Puerto Ayora
Encyclopedia
Puerto Ayora is a town
in central Galápagos
, Ecuador
. Located on the southern shore of Santa Cruz Island
, it is the seat of Santa Cruz Canton. The town is named in honor of Isidro Ayora
, an Ecuador
ian president. The town is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Santa Cruz.
Puerto Ayora is the most populated
town in the Galápagos Islands
, with more than 10,000 inhabitants. For many people Santa Cruz may be the only inhabited island they visit while in Galápagos. It has the best developed infrastructure in the archipelago
. The larger of the two Galápagos banks (Banco del Pacifico) is located in Puerto Ayora, as well as schools, hotels, restaurants, clothing stores, hardware stores, grocery stores, marine stores, tourist shops and night clubs. It is the best place in Galápagos for communicating with the outside world via numerous cybercafes with Internet access or telephone offices. Puerto Ayora emergency medical facilities include a new hospital opened in 2006 and the island's only hyperbaric chamber.
Home to both the Charles Darwin Foundation
and the Galápagos National Park
, Puerto Ayora is the center of the Galápagos conservation efforts. Island visitors may visit the Charles Darwin Research Station
to learn the history of the islands and future conservation plans.
Puerto Ayora has a protected location, along the shores of Academy Bay
, where a refreshing breeze often provides pleasant weather. Temperatures vary between 18 - 29oC (64 - 82 oF). The hot season usually runs from December to May.
Academy Bay is a busy harbor, normally full of boats cruising the islands, passing private yacht
s and local fishing boats. This bay is a good location to spot brown pelican
s, golden rays, marine iguana
s, heron
s, lava gull
s, frigate birds, Galápagos sea lion
s, and large numbers of blue-footed boobies, which fish by spectacular plunge diving.
Fresh water is at a premium on the island and in this town. Locals practice water conservation and typically collect rainwater during the rainy season. There is a desalination
plant on the island. Many facilities have separate water systems with varying degrees of use/quality. For example, water used for cleaning/showering may not be potable.
just off the north end of Santa Cruz. Those airlines are AeroGal
& TAME
. The typical means to reach Puerto Ayora from the Baltra airport is a bus ride to the Itabaca channel where a ferry ride is taken to Santa Cruz Island. Then another bus, courtesy vehicle or taxi is taken to Puerto Ayora. From the Puerto Ayora docks water taxis wait to take passengers to their boats or to west Puerto Ayora.
There are also daily speed boats which take passengers to or from Puerto Ayora and the other inhabited islands of San Cristóbal
or Isabela
.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in central Galápagos
Galápagos Province
Galápagos is a province of Ecuador in the country's Insular region, located approximately off the western coast of the mainland. The capital is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno....
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. Located on the southern shore of Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos)
Santa Cruz Island is one of the Galápagos Islands with an area of and a maximum altitude of .Situated in the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz there are some...
, it is the seat of Santa Cruz Canton. The town is named in honor of Isidro Ayora
Isidro Ayora
Isidro Ayora Cueva was an Ecuadorian political figure. He served as the president of Ecuador from 1926 to 1931. Isidro Ayora, a town in Guayas, and Puerto Ayora, are named after him. Some people name coins ayora because this were introduced by him.-External links:...
, an Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
ian president. The town is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Santa Cruz.
Puerto Ayora is the most populated
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
town in the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, with more than 10,000 inhabitants. For many people Santa Cruz may be the only inhabited island they visit while in Galápagos. It has the best developed infrastructure in the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
. The larger of the two Galápagos banks (Banco del Pacifico) is located in Puerto Ayora, as well as schools, hotels, restaurants, clothing stores, hardware stores, grocery stores, marine stores, tourist shops and night clubs. It is the best place in Galápagos for communicating with the outside world via numerous cybercafes with Internet access or telephone offices. Puerto Ayora emergency medical facilities include a new hospital opened in 2006 and the island's only hyperbaric chamber.
