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Entertainment
The following towns offer facilities for tourists:
1. Puerto Ayora / Santa Cruz Island
This is the main port of entrance to the Archi-
pelago, as well as its capital, with its numerous
attractions and amazing night life. The main at-
tractions of the island are: Charles Darwin Foun-
dation Headquarters and Tortuga Bay. Flights are
available from Quito or Guayaquil with Tame and
Aerogal. The airlines also provide a bus to the Ita-
baca canal.
2. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno / San Cristobal Island
This is the capital of the Province and has the
second largest number of inhabitants in the archi-
pelago. The main attractions of the island are: the
Interpretation Center; Ochoa Beach, Playa Man,
Pit Pint, El Junco lagoon and the Lobos Island.
3. Puerto Velasco Ibarra / Floreana Island
The enigmatic island is the least inhabited of the
archipelago. The main attractions are: the histori-
cal Post Office Bay and Asilio de Paz, Punta Cor-
moran, Corona del Diablo, Enderby and Gardner
Bay.
4. Puerto Villamil / Isabela Island
The town has a population of about 2,500, mostly
fishermen. Close to the town there are several
impressive sites: a path alongside a reef that is
home to several tip sharks; “Concha y Perla Bay”,
a giant tortoise breeding center; and the amazing
volcanoes Sierra Negra that has the second larg-
est crater in the world and Volcán Chico.
The beaches, 2800km bathed by sun and sand
Pacific bathes the entire outline of Ecuador. A pro-
file of 2800 km of equinox sunlight. From North to
South, the landscape is a bright palette. There are
giant mangroves, such as Majahual, and cliffs and
caves carved into rock. In Manabi, white sand lie on
the crescent of Playa Los Frailes and canoes deep
into the waters to see the humpback whales jumping
in Puerto López. The wild waves make rocks and
meadows of Santa Elena an international station for
surfing. And the maze of islands, marshes and chan-
nels take the traveler to Jambelí, in El Oro are only
some samples from the horizon that by 40 percent of
Ecuadorians is the main path of domestic tourism,
says a recent survey prepared by Tourist INEC.
The Ecuadorian Coast extends from the west-
ern slopes of the Andes to the Pacific Ocean. It is
crossed from North to South by a lower mountain
range and is full of alluvial plains. The region has
had the largest agricultural development, thanks to
the variety of natural resources, such as water, wide
plains and fertile soils.
The weather in the Coast is mostly warm; however,
there are two seasons, wet and dry. The first is warm
and humid, and goes from December to May. The
rest of the year is dry and cooler. During the months
of the austral winter (June to December), the Ecua-
dorian coast has an additional attraction: the pres-
ence of Humpback whales that migrate from the
Antarctic to tropical waters to mate and give birth to
their calves.
The old road from Quito to the coast, the Calacali
– La Independencia road, passes through some of
the best bird-watching territory in the country. The
other route from Quito is through Santo Domingo
de los Colorados, set amid a broad sea of banana
and oil-palm plantations, skirting a few tropical wet
forests. From Guayaquil, one can begin the “Ruta
del Sol”, the route of beautiful beaches, culture and
adventures, taking the road throughout the coastline.
Whale Watching:
Humpback Whale Watching can be done during the
months of June - October.
The Humpback Whale can be observed throughout
the Ecuadorian Coast, specifically along the Prov-
ince of Manabi’s coastline. The best place is in the
Machalilla National Park, close to Puerto López city
in Manabi. Other good places are in the Galapagos
coast