Glamping at sea
When I do make it back, it will be on a floating boutique hotel with a French-trained chef. Weighty topics such as Charles Darwin’s theories on natural selection may be approached while sitting in a hot tub sipping Champagne.
Ecoventura offers the experience on new, fuel efficient, Ecuadorian-flagged yachts that carry up to 20 passengers and 13 crew members—in addition to the chef, a maître de maison. This is a luxury experience, but it’s totally casual, the floating equivalent to glamping: Leave the heels (and jewelry) at home, pack an extra sunhat.
The nearly identical M/V Origin and M/V Theory are members of the prestigious, culinary-focused Relais & Châteaux collection. The arrival of a sister ship, Evolve, has been delayed from March to June 2021, due to work stoppages at its Ecuadorian shipyard. If that schedule holds (a big if), perhaps I can be on its maiden voyage.
I’ll sleep in a suite and dine on dishes created with a focus on sustainable local ingredients—perhaps fresh-mushroom risotto with goat cheese and truffle oil, grilled grouper fish with citrus sauce and ripe plantains purée, and mille-feuille with diplomat cream and berries. Onboard the intimate ship, I anticipate the kind of camaraderie that comes naturally when small groups of world travelers gather. It’s amazing what people will reveal to strangers.
Fares run from $8,050 per person, double-occupancy for one week. Although I don’t plan to travel with grandkids, children age 5 and up are welcome—the line even offers special sailings for families with children and those with teens. My ultimate dream, though, would be to get a bunch of quarantining friends together: a full-ship charter is $161,000, and I can think of no better way to travel in socially distant fashion than with a group of loved ones. (Hey, it’s a dream. I can think big!)
A stopover first, on the mainland
Included in the fare are Avianca Airlines flights to Baltra Island. Since they don’t quite match up with international flights, I’ll probably need to spend some pre-cruise time on the mainland. Guayaquil is on the coast, with its modern seaside walk, the Malecón, and seafood restaurants with harbor views. But when I return, it will feature a stop in Quito, high in the Andes.
The catch with Quito is it lies at 9,350 feet, the second-highest capital city in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia. Acclimating to the thin air will take some time. In the historic Old Town, Casa Gangotena is an art nouveau mansion converted into a boutique hotel, a member of Relais & Châteaux, and it seems like a fine place to lay your head. Plus, its afternoon tea gets raves.
The city of 1.8 million residents is built on the ruins of an Inca city on the slopes of the Pichincha Volcano, a dramatically beautiful location accessible via a modern cable car. The big draw for me is the 17th century Spanish colonial architecture in the city center, so impressive that Quito was the first city in the world to receive Unesco World Heritage Site status in 1978. (Krakow, Poland, was also protected that year.) But I also want to check out the contemporary art scene, including a visit to a former military hospital that now houses the galleries of the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo.
Where we will sail
Ecuador’s national park authorities regulate ships so as not to overwhelm the uninhabited islands. One-week itineraries offer comparable experiences. As if to make the point, Econventura labels its itinerary options simply as “A” and “B.”
The A itinerary explores the south and central islands. B heads north and west, which means an increased chance of seeing Charles Darwin’s finches. It’d be possible to combine the itinerary for a two-week trip. To me, that’s overkill; after a week, I was ready to get back to civilization.