After several days of travelling through pristine areas where we were the only human beings, ignored by the other inhabitants of the islands, we reached the bustling port town of Puerto Ayora. The town is located on the southern side of the second largest island in the archipelago, Santa Cruz, and has a total of about ten thousand inhabitants.

Though Puerto Ayora was actually founded by Norwegians in 1926, the population has exploded in the past twenty years or so, and now consists mainly of Ecuadorians from various areas of the country. This massive immigration went on uncontrolled for many years, as the Galapagos were considered just another province of Ecuador, and a wealthy one at that, due to the illusion of large numbers of visitors to the islands (confined mainly to ships). This has practically stopped now due to the creation of the new Special Law for the Galapagos, which completely restricts immigration to the islands.

The population of Galapagos is so new, that it is only gradually acquiring a cultural identity of its own, at the moment it is a kind of cultural patchwork quilt, made up by peoples from all over Ecuador. About 47% of Ecuador's population is from the Andean highlands, the rest from the Pacific lowlands and the "Oriente", or Amazon Basin region. There are representatives from all three regions in the islands, and they have all brought in their respective contributions in as much as food, music and general culture are concerned. An important part of travelling to a foreign country is getting a taste for these aspects of a place, and over the week we introduce our guests to local dishes, and to some of the local music and traditions.

On Wednesday evenings we have a special treat on board, as a group of visiting musicians named "Galapagos Identity" comes on board. Their typically Ecuadorian music is mainly influenced by the Andean cultures, as are their beautiful, haunting wind instruments, such as the antara, the quena and the exclusively Ecuadorian rondador. The string instruments include the charango, a small, ten-string instrument traditionally made of the back of an armadillo. Our musical group introduces music, dances and costumes from the different regions of Andean Ecuador, such as the IntiRaymi fiestas of Cayambe, north of Quito. They then continue with several new songs, evolved in Galapagos, and depicting the life in the islands. There is an incredible energy to this music, and no one could remain seated for very long, as many of us joined in the festivities.