regarding your seal v sea lion thing, I was differentiating between Galalagos Sea lions Zalophus californianus wollebacki and Galapagos fur seals Arctocephalus galapagoensis though I know that technically they are both sea lion species as the ears are exposed in both cases.
As for the $5000-$7000 price tag, well if the airfare was $600 from Houston that's still only $4315. Meals in Quito will bring it up by another $30 or so, plus maybe a t-shirt or 2: $4500 at the absolute max. I don't ordinarily cost people's personal shopping habits into a trip!
And as for the tip. Well the general view in the UK and mainland Europe is that crews should get paid more, and that the guests should not have to top up pay. A lot of people save up a long time to pay for a trip like this, and often cannot afford to consider a $275 tip. That is why I usually say a trip between $150-$250 as being suitable. We don't have a tipping culture in Europe like you do, but I always expect people to leave some sort of tip...
Bob - the answer to your question is NO, I don't do a Galapagos trip every year. I tend to do one group trip a year that I personally go on, and try and chose somewhere different every time (I have been to the Galaps, but not for about 7 years). I was thinking of Fiji in 2005, but that would be for only 10 people as the Fiji Aggressor only takes 10 people. So if the Galapagos trip is a success, I MAY do another one in 2005, but I cannot guarantee that would be the case (2005, rather than the success!). I can, of course, slot you onto any Galapagos Aggressor cruise that has space at any time of the year, but you would not get the discount as I would not have chartered the boat. Hope that assists.
