Tenerife reef crabs are still around in big quantities.

Crabs on were not new to me.

I saw them in 1997 when on holiday on the island around Easter.

We were walking near them by the reef quite a few times.

Thinking back I thought they were fire red.

I must keep an eye on them.

May be there will be others.

During an afternoon stroll
along the Muelle (quay)
in Puerto de la Cruz
in February 2008
I saw them again but, not looking quite the same.

I was lucky to have my camera on me.

Its battery was not giving me trouble, for