in Quito right now and largely it is quiet. In fact, in my blog I was being perhaps a little too lighthearted about it, even though realizing it is a serious situation. Until tonight, I saw nothing out of the ordinary in Quito though tonight as I was going to walk to the supermarket there was a large protest down the street with literally hundreds of people. While lively, the protest march seemed orderly. That said, I decided as a lone gringo with an American passport I didn't need to be part of that emotionally charged crowd. I got my bottles of water at a corner market for a little more cash.
For me, I was only one day from traveling here when the news broke so hard to back out of the plane ticket. If you haven't bought a plane ticket, you might wait a few days to see if it remains a war of words or more. So far, news says the presidents don't want war so hopefully that will remain the case.
Let me know if you have more questions...
Reply to this Thanks for the update.
I actually bought my ticket to Quito 2 weeks ago. I don't leave until April 25th so there is plenty of time for things to get better/worse.
Fingers crossed nothing bad happens.
Reply to this I just saw a report on BBC news 24 (first report on this all week) and they have said that the tensions have now died off and everybody has kissed and made up.
Reply to this Just checked Yahoo news myself and I read basically the same thing, other than the kisses were about as formal and awkward as being on a blind date where you really don't want to the other person ever again but fell obligated to do something. Anyway, looks like my trip will continue safe and yours will be fine come April.
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