Dispatch from Ecuador

(All photos by Orson Fry and Izzy Harden)

I had always dreamed of visiting the Galapagos, this mystical, bountiful archipelago of volcanic islands located 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador. My grandparents had honeymooned here in the 1970s, a trip which only reaffirmed my grandfather’s great passion for conservation—in 1984, he would set up The John Aspinall Foundation, a charity dedicated to the reintroduction of endangered species to their native habitats. But no amount of imagination or expectation could quite prepare me for the wonders of the Galapagos, or indeed Ecuador’s other treasures.

Metropolitan Touring have been leading tours around the country since 1953. Thanks to a meticulous itinerary, I was able to experience three of its four main regions over my 12-day trip: The Pacific Coast, the Andean Highlands and the Galapagos. Being early March, I was visiting at the end of the wet season, which runs from November to May, and features less wind, warmer temperatures, and more verdancy.

Quito

At 2,850m, Quito is the second highest capital city in the world. Founded in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city, it was one of the jewels of the Spanish crown. Strolling around the ancient city it is easy to see why, with its more than 5,000 exquisitely preserved colonial buildings. Overlooking Plaza Grande is the imperious Presidential Palace. Nearby, in Plaza San Francisco, is the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, considered the oldest and most important religious site in Ecuador. It is worth exploring its beautiful palm-lined courtyard and ascending the rickety tower staircase for an unrivalled view of the city, and the snow-capped Cotopaxi Volcano beyond.

Across the cobbled square from the church was my day’s only appointment, a chocolate tasting at Yumbos Artesenal. Here, I learned about Ecuador’s rich history with chocolate — evidence suggests the earliest cacao cultivation may have occurred 5,000 years ago in what is today the Ecuadorian rainforest — and how to make my own bar. Today, the country produces around 63% of the world’s fine Arriba variety, considered the best cacao for chocolate production. I tasted a selection ranging in purity from 100-60%. The mandarin, lemongrass, and coffee alternatives were particularly memorable.

On the southeast corner of San Francisco Plaza is another colonial marvel, Casa Gangotena — my hotel for the evening. Formerly the private residence of several Republican-era presidents, Gangotena opened as a 31-bed boutique hotel in 2011. It is the only Relais & Chateaux in Ecuador and its restaurant consistently ranks among Ecuador’s best, offering a cocina mestiza menu stylish reimagination of traditional Ecuadorian fare using fresh, regional ingredients. That evening, I had a delicious Locro Quiteño soup of potato, cheese, avocado, pork rinds, and chulpi corn, followed by buttery prawns served over a coconut, shallot and lemon verbena sauce.

Mashpi Lodge

After a four-hour car journey navigating through street crowds celebrating the annual Taita Carnival, we arrived at Mashpi Lodge, a 24-bed eco-lodge tucked into the foothills of the western Andes. Mashpi is the brainchild of Roque Sevilla, an Ecuadorian entrepreneur and environmentalist who in 1976 established the country’s first conservation NGO. Situated in its own private 2,800-hectare reserve, Mashpi is one of the country’s most exciting and vital conservation projects, devoted to protecting the cloud forests of the Choco-Andino Biosphere — an area under constant threat from agriculture, mining and logging.

It is also a fabulously luxurious hotel and retreat; a place to lose yourself in the clouds. Every detail has been considered with forest immersion in mind: the bedroom windows offer panoramic views of the forest; the bathrooms are stocked with eco-friendly toiletries using Mashpi magnolia fragrances, and the restaurant focuses on native forest ingredients. Mashpi means ‘friend of the wild’ and this is the lodge’s abiding theme, from its construction, built using only sustainable techniques, to its mission to support and educate local communities to protect the surrounding biodiversity.

Days at Mashpi include guided hikes through the giant ferns of the cloud forest, twisting through vines and swirling mists, observing rare species of fauna, and swimming in gushing waterfalls. Guests can experience the hotel’s Sky Bike and Dragonfly Canopy Gondola for breathtaking views of the reserve; visit the Life Centre to learn about the reserve’s many butterfly species; or relax in the Hummingbird Garden. Here, I observed these wondrous birds up close, their tiny hearts beating at 1,200 bpm as they dipped their elegant, variously shaped beaks in the water feeds. As I pulled out my phone to take a picture of a White Whiskered Hermit, another hummer, a Velvet Purple Coronet, landed and perched on top of my phone screen.

Evenings include ‘night briefings’ where Mashpi’s team of naturalists and biologists share their knowledge of recent findings; and ‘night walks,’ where one can experience the wonders of the forest’s nocturnal activity. On one night walk I spotted a camouflaged moth as big as my hands, an endangered Mashpi Glass Frog, its organs entirely invisible through its translucent skin, and the largest tarantula I had ever seen. Above, gleamed a night sky with stars from both hemispheres (Ecuador is uniquely positioned on the equator, hence its name). On my final evening, I checked into the hotel’s Wellbeing Center, treating myself to a hot stone and lemongrass oil massage.

The next morning, before making the journey back to Quito, we breakfasted atop the Observation Tower, a viewpoint commanding the 3,000-hectare protected domain. Working together with local landowners, Mashpi has bold plans to protect 500,000 hectares in the next decade.

