Theme Day: The Creative Artisan

Today's world-wide City Daily Photo theme is "The Creative Artisan."  I like to showcase distinctly Costa Rican interpretations of the Daily Photo themes, such as last month's photo of monkeys crossing the street for the theme of pedestrians.

So, today I am stretching the interpretation of the theme by choosing a photo that shows the artisans of mother nature.  These artistic patterns in the sand are a work in progress by tiny crabs that crawl beneath the sand and leave little piles of sand pushed up in their tracks.

This process reminds me of a miniature, abstract version of the Nazca Lines in Peru.

My son, Stuart, has even taken a video showing these little lines as they are being created.  It is not exactly a high drama, action sequence.

This week we have photos from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, including a photo of the endangered chubb fish, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted the theme of artisans at work, click on this link.

Patterns in the sand

Looking down at the sand by one's feet while walking along the wet sand under the receding waves of Tamarindo beach will sometimes reveal odd patterns of lines in the sand.

These are the trails of a little creature that I presume is a member of the crab family.  When  a wave covers the sand, the patterns will be washed away, and the process will start again.

The creature who created these lines looks like he had too much to drink, as he was unable to walk in a straight line.

This we we are showing photos of some scenes of the people, markets, and scenery of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: My Street

The worldwide Daily Photo Theme Day for November 1 is "My Street." This is a photo of our street connecting Playa Langosta to Tamarindo, taken during the night during the tim when crabs come across to mate or do whatever they do on the other side of the road.

I had a choice of whether to show condos, gates to beachfront mansions, flowers, monkeys on our street, or this crab.  It was a tough choice between a monkey or a crab, but I thought this street-level view was more consistent with the theme.

This week we are showing photos of Papua New Guinea on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  It was a wonderful mix of native cultures, South Pacific scenery, a total solar eclipse, a volcano erupting at night, and colorful coral reefs.

The Crab is at Home

The wetlands in and around estuaries are habitat for lots of animals, including fish, birds, crocodiles, mammals, and crabs.

The crabs must provide food for other animals, as they are rather cautious about straying from their home.  This crab kept his eye on me and stayed where he could dash back down his hole if I looked threatening.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing some additional photos from our trip to Cambodia earlier this year.  We want to go back and see more.  The photos will help show you why.

Crab excavations

This photo explains he odd patterns in the sand that I showed yesterday.  Little crabs come out of their holes in the sand and deposit little balls of sand that they have dug out of their burrows.  There must be quite a network of tunnels under the sand.  I wonder why they do not flood with water when the tide comes in and covers over this area, but the crabs are obviously doing fine.

This week we have photos highlighting the wildlife of Tanzania, Africa posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crab walking on the sand

The dog that I showed the day before yesterday's interruption of this series for earthquake news became curious about small items in the sand, if they moved.  This crab was moving, slowly, but fast enough for the dog to notice.

Like me, this crab seemed to be out on a morning walk on the beach, except he had to carry his house with him.

This week we have more photos of Julie's raft trip through the Grand Canyon on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crab excavating his burrow

This is a little hard to see, but there is a crab at the entrance to his burrow in the center of this photo.   The little bumps of sand that you see all around this area are the tailings removed by the crab when he dug his burrow.

He removed sand from his hole by bringing sand to the surface and depositing the sand around his hole.  It is a curious behavior.  The crab is shy.  When he sees humans near his hole, he stays underground.  For that reason, I could not get very close for this photo.

This would make one wonder, how deep is his burrow?  How much room does a crab need?  Maybe his wife makes him keep rearranging the furniture in his burrow.

This week we have more photos of Julie's recent raft trip through the bottom of the Grand Canyon on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crab carrying his shell

Perhaps the tracks in the sand in yesterday's photo were made by a tiny crab dragging a shell on his back.

There are lots of these little crabs and shells in the tide pool areas of the beach.

This week we have more photos of Julie's recent raft trip through the bottom of the Grand Canyon on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crab

On our little hike through the mangroves we saw lots of crabs, including this frontal angle that shows that the polka dotted crabs have colorful red front claws.  Maybe they are not so ugly, after all.

