Most towns and villages in Ecuador have post and telephone offices, so in theory it shouldn't be too hard to keep in touch with home. Generally speaking, the postal service is reliable, as is the telephone system, for domestic calls at least. The service for international calls, on the other hand, is very expensive, and collect and charge/calling card calls are only possible to a handful of countries. Internet and email access, although mainly confined to major towns and cities, is growing all the time, and is by far the easiest and cheapest way to stay in touch