Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the oldest settlement in the Galápagos. General José de Villamil founded it in the 1830s or 1840s, and it takes its name from Alfredo Baquerizo Moreno, the first Ecuadorian president to visit the islands while in office. Charles Darwin had landed on San Cristóbal in 1835, at the start of his five weeks in the archipelago with HMS Beagle, and Frigatebird Hill overlooks the bay where he first came ashore.

The town's early fortunes were tied to the Hacienda Progreso, founded in 1879 about 8 km inland at El Progreso. It ran a large sugar refinery, as well as leather and oil production, under harsh conditions, and two assassinations took place there; the estate's owner, Manuel Cobos, was killed by his workers in 1904. The settlement lived on as a fishing port and is now the capital of Galápagos province, created in 1973; the governor lives in a grey stone building that also houses the naval headquarters.

Conservation and tourism shaped the late 20th century. The national park's interpretation centre opened in 1988, local people founded the Albatross Foundation in 1993 to teach young people about protecting the islands, and a Charles Darwin Research substation opened in the town in 1998. In June 2019 the Ecuadorian government's permission for the US military to use the airport as a base caused widespread outcry.

Locals often call the town simply Cristóbal, after the island. It has a stronger everyday feel than Puerto Ayora: fishermen, naval personnel, civil servants and students live alongside the tourist trade, and the cathedral, the Franciscan mission and the government offices sit among the shops of the centre. The murals of the cathedral, which place New Testament scenes among Galápagos animals and plants, sum up the town's double identity.

Sea lions are the town's emblem. They sleep on the beaches, the docks, the park benches and the decks of anchored boats, a small beach in the centre is reserved for them, and residents regard them with real affection. Conservation is part of local culture, from the Albatross Foundation's schools work to the university's research.

The Galápagos campus of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito brings students from Ecuador and abroad, and surfing is a local passion, with waves at Tongo Reef and other breaks around the island. Every July the Cine Naval, the town's only cinema, holds a festival of Ecuadorian and Latin American films. The town is twinned with Chapel Hill in North Carolina.

About 7,300 people lived in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno at the 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the Galápagos after Puerto Ayora. As capital of Galápagos province and of San Cristóbal canton, it is home to the governor, the provincial offices, and the headquarters of the navy and the national police in the islands.

Fishing is a major part of the economy: in 2014 some 520 fishermen worked from the port with 212 boats. Tourism is growing along the waterfront, with hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops and tour offices, and many boat owners find that carrying visitors pays better than fishing. Farming is marginal, because water is scarce; the town's drinking water is piped from a lake near El Progreso, which also irrigates nearby land.

Days start early at the port and on the boats. Most streets in the centre are paved, the electricity supply is continuous, and the town has a hospital and a university campus. Invasive plants such as the quinine tree, Cuban cedar and elephant grass spread through the highlands above town, one of several conservation problems residents live with.

Most food arrives by cargo ship from Guayaquil, so cooking on San Cristóbal is mainland Ecuadorian food shaped by the sea. The town's fishing fleet supplies grilled fish, ceviche of fish, shrimp or octopus, and fish in coconut sauce, and spiny lobster, langosta, is served grilled or in garlic.

For everyday eating, many small restaurants serve a set meal of soup, rice and chicken, and the restaurants along the malecón offer local and international dishes with English menus. Fresh fruit batidos, milkshakes, are a favourite in the cafés, and fresh juices are sold everywhere.

The highlands around El Progreso grow coffee, bananas, papaya and citrus, and Galápagos coffee from the island is sold in town in vacuum packs and tins, a popular thing to take home. Beer mostly comes from the mainland, though small local breweries have appeared in the islands. Lobster and fish are the main catch of the islands' fishing fleets, and fishing remains the town's other great livelihood after tourism.