This week we have photos of ancient Khmer temples of Cambodia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crabs

We got out of the little tour boat to walk on some trails amidst the mangrove trees.  There were lots of crabs walking around among the roots of the mangroves, as you can see in this photo.  I suspect that the polka dots on the crabs are to add camouflage so that they are harder to pick out by their predators.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of some of the ancient Khmer temples in Cambodia.

Crab perched in the mangroves

The boat ventured close to the mangroves, and there were crabs crawling around on the branches.  I would rather look at birds like yesterday's kingfisher than crabs, but perhaps the crabs are useful in providing food for large birds or small mammals.

We are showing photos of Bangkok, Thailand on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.  We loved it, and we hope you will enjoy our photos.

Night crabs

Who else might you see while walking home from dinner in Tamarindo to our condo in Playa Langosta?  In addition to the bird yesterday, you might encounter a crab like this.  At certain times of the year, crabs like this will walk across the beach road at night.

They are about 2 - 3 inches (5-8 cm) in size.  I suspect that the reason that they cross the road has something to do with the reproductive cycle, but I am ignorant of that subject about crabs.  I apologize to those of you who sometimes leave comments saying that they learn things on this website.  I think I will stay ignorant about crab reproduction.

UPDATE:  Please check the comments below.  Kate from Visual St. Paul has posted a poem about crabs that will delight you.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, including its picturesque lighthouse and seascapes.

Crabs on the road

After yesterday's photo of a small crab to illustrate the discovery of kiwa puravida, a new species of crab deep in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica, I thought I would post this photo of a crab on the road.

I took this photo back in July, when a certain species of crabs comes out at night and crosses the beachfront road between Tamarindo and Playa Langosta. I don't know why they leave the beach and walk into the woods, although I presume that maybe it is too mate. I am sure that the raccoons and coatis are delighted with the crabs venturing out.

This photo shows the advantage of having a camera with a view finder screen that swivels out from the camera into a horizontal position. It lets me take photos such as this by looking down at the camera, rather than lying down on a damp road with a bunch of crabs to try to look through the view finder.

This week we have photos of the fall colors of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

New Crab Species Discovered

Scientists have just discovered a new species of crab 50 miles off the coast of the Nicoya Peninsula, where Tamarindo is located. I do not have a photo of the new crab, so I am using this photo of a local crab to illustrate this discovery, in part because of the key role of the new crab's front claw, which is also prominent in the photo of this crab.

The new species of crab was discovered living 1,000 meters deep in the ocean, near vents that release hydrogen sulfide and methane gas into the ocean floor. Using these gasses, the crabs cultivate bacteria to grow on their front claw, then they have an appendage that lets the eat the bacteria from their claw.

The new species has been named kiwa puravida. Pura Vida is the national slogan of Costa Rica. It means "pure life" and is used much like Hawaiians use "aloha." The new crab is only the second type of yeti crab species ever discovered, following the 2005 discovery of the other type of yeti crab west of Easter Island in 2005.

The discovery of kiwa puravida was made through the cooperative studies of scientists from the University of South Carolina, University of Oregon, and New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. This collaboration is an example of how Costa Rica attracts biologists from all over the world because of its unique and diverse land and marine ecology and its support for the environment.

My niece is getting her Ph.D. in marine biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She has made made discoveries and published scientific research papers regarding sea urchins. She has also studied sea turtles around the world. I know she will help make the world a better place in the future.

This week we have photos of the fall colors of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crab walking up the wall

This is a crab walking right up the second story of the wall on the outside of our condo. I would much rather have a few crabs walking around than bugs, and fortunately we do not have bugs.

This week on our Viva la Voyagetravel photo site we are showing photos of the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. It is a unique place, colorful, desolate, yet with pockets of plant and animal life.

Camouflaged crab

This close-up photo of a crab shows how well camouflaged it is. His pattern is spotted in the same shade as the sand. Even his eyeballs blend in with the surroundings. Can you spot them, protruding above his shell?

This crab was on Langosta Beach near the mouth of the Langosta estuary. The variation between salt and fresh water at this location makes it

We are showing photos of Chicago this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.