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After a panga ride across the cliffs, we arrived at the island of Genovesa. It is considered one of the wildest, untouched islands of the Galapagos. The walk was an easy stroll…but what we were strolling through were 1000s of birds. Red-footed boobies which had red feet (from eating so much crab) with a blueish beak and taupe colored body were well-known on this island. There were also Frigate birds which had black feathers and red necks which inflate with air when the males are in heat. The babies of the Frigate birds were everywhere and easily identifiable…they were super fuzzy white birds, usually loudly squawking for food.
As we kept walking we also saw Nazca boobies (white with brown feathers) and the Galapagos mocking birds. The swallowed-tail gull was particularly unusual looking, with a red circle around their black eyes. They are the world’s only nocturnal gull and the eyes are adapted for night feeding. The birds were not afraid of humans in the slightest. These islands are so protected…the animals have not really experienced much danger from visitors. We were literally 2 ft away from birds sitting on their eggs looking up at us as if we were annoyingly in their way.
As we walked closer towards some of the bushes on the island, we could hear and see sea birds everywhere…in the sky, in their nests and at our feet. We saw an adult bird feeding its baby as it regurgitated a whole squid for feeding. This was like watching the discovery channel but we were right there.
We took tons of pictures…how often would we ever be this close to live birds looking right back at us posing for the camera? After our stroll through the bushes, we took our panga back onto the yacht. After lunch, we had a bit of wind down time and then Mark (Giff’s brother-in-law), Giff and I went snorkeling in Darwin Bay…we were accompanied by a friendly sea lion who swam with us. People pay to swim with the dolphins…this sea lion was wild and swimming around us comfortably…in fact, we had to move to get out of his way.
Snorkeling was fairly quick and then we ended up on a different part of Genovesa Island to look for the short-eared owl. Our guides told us he was tricky to find. His brown color was well-camouflaged against the rocky island. We walked slowly along the rocky coast with our binoculars trying to find him. Just as we were thinking we wouldn’t find one…he was spotted. He was standing perfectly still (probably eyeing his next meal) but we saw him. He was a bit far, but this was the first time Giff and I had ever seen an owl in person. After taking pictures, we were walking back through some tall grassy areas when we saw another owl literally right in front of us. He was again standing still but this time, was not camouflaged as well so we spotted him. He turned his head all the way around right in front of us which was kind of cool to see.
Back on the boat we had some relaxation time and played cards with the family before sitting down for dinner. Unfortunately dinner was really pretty bad again…are we going to starve on this ship? The soup was so awful…I think we compared it to dishwater with frozen veggies.
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Published by Brandey Kabat
What I like: Dark chocolate, yoga, fresh squeezed juice, laughing, hiking, wine, travel, food, lush products, being warm, having long hair, the ritual of drinking something hot first thing in the morning…
What I don’t like: When people smell their fingers, pushing elevator buttons, confrontational situations, not being able to fall asleep quickly at bedtime…
Most random job ever: Plastic surgery consultant
As for my love life: I met my husband mid way through my junior year in college, as soon as I laid my eyes on him I was attracted to him. In fact, I made the first move which was a bit out of character but there was something about him…probably the fact that he was smokin’ hot!!
Where from and where to: I grew up in NY, went to college at The Ohio State University and then headed to CA after graduation. My boyfriend (Giff) and I had a map, a borrowed van and used stuff from his mom’s basement aka a vacuum, silverware, old Christmas ornaments etc., and about $1000 each. We thought it would be a good idea to head straight to CA since neither of us had been. Being we didn’t know anyone there nor did we have a job or job interviews set up or a place to live…I would say we did it the hard way! However with a bit of help from Giff’s mom who flew out to put us up in a hotel, bought me a suit for interviewing and co-signed a lease to get us a place to live we eventually found jobs and an apartment and have been in CA for 10 years.
Our story: After moving out to CA and living together for about 3 years we got engaged. He popped the question while down on one knee on the beach at sunset after we finished our picnic he had packed of bread, cheese, shrimp cocktail and wine. He even had the ring in a box that had a light shining down on it when opened so as it was getting dark, this amazing man was asking me to be his wife as he handed me a huge rock…Yes! Yes! Yes!
In 2005 we were married (I am biased but our wedding was absolutely amazing). By the end of 2005 we were new home owners. 2006-2009- we were both happily married, attached to our 3 cats and were focused on building our careers.
Giff and I got pregnant mid year 2009 with our first baby but what should have been one of the highlights of our life was soon distracted by the news I received at the doctor’s office.
The lump in my breast that had been dismissed the year before as nothing was now being diagnosed by a different doctor as breast cancer. Thankfully Giff is a persistent person and when we went in for our ultrasound (to hear our baby’s heartbeat) he brought up the request for testing to be done on the lump rather than dismissing it based on feeling it.
The going gets rough: Things began to move so quickly at that point, it was hard to breathe. I was 30, pregnant with my first child and going into surgery to remove breast cancer. I was about to go through what would be the worst year of my life. The plan had been discussed, we were going with the most aggressive regimen possible- double mastectomy, port surgically placed in my chest, chemotherapy, drug therapy and radiation. We also had to terminate the pregnancy. This cancer was estrogen positive and the hormones were actually feeding the cancer. That little angel whom was the cause of our going into the doctor saved my life.
Giff was my rock through every step…interviewing a team of the best doctors, memorizing which medicines I needed to take and when, driving me to chemotherapy and sitting next to me while I was so scared, telling me I was beautiful when I was bald, and so many other things…words cannot express. When you say your vows, in sickness and in health…you would never guess sickness of this magnitude at this age would be in the near future. In addition to this hardship, Giff’s dad died of a complicated prostate cancer the day we came home from my surgery. I could not hold my husband as he mourned for his dad because of the pain I was in from the mastectomy. How did Giff handle all of this pain at one time? How was he so strong for me? He is amazing. Giff’s dad was one of those people whom you naturally wanted to be around…his smile was contagious, his love for life was invigorating and he listened so intently when you talked in a conversation with him. He made you feel special. We think about him often and will miss him so much.
My family and friends were also by my side…my mom flying out from NY several times to help us with cooking and cleaning and holding my hand. It must be one of the most awful things in the world to watch your baby girl be diagnosed with breast cancer. My girlfriends also flew out to take care of me and help with anything they could. Other friends living closer would come by just to sit and talk or watch movies. There were so many cards, letters, flowers, cookies, and other gifts that came from all over the country. It’s amazing to have such great people in my life. In addition to my amazing circle of friends and family, there were the strangers with whom crossed our path. Whether it was a letter in the mail from a breast cancer survivor, the anesthesiologist who called Giff during my surgery crying happy tears that the cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes, or our fertility doctor who promised to watch over our frozen embryos as if they were her own. There were so many small gestures that made such a big impact on our lives.
Looking at the bright side: Thankfully this was caught in stage 1, had it been caught a year prior by the first doctor I had gone into about the lump, it may have been caught at stage 0. Please learn from my lesson…insist the lump be tested – a lump cannot be diagnosed by touch. They were able to cut all the cancer out and after I finish the entire regimen including a pill I take over the next 5 years, they said there is a 95% chance the cancer will never come back.
Our exciting future: We’ve decided to re-prioritize, we are taking 400 days starting February 7th of 2011 to travel the world! We will travel to new places, eat new foods, taste new wines and meet new people. We will focus on healing ourselves both physically and mentally. This will be one of the best years of our lives.
View all posts by Brandey Kabat
Spinning Around The World 
It’s incredible how close you were to the wildlife there. I mean what birds let you get close to their baby eggs right??? Cool post.