Bartolome Island
A great week has come to an end. It is a truly exciting time of the year to come to the Galápagos Islands. A cool breeze floating in the air helps us find pleasant relief from the warm equatorial sun. We have many family trips going on this season. Lots of questions, fun and happiness are the common denominators among our groups. Children and teenagers add a lot to the general experience; their energy and curiosity are endless.
One of the young visitors this week came to me this morning and asked me “Carlos, what are those little balls spread all over the beach?” I answered cheerfully “Ghost crabs’ pellets!” “Pellets? Ghost crabs?” he replied. I proceeded immediately to explain to my inquisitive interviewer about these invertebrates. These crustaceans extract their food from the sand using their pincers just like silverware. Once they have filtered their food, they throw away little balls – “spit balls” as I call them, are therefore found all over. Their namesake “ghost” comes after the quick appearances and disappearances they make to flee inside the holes they burrow in the sand at the sight of a potential predator. It is not easy, as you can imagine, taking a picture of these crabs due to their swift movements. Today I was lucky enough to see one of them while I was waiting with a lot of patience in front of one these holes. These funny creatures with “eyes on stalks” are really neat.
A great week has come to an end. It is a truly exciting time of the year to come to the Galápagos Islands. A cool breeze floating in the air helps us find pleasant relief from the warm equatorial sun. We have many family trips going on this season. Lots of questions, fun and happiness are the common denominators among our groups. Children and teenagers add a lot to the general experience; their energy and curiosity are endless.
One of the young visitors this week came to me this morning and asked me “Carlos, what are those little balls spread all over the beach?” I answered cheerfully “Ghost crabs’ pellets!” “Pellets? Ghost crabs?” he replied. I proceeded immediately to explain to my inquisitive interviewer about these invertebrates. These crustaceans extract their food from the sand using their pincers just like silverware. Once they have filtered their food, they throw away little balls – “spit balls” as I call them, are therefore found all over. Their namesake “ghost” comes after the quick appearances and disappearances they make to flee inside the holes they burrow in the sand at the sight of a potential predator. It is not easy, as you can imagine, taking a picture of these crabs due to their swift movements. Today I was lucky enough to see one of them while I was waiting with a lot of patience in front of one these holes. These funny creatures with “eyes on stalks” are really neat.
