Half Moon Caye, Belize – This island is crawling with hermit crabs. During the day, you see them here or there. But as the sun sets, they emerge from their hiding places and litter the pathways and beaches. The main reason you need a flashlight after dark is to avoid stepping on hermit crabs.
At first Twin V was weirded out by these creepy-crawlies, who carry their houses on their backs. No matter how many times his mother and brother insisted “You don’t have to be afraid of them!” Twin V was still afraid of them.
One night, as were waiting for dinner to be served, our excellent guide Dayton offered to take the twins on an exploration mission. Twin V announced “Dayton said do I want to go looking for hermit crabs and I said yes. Because guess what? I’m not afraid of them anymore!”
And he wasn’t.
For the rest of the week, Twin V was a hermit crab expert, advising that the crabs are actually afraid of people, and when they feel footsteps approaching, they shrink into their shells to hide.
And do you know what the staff does when they find the crabs in the kitchen? “They just kick them out like soccer balls!”
Apparently, kids have to learn some things from somebody who is not their mother or their brother.
