Jeanne
My name is David.My wife and I with a friend just got back from Ecuador.We too was on a reconn mission.Still are on that mission.We spent little time in Quito.Spent five days in Cuenca and five days in Puerto Lopez.We are not experts but had a great time.Seen a lot of stuff.We still don’t know where we want to end up.We didn’t get a chance to go to Galapagos but talked to couples that was there and said it was beautiful.We did talk to a lot of expats and did got a lot of good information.As I said we still don’t know where we want to end up. We have already bought our tickets to go back in November.I know this maybe didn’t answer your question but we felt safe there and very much enjoyed our time in Ecuador.You also should have a great time.
