When Crabs Come, When Crabs Go

The Indian Ocean is extremely beautiful for its wild life and vegetation that shows its versatility under the surface of the wavy water. There are fish of all kinds, many of these are hunters and many others are hunted. These try to hide among the green seaweed and orange and yellow sponges of all shapes and sizes, which show off their bright colors.

Photo by Derek Keats

The water is very clear and warm, although often rough with waves that wash onto the beach. When it’s bad weather the waves are particularly threatening and high, to the great pleasure of those who do surfing.

All my friends and I loved going to the sea in the early morning during the summer season. One sunny Sunday we set off very early to go to the beach and we were sure to come back in the evening of the same day. Little did we know what adventure was awaiting us.

There were six motor-bikes that hummed away for the two hours of the journey and gave us no trouble. On our arrival we parked our motor bikes under the evergreen marine pine trees. The waves were breaking on some rocks that were scattered here and there. On impact the white foam splashed high in the sky, and on the horizon the sky seemed to take a dip into the sea.

We spent most of the day swimming and catching the waves on our blown-up mattresses (body boards) and although this was not very elegant it was great fun. I really don’t know how I managed and from where I got the strength to do all that activity from day break to sunset. But anyhow I did it and enjoyed myself and so did everyone else.

Milk Tart – photo by Arnold Goodway

Towards evening we gathered outside a snack bar alongside the beach, occupied a few tables and ordered a hamburger and chips. The pretty woman – probably the owner – said we were very lucky because it was her birthday and she offered her clients milk tart, chocolate cake and orange juice free of charge. We thanked her and ate everything. We felt like wolves. We were all tired and did not feel like making the journey back home, so each one of us telephoned to warn our parents we would be back home only the next morning. It was too dangerous to ride such a long way being so tired.

We then spread our towels next to one another and lay down on the beach behind some rocks to protect us from the wind. We didn’t intend to sleep, but told jokes and listened to music on a transistor radio. Nevertheless one by one we were soon all fast asleep.

I woke up at some point and asked myself what could the time be? I also heard a mysterious scratching noise coming from the endless and never ending darkness seawards. It got louder and louder almost like many snakes hissing together.

I sat up. It was totally dark without the moon shining, no stars in the sky to make even a little light. I recall asking myself “am I asleep or is this a nightmare?” My friend whispered in my ear that it was only crabs that came from the sea once a year to make love on the beach. The beach was totally covered with white crabs. The whole beach seemed covered with moving snow.

Photo by monojussi

I was almost sick with repulsion of the creeping creatures. I felt them all over my body. I thought: “they have the whole year to lay their eggs, but they go and choose the very night we were on that beach. They surely did it on purpose”. We all hastily got up and with towels hit off the crabs from each others bodies. We then climbed on the rocks and waited for the crabs to finish their love making and go back into the sea which they at long last did.

It was soon day-break. The sun slowly came out of the sea. At first it was red then dark orange. The colors were dark in the middle of the sun and slowly faded as they spread further away. The light then turned to a bright white. It was time to start our journey back home.

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