Quito

A day to explore Quito’s rich artisan culture. Over to Casa Montecristi, home of the famous but misnomered Panama hat. Montecristi hats, woven from Toquilla palm straw in the Inca tradition, became ‘panama’ hats early in the 20^th Century when they were popularized by workers on the Panama Canal, At Montecristi, they range from $100 to $40,000, depending on the fineness of the thread. I opted for a brown-banded Panama for $220 which came beautifully wrapped and boxed with its own Denomination of Origin Certificate.

Hidden in San Rocque’s bustling Mercado San Francisco, you will find Quito’s fabled curanderas (‘healers’). These ladies practice traditional Andean herbal medicine, a ritual which involves stripping down to one’s underwear and being rubbed all over with roots and plants: nettle, rose, verbena, mint, lemongrass, chamomile. Blessed with 400 years of Amazonian wisdom, I didn’t doubt Mama Rosita’s process — after all, 25% of modern Western drugs are rainforest derivatives — and left the market with a tingling sensation of relief and rebirth and smelling quite fragrant. Afterwards, we visited the San Marcos studio of renowned Quiteño artist Bolívar Araujo, who made us coffee and showed us around his Colonial-era workshop. We then visited the Jesuit complex to check out a community initiative, De Vuelta al Centro (‘back to the centre’) which plants and nurtures endangered species of geraniums, iconic flowers of the Old Town.

In the afternoon, we explored the city’s modern north with Metropolitan’s Dominic Hamilton, an English expat who has been living there for twenty years. Knowing I was in the market for some camera film, Dom took me to see his friend Sebastían Rodríguez who runs a large photo studio with a film processing lab, darkroom, and camera shop. Sebas diagnosed an issue with my camera and kindly loaned me one of his own for the rest of the trip. Following this we had an aperitif at Vermuteria Clandestina, a vermouth bar in the La Floresta neighborhood, and dined at the impressive NUEMA, the first Ecuadorian restaurant to land on the World’s 100 Best Restaurants list.

The Galapagos Islands

The best way to experience the Galapagos is of course by boat. Our home for the next five days was Metropolitan’s Yacht La Pinta, a 24-cabin, 209 feet luxury touring vessel complete with jacuzzi, gym and sundeck. Our itinerary was the Humboldt Isles Expedition, named after legendary German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who in the early 19^th century made extensive studies of the waters off the coast of South America. He concluded that the cool current that flows north from Antarctica along the west coast of South America brought nutrient-rich water to the Galapagos, fundamental to sustain the islands’ rich biodiversity. Our itinerary included the central and southeastern islands which are among the first to welcome this mighty ‘Humboldt current.’

We began in Baltra (from where my grandparents would have boarded the Golden Cachalot in 1972 — coincidentally, one of Metropolitan’s first touring vessels) and embarked on a southeasterly loop, exploring South Plaza, Santa Fe, San Cristobal, Española, and Santa Cruz. We swam, snorkeled, kayaked, and of course saw a great deal of wildlife: iguanas perched on volcanic rocks, sea lions splashing about in turquoise waters, hawks soaring, pelicans plunging, frigate (‘pirate’) birds stealing lunch from blue-footed boobies, and several species of the ubiquitous Darwin finch. When a 26-year-old Darwin visited the islands in 1835 (he came only once and spent no more than five weeks here) he observed the remarkable variation in the beak shapes and sizes of the Galapagos finches, which led him to formulate his groundbreaking theory of evolution by natural selection.

Each night aboard La Pinta, we learned about Darwin and the history of the islands in ‘eco-talks’ given by Francisco Pancho Dousdebes, an expert naturalist and former Galapagos resident who has studied the islands for over 40 years. Curiously, they were discovered entirely by accident 490 years ago by Bishop Tomás de Berlanga of Panama, whose ship was blown of course while sailing to Peru. He initially found them barren and inhospitable, describing them as “a land where God seemed to have showered stones in the middle of the ocean.” But he did not fail to observe the unusual size of the island’s giant tortoises, and later visitors, pirates, whalers, and settlers, would come to discover their extraordinary biodiversity.

Our last few nights were spent in the comfort of Finch Bay Hotel, a luxury beachfront base near the vibrant town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. With a pool, spa, and world-class restaurant, it was the perfect place to lose one’s sea legs and experience the charms of the Galapagos by land. From here we visited Rancho El Manzazillo, a nature preserve and the best place to see giant tortoises, and Las Grietas, a saltwater swimming hole a short walk from the hotel. Finch Bay sits in the middle of the Galapagos National Park and the hotel is itself a haven of sustainability, committed to minimizing its environmental impact through solar power, circular waste management, and local hiring and purchasing. It is hardly surprising to learn that it was set up by Mashpi founder Roque Sevilla.

Just as you’ve gotten used to giant pelicans swooping overhead, to small blacktip sharks swimming between your legs in the shallows, to whiskered sea lions snoozing on benches in the port, it is time to go home. Ecuador is an extraordinary country, a land of vibrant color and culture, a cornucopia of precious species and ecosystems. Rarely does a place exceed even one’s wildest dreams.

Where to stay

Where to eat/drink

Cocina Mestiza at Casa Gangotena

Mashpi Lodge restaurant

Vermuteria Clandestina

NUEMA

Finch Bay restaurant

Golden Prague Pub Galapagos