LAND CRAB

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to spot a crab on the road from Café Blue to the studio. It was another of those instances where you just stumble upon something. I find these instances unexpected, interesting and enjoyable. Like most people, I do not usually associate crabs with the rainforest. We tend to think of these creatures as coastal dwellers. But there she was walking along the edge of the road at 3,000+ feet above sea level with the coast an hour away.

I am rather confident that the crab is a female because she was carrying a lot of babies. The babies were mostly hidden on her underside but several were taking a ride on her back. When she stopped several of the babies scattered. I was lucky enough to have been carrying my camera and took a few good shots of the mother and the babies. She was approximately 4 inches wide and the babies were ½ inch wide.

The last time that we saw a land crab at Monte Azul was when we were building the studio in 2006. One night Carlos kept hearing a strange clicking noise. When he went to investigate the noise was a crab that managed to get between the wall and a sheet of plexiglass. It was trying to get out of this situation and kept hitting its front arms on the plexiglass. I guess you just never know when or where you may run into a land crab.

GOATS GALORE!

We are happy to announce that Monte Azul’s herd of goats has moved into their new home. As I have out lined in previous entries, this new goat house has been under construction for months. And like many new homes, the goats moved in before it was completed. There are still a few items that need to be finished but the goats do not seem to mind.

Shortly after the adult goats moved into the new abode, the new baby goats arrived. It has been quite bountiful. Over a week’s time, 12 baby goats were born. The final tally is 9 boys and 3 girls. They are adorable. They are now running and jumping and climbing up on everything, even people. We have imprinted them on humans from the first few hours from birth to ensure that they are friendly and like human interaction.

Our hotel guests have loved visiting, petting and playing with the new arrivals. Our guests have also enjoyed the fresh chevre, feta, mozzarella and yogurt that we make using the bounty of goat’s milk that we now have on hand. Goat camembert is on the works too. I will let you know how it turns out in approximately 2 months.