They're great with kids, too.Īs part of Metropolitan Touring's commitment to the environment, the company uses a silicone-based paint on the hull of La Pinta which last five years (as opposed to the normal two for other types of marine paint) and is not harmful to marine life. By law, the English (and other) language-speaking guides accompany passengers on all land-based expeditions, providing enthusiastic commentary and answering questions about local geology, botany and biology. If the pangas, inflatable water taxis that shuttle passengers from anchorage points to uninhabited islets, are the connective tissue of the experience, the top-flight naturalists (Level III, the highest in the Galapagos) are the heart. Observe the sun glasses-wearing towel monkey endemic to your cabin or the Beef Wellington that appears on the dinner menu. There's also the occasional traditional cruise flourish. After a day peeking under the Pacific or trekking under the equatorial sun, passengers can chat in the popular top-ship hot tub or enjoy a pre-dinner pisco sour in the lounge as they swap pictures (the world's most adorable baby sea lion, say) and stories ("The baby sea lion thought I was its mother!"). Touches like fine in-cabin showers, Wi-Fi and a glass-bottom boat (for non-snorkelers and the sea lion-phobic) are welcome inclusions. Outside, the sun deck has an improved canvas awning and a renovated bar and buffet area for alfresco dining. On the top Boat Deck the forward Observation Bar & Lounge has brand new earth tone furnishings, including sofas, banquettes and chairs, and the former library is now an expedition room. On the middle Cabin Deck, staterooms have benefited from new furniture - including closets, desks and leather chairs - along with new drapes, headboards and artworks. The dining room, also on the Main Deck, has new furniture, a marble-topped buffet and is decorated with a display of colorful limited edition prints by Ecuadorian artist Paula Barragan. The new-look reception and lobby area on the Main Deck has benches for passengers waiting to disembark, along with updated lighting, decor and display cabinet of Ecuadorian jewelry. Recent upgrades include new carpeting and lighting throughout the cabins and public areas, coupled with extensive improvements. Tools of the trade include outdoor shower heads (de-sanding), a public-use dryer (for wet towels, swimming trunks), a goodie basket of Dramamine motion sickness medicine in the lobby, a quintet of tandem kayaks, snorkel gear (mask, fin, snorkel), a briefing room with modern audio visual equipment and a crane that delivers a trio of pangas (inflatable water taxis) from ship to sea. La Pinta, built in 1982 as a Bahamas-based casino ship, then gutted and rebuilt in 2008, also fulfills its duty as a modern expedition vessel. While no manmade ship will ever compete with Darwin's favorite national park - where rust colored calderas jut out of the Pacific stoic, yellow iguanas guard fruit-laden cactus trees and blue-footed birds dance and whistle their way to progeny - La Pinta exceeds the basic requirement to introduce well-traveled, pretense-free passengers to sea lions and sea turtles. The cruise yacht - considered mid-size among the 100 or so 12- to 100-passenger vessels cruising the region - provides an effortless means of experiencing the menagerie of reptiles, birds and marine mammals the Ecuadorian hotspot is famous for. Metropolitan Touring's 48-passenger La Pinta is a year-round Galapagos-based island hopper that was significantly refurbished at the tail-end of 2019.
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