Home to both the Charles Darwin Foundation
Charles Darwin Foundation
The Charles Darwin Foundation was founded in 1959, under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union. The Foundation is dedicated to the conservation of the Galapagos Islands ecosystems. The Charles Darwin Research Station serves as headquarters for The Foundation, and is used to...
and the Galápagos National Park
Galapagos National Park
Galápagos National Park, established in 1959, is Ecuador's first national park. The government of Ecuador designated 97% of the land area of Galápagos as the country's first National Park...
, Puerto Ayora is the center of the Galápagos conservation efforts. Island visitors may visit the Charles Darwin Research Station
Charles Darwin Research Station
The Charles Darwin Research Station is a biological research station operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation. It is located in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, with satellite offices on Isabela and San Cristóbal islands.- Background :In Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island,...
to learn the history of the islands and future conservation plans.
Puerto Ayora has a protected location, along the shores of Academy Bay
Academy Bay
Academy Bay is the natural harbor of Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos Islands archipelago. The bay was named for the California Academy of Sciences, which sent an expedition here in 1905. It is home to the Charles Darwin Research Station, founded in 1959 to preserve and study the Galapagos...
, where a refreshing breeze often provides pleasant weather. Temperatures vary between 18 - 29oC (64 - 82 oF). The hot season usually runs from December to May.
Academy Bay is a busy harbor, normally full of boats cruising the islands, passing private yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
s and local fishing boats. This bay is a good location to spot brown pelican
Brown Pelican
The Brown Pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is in length, weighs from and has a wingspan from .-Range and habits:...
s, golden rays, marine iguana
Marine iguana
The Marine Iguana is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile. The Iguana can dive over 30 ft into the water. It has spread to all the islands in the archipelago, and is...
s, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s, lava gull
Lava Gull
The Lava Gull is a large gull. One of the rarest gulls in the world, the entire population lives on the Galapagos Islands and is estimated at 400 pairs....
s, frigate birds, Galápagos sea lion
Galápagos Sea Lion
The Galápagos sea lion , a species of sea lion, exclusively breeds on the Galápagos Islands and – in smaller numbers – on Isla de la Plata . Being fairly social, and one of the most numerous species in the Galápagos archipelago, they are often spotted sun-bathing on sandy shores or rock groups or...
s, and large numbers of blue-footed boobies, which fish by spectacular plunge diving.
Fresh water is at a premium on the island and in this town. Locals practice water conservation and typically collect rainwater during the rainy season. There is a desalination
Desalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
plant on the island. Many facilities have separate water systems with varying degrees of use/quality. For example, water used for cleaning/showering may not be potable.
Transportation
Flights from continental Ecuador fly into either San Cristobal or to Baltra IslandBaltra Island
Baltra Island, or Isla Baltra, is a small island of the Galápagos Islands. Also known as South Seymour , Baltra is a small flat island located near the center of the Galápagos. It was created by geological uplift...
just off the north end of Santa Cruz. Those airlines are AeroGal
Aerogal
AeroGal is an airline based in Quito, Ecuador. It operates passenger and cargo flights within Ecuador, between the mainland and the Galápagos Islands, and between Ecuador and New York, Perú and Colombia.- History :AeroGal was established in 1986.Through a commercial agreement between AeroGal and...
& TAME
Tame
Tame may refer to:*Taming, the act of domesticating wild animals*River Tame, Greater Manchester*River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley*Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality...
. The typical means to reach Puerto Ayora from the Baltra airport is a bus ride to the Itabaca channel where a ferry ride is taken to Santa Cruz Island. Then another bus, courtesy vehicle or taxi is taken to Puerto Ayora. From the Puerto Ayora docks water taxis wait to take passengers to their boats or to west Puerto Ayora.
There are also daily speed boats which take passengers to or from Puerto Ayora and the other inhabited islands of San Cristóbal
San Cristóbal Island
San Cristóbal is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, and one of the oldest geologically.Its Spanish name "San Cristóbal" comes from the patron saint of seafarers, St. Christopher...
or Isabela
Isabela Island (Ecuador)
Isabela Island is the largest island of the Galápagos with an area of , and length of nearly 4 times larger than Santa Cruz, the next largest of the islands. This island was named in honor of Queen Isabella of Spain, who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. . By the English, it was named Albemarle...
.