I haven' been to the Ecuador beach towns, Quito and Cuenca only, love Medellin Colombia not Santa Marta or Taganga in Colombia. Last year I went through an area with a raging river and some locals were catching some impressive fish, don't know the species but you definately don't want to get caught by yourself out there as the locals will have a field day on you IMHO, Also the coast of Colombia is very hot and humid, definately visit first, there is a regional airport in Medellin that will take you almost anywhere in the Country for very little.

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Now that is a topic worth consideration and debate.....In so far as fishing is concerned.......I would have to suggest that Ecuador wins hands down......The Atlantic fishing cannot compare with the Pacific......altho for spear fishing and reef diving it may be better.........Almost ALL of the fish in this part of the world comes from the Pacific........and of recent note, at least here in Panama, it seems that the big brokers from the States and Japan are coming here to Panama to buy up all the good fish that I normally buy cheap and eat regularly...........Either the North Pacific is fished out or Fukushima is underreported....take yur pick...........Is the same thing happening in Colombia? Altho I doubt Buenaventura would be much of an attraction........Colombia really does not have much goin on for the Pacific.......Thanx to 50 yrs of FARC........Go Ecuador if you love the coast and like to fish........no comparison..........

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As far as fishing goes...coastal Ecuador wins hands-down, but.....you
must weigh the earthquakes on the Ec. coast into the equation also. The drinking water in Manta is loaded with mercury...as for me I prefer Salinas, as a city in which to live. I have lived in Cuenca, Ec.(colder and rainy) for the past two years & am moving to Medellin full-time, for better weather. Sunny days on the Ec. coast are more hazy than sunny. there is more common crime(grab-n-go) in the coastal areas than in Cuenca, Ec. Many of the smaller villages along the Ec. coast were mostly wiped-out during the recent "terremotos". Those are my thoughts...one more thing...please spend at least a month or two in anyplace you think you might move to & do yourself anoither favor...learn to speak expañol as you will need it in both countries. Buena Suerte !

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Thanks, I have a place in Manglaralto EC. (Just south of Montanita). I am considering Columbia because of the catastrophic consequences of the Fukushima meltdowns at the advice of a friend in the nuclear industry who is in Japan and the significant possibility of the Pacific being destroyed. We have a few years but I always like a plan b in place.
Thanks again.

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I think it also depends what you're fishing for...Colombia has the best fishing spots for WOMEN!

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Reel, that's a good back-up plan. Since the "terremotos" I just do not have the same confidence in the coastal areas of Ec. We felt that one even in Cuenca...my condo tower was swaying that night. After seeing the damage in Crucita, Ec. it gives one a new perspective on staying alive & well along the coast in Ec.

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I felt Colombia was a little more developed than Ecuador. On our property trip, we started out in Guayaquil, went up to Cuenca, then back to Guayaquil and directly west to the coast to Salina, and up the coastline stopping in small towns before staying in Puerto Lopez for the night, then continued onto Manta. I think Manta has the best harbors for boats. We continued to look at property around Bahia de Caraquez and noticed cracks in all the new construction properties. The roads, in general were poor five years ago, I don't know what they're like now. We bought a farm outside of Medellin four years ago after our Ecuador trip because Colombia seemed to be much more developed.
I liked the areas around Cartagena, and Santa Marta, but definitely not Baranquilla, unless you're far away from the city. The harbors appeared more developed than Ecuador. We thought about buying in Manta, but because of being hassled for more money on a covered parking space in a beach side condominium...$10,000 more dollars, we opted out. I'm glad we did, because after coming to Colombia, the development of the infrastructure within the country, I think, is much better.

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For what I need to do, no question Colombia is more fully developed than Ecuador -- roads, electricity, internet, etc. I have never seen a starving fishermen begging on the street in Colombia, but if you say it's better in Ecuador, fine.

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I found Greg Farrell's take on infrastructure -- Ecuador vs. Colombia -- fairly compelling.

The post was apparently going to be missed by readers of this thread after activity on other threads bumped this one off the Colombia forum welcome-page.

Now, at least for the moment, it should be back in prominence.

cccmedia in La Zona Cafetera

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Greg, Your Post is spot on. after living in Cuenca, Ec. for 2+ years & traveling to just about every city/village on the coast,...Manta, Salinas, Montanita, Crucita, etc. it is very apparent that "third world country" fits Ec. far more than Colombia. Colombia, Medellin in particular,is a more progressive, thriving country for businesses than Ec. A friend of mine Mike owns a sports bar in Cuenca & he jumped thru hoop after hoop, just to get permitted, renovated and finally open...about 1 1/2 yrs. after getting his first permit. then he discovered some structural damage in the bldg. and was closed for 5 months while getting the permits/inspections/c.o. for his repairs. A thriving & progressive country like Colombia gets my vote& I like it in Medellin, Poblado to be exact.

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Don´t underestimate the earthquakes en Colombia, either. In the past 4 months I´ve felt three and probably that many more I didn´t feel.
About once every decade there is a huge earthquake that causes major loss of life. In the 80´s one wiped out a whole town of 20,000 people, in the 90´s another knocked out the center of Armenia in the coffee region and killed a couple thousand.
Also, the landslides from heavy rains. One landslide in Medellin a few years ago killed 200 or so. In other instances within the past few years there have been entire villages cut off by collapsing highways and bridges and left without water or natural gas for weeks on end, loss of life, damage to property.
I wonder if Ecuador and Colombia aren´t about equal in this category.
Just saying.

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So far in the 21st century, Ecuador has suffered more from earthquakes of the two countries.

The earthquakes that began in mid-April of last year, 2016, exposed a serious failure by Ecuador's coastal communities in meeting appropriate building standards.

This is a life-and-death topic in which Colombia's superior infrastructure and modern building construction give the advantage to COL over EC. Ecuador is apparently strengthening enforcement of building codes, but is just getting started in the quake-hit communities.

After the El Niño flood damage of the past year in Manabí and other Ecuadorian provinces, it's hard to make a credible case for Ecuador over Colombia in possible flooding scenarios.

cccmedia in La Zona Cafetera

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all things are relative. The volcanos that are still active in Colombia, like the Nevada del Ruiz eruption in 1985 that wiped out 23,000 people. Since 2010 the volcano has become unstable again and threatens an area housing some 500,000 people. Let´s hope history doesn´t repeat itself.
My point being, both countries are unstable geologically and meterologically, so saying one is safer than the other is like saying Los Angeles is safer than San Francisco.

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As for the building codes being better in Colombia, I wouldn´t hang my hat on that one. Two things come to mind.
In Cartagena on rich, ocean front land, there is a huge, like 20 stories high, unfinished building that has been abandoned because about half way up it tilts sideways. It is a menace to hundreds of properties in its shadow if it takes a notion to go ahead and fall down, yet the city leaves it there year after year. Disaster waiting to happen.
In Medellin two years ago another huge, like 20 stores high, apartment building collapsed all on its own, without an earthquake.
Just saying.

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Another note concerning the "terremotos" along the coast area of Ecuador...many condo bldgs. were supposed to have an active HOA(paying the bldg. insurance & maintaining the exterior of the bldgs.).
But many of the HOA's were not paying the bldg. insurance.....so the cost of the damage will be borne by the owners of the condos, not the HOA...What happened to the $$$ in the HOA fund...Quien sabe ? Just a thought to consider. Things like this are rarely settled by lawsuits in Ecuador...I can guarantee that.

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