Hi Marc - I think you'd enjoy a tour of the islands. It is REALLY remote and largely uninhabited by humans. The residents of the Galapagos Islands have first dibs on the jobs, so you interact with the human native population, too. Lots of time on paperwork is needed from what we could tell. We really liked our captain, who stuck his head out for about 1/2 an hour on 2 of the 4 days. It's similar to a safari - up early and a siesta time between lunch and the afternoon landing. All of the landings are via Zodiac (pangas to the locals) a la Antarctica.

For me, 4 days was enough. We had the option of a 3, 4 or 7 night itinerary. I believe the Ecuadorean authorities are tightening up access to the islands starting in 2012. That's why we decided to go this year.

Cheers, Anne