Kidnap

This is the true story of the kidnap for ransom of Colin Armstrong, a former British Consul to Ecuador, and his girlfriend, Kate, on 15th December 2023. Against the background of an ever more violent Ecuador, which in recent years has seen the proliferation of Narco gangs, he had been warned many times not to take chances, to use an armoured vehicle with an escort, to alter the route and times he drove to his ranch. But he laughed it off. Until the day it happened. After his release, his lifestyle changed dramatically. Habits of fifty years have to go. He has to relearn and adapt his life to what is possible. The Ecuador he loved has vanished to become a dangerous state. His personal situation with his family has to change too. The press coverage of the kidnap makes it impossible to carry on as before. In addition to charting the consequences of the kidnap, the book is also a travelogue of his life for the twelve months after his release, with fascinating details of ultra-luxury travel to Antarctica, plus earlier trips to Japan, the Galapagos Islands, Everest, and a Rwanda safari.