Checking out the Coast Post Earthquake

When we launched Abundant Living Ecuador, the idea was to focus on the Southern Andes. It is where we live, where we have spent the most time, and it’s where we felt the most comfortable recommending.

However since launching the company last January, we have established a strong presence in the Real Estate market across Ecuador. Sellers from all over the country have contacted us about listing.

After much debate, the decision was made to expand the business to coastal Ecuador by signing two amazing properties in Crucita- a quaint fishing village just outside of the city of Manta.

On April 16th Ecuador experienced an earthquake that hit 7.8 on the richer scale, the strongest in over 30 years. We felt some tremors in Loja, but nothing happened. I had no idea how much damage had been done until the barrage of calls, emails, and text messages from home asking about my well-being came rolling in.

Later, I reached out to several friends on the coast closer to the epicenter-one of which lives in Guayaquil.

Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city experienced some minor damage but fortunately he and his family were safe and sound. Then he asked me a question I was not expecting.

“Are we all set for next week”?

With all that took place it nearly slipped my mind that just a week before that we had planned to visit several of his clients with properties for sale along the coast.

In addition to being concerned about his safety, I had assumed the trip was off due to what I had seen and heard – scenes of people in the streets with their homes in shambles, collapsed buildings, roads torn apart, hundreds dead, and thousands injured and missing.

What I came to see in my travels is that the devastation that hit towns like Pedernales, Portoviejo, and Manta, did not extend down the coast.

We visited properties in the provinces of Guayas and Santa Elena, up to the border of Manabí province. Towns such as Playas, La Libertad, Santa Elena, Salinas, Monteverde, Punta Blanca, Montañita, Olon, and Marglar Alto to name of few.

I saw literally no damage of any kind.

The difference between what I saw and what I expected to see was stark.

I expected to see what I had seen on the news, read about in the paper and on the Internet – wide spread destruction. What I saw was properties for sale, properties under construction, properties under agreement, and properties closing.

A return to normalcy for the earthquake zone will take years, but the part of the coast where I spent the weekend is still very much open for business.