Puerto Ayora
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 Ecuadorian president. The town is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora is the most populous town in the Galápagos Islands, with more than 12,000 inhabitants.
Puerto Ayora has the best developed infrastructure in the archipelago. The larger of the two Galápagos banks, Banco del Pacifico, is located in Puerto Ayora. The walkable downtown area of Puerto Ayora is a small strip of hotels, restaurants, tour companies, gift shops, clothing stores, marine stores, tourist shops and night clubs. The main Avenue is named Avenida Charles Darwin and begins on the main dock of Puerto Ayora and finishes at the Charles Darwin Research Station.[3] The Town Hall (Alcaldía) is on Avenida Charles Darwin as well. Puerto Ayora 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. There is a Health Center (Centro de Salud) in the northern part of Puerto Ayora as well. Most of the locals live in the northern part of the town where various schools, a market hall and a sports center were built. Most of the shops, hardware stores and grocery stores there can be found in Calle Baltra and Calle Durán. The stadium is in the northwest of the center close to the bus station. 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 drinkable.