Puerto Ayora

There is no firm evidence that people reached the Galápagos before their discovery by the Spanish in 1535. Academy Bay, the town's harbour, takes its name from the California Academy of Sciences, which sent an expedition there in 1905. In the 1920s Norwegians set up a fish cannery on the bay, and they were joined by survivors of a failed Norwegian colony on Floreana. Most left within a few years, but a few stayed, and others followed from Europe, the Americas and mainland Ecuador in search of a simpler life — among them the four Angermeyer brothers from Germany, who arrived in 1935 and whose descendants still live in the town.

The settlement was named Puerto Ayora after Isidro Ayora, an Ecuadorian president. Its growth came with conservation and tourism. The Charles Darwin Foundation, founded in 1959 under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union, built its research station at the eastern end of the bay, and the Galápagos National Park also made its headquarters here, making the small settlement the centre of conservation in the islands.

As cruise and land-based tourism grew, so did the town, which became the most populous in the archipelago and the main base for visitors staying on land. A new hospital opened in 2006. In 2012 Lonesome George, a tortoise from Pinta Island believed to be the last of his subspecies and long a symbol of the park, died at the research station.

The town's people are mostly settlers or descendants of settlers from mainland Ecuador, with a few long-established families of Norwegian and German origin. Conservation is part of local identity: Puerto Ayora is home to both the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation, many guides are islanders trained and licensed by the park, and schoolchildren learn the park's rules.

Social life is outdoors and unhurried. In the evenings people gather along Avenida Charles Darwin and at the kiosks, and the town's nightlife is relaxed, with a few bars and discos where locals dance salsa. Football is played at the stadium near the bus terminal and on sand pitches, and beach volleyball is popular. The Iglesia de San Francisco is a modern church built in 1968, and two modern churches in the northern part of town, the Iglesia de Edén and the Iglesia de la Calle E, are known for their colourful wall paintings.

The calendar follows mainland Catholic fiestas, and the islands also mark the anniversary of the Galápagos province each February. Sea lions, pelicans and marine iguanas share the waterfront with people, and the sight of them on benches and docks is part of everyday life.

About 12,700 people lived in Puerto Ayora at the 2022 census, making it the largest town in the archipelago; around 18,000 live on Santa Cruz as a whole, including the highland farming villages. It is the seat of Santa Cruz canton, whose mayor, Fanny Uribe, was elected for 2023–2027.

Tourism is the economy. Hotels, tour agencies, dive shops, boat crews and restaurants employ much of the town, and Puerto Ayora has the most developed infrastructure in the islands, including the larger of the two Galápagos banks. Most residents live in the northern part of town, away from the waterfront, around the schools, the market hall and the sports centre.

Fresh water is the constant concern. It is scarce, residents conserve it and collect rainwater in the wet season, there is a desalination plant, and many buildings run separate water systems, with water for washing that is not safe to drink. Most food and goods arrive by cargo ship from Guayaquil, so prices are high, and days follow the boats — early departures for day trips and quiet streets by late evening.

Almost everything except seafood and some highland produce is shipped from the mainland, so cooking in Puerto Ayora is mainland Ecuadorian food with a strong taste of the sea. Ceviche of fish, shrimp or octopus, fish in coconut sauce and grilled fresh catch are the staples, and spiny lobster, langosta, is served grilled or with garlic.

The town's best-known way to eat is at the evening kiosks, which set tables out in the road and grill lobster, fish and meat to order. Encebollado, the mainland's tuna-and-cassava soup, is a favourite breakfast here too. Along Avenida Charles Darwin, restaurants serve seafood grills, pizza, pasta and sushi to visitors, while set lunches, almuerzos, feed people who work in town.

The Santa Cruz highlands grow coffee, sold under island brands, as well as bananas, papaya and citrus, and cattle are raised for local beef. Fresh juices and batidos are everywhere. Water from the taps may not be drinkable, so bottled water is the norm, and most beer comes from the mainland, though small local breweries have appeared.