Sally lightfoot crabs

Diane and I just returned from a wonderful 10-day visit to the Galapagos Islands. We traveled on the National Geographic ship, the Endeavor, with an amazing group of naturalists and photographers. Each day we sailed to different islands and spent time taking pictures, kayaking, hiking with the naturalists and traveling on zodiacs. The diversity of animals and birds was breathtaking. Because the internet connection was not the best, I was unable to blip each day so I am back blipping to capture the amazing week.

Last Saturday, the 23rd of February, we flew from Guayaquil, Ecuador to the Galapagos island of Baltra. As were got into our zodiacs to head for the ship, we were treated to hundreds of blue footed boobies diving into the water.

After lunch, our first stop was Bachas beach on Santa Cruz island. The beach was covered with marine iguanas, sally lightfoot crabs and sea lions.

Sally lightfoot crabs are the scavengers of the coasts. We saw them almost everywhere we traveled. They eat almost anything keeping the shores clear of organic detritus. The name is thought to have originated from a Caribbean dancer and refers to their ability to jump from rock to rock and climb up vertical slopes.