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PUERTO VILLAMIL , sitting under the cloud-draped slopes of the huge Sierra Negra volcano, was founded at the beginning of the nineteenth century and named after the general who annexed the islands for Ecuador in 1832. Now home to around a thousand settlers who fish or farm coffee and fruit in the highlands, the quiet port has barely been scratched by the tourist industry. Visitors still stick out here, in this small town of sandy roads, simple houses with fences of woven branches and cactus. The beautiful palm-fringed beach escapes even the presence of a single souvenir shop, and there are several good attractions nearby, which can be seen without guides. A small dusty square, fronted by the municipio and a simple church, fixes the centre of town a block back from the waterfront, dock and Capitania. Heading north of the square takes you out of town towards the airport and highlands. On Avenida Antonio Gil, the road heading west out of the town centre, passing small, secluded lagoons ( pozas ) where you can spot waders, shore birds and sometimes flamingos, you'll see a sign for the road north to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center ("Centro de Crianza de Tortugas Gigantes"), which is a twenty-minute walk from the town centre. Work is ongoing here to repopulate the island's five unique tortoise subspecies, each based around the five largest volcanoes. On show are the rearing pens for the tiny hatchlings, and corrals for adult tortoises taken from the wild, including the rescued Cerro Azul tortoises and those saved from a serious forest fire on Sierra Negra in 1994. Two-hours' walk west along the coast road (ignoring the turn-off to the tortoise centre) beyond several peaceful beaches, brings you to El Muro de las Lagrimas (The Wall of Tears), a testament to the suffering of three hundred prisoners who toiled here in the 1940s and 1950s. They had the task of building their own prison, using the only material to hand - sharp-edged lava boulders. Driven on by guards, they made a wall some 190m long, 9m high and 6m wide at the base, but many died in the process. The prison colony was closed down after a revolt in 1959, the wall unfinished. The best place to see marine life is at Las Islas de los Tiburones (also known as Las Tintoreras), a handful of ragged black-lava grottoes poking out of the sea, a short boat ride from the port ($10-15). From the natural dock a trail leads past scuttling marine iguanas up to a lagoon and a narrow channel, where a "viewing gallery" allows you to see the sleek shapes of white-tipped reef sharks cruising back and forth. You can swim and snorkel in the lagoon - though don't swim in the channel itself as it's not big enough for both you and the sharks - or back at the landing site. If you're lucky you may see rays and marine turtles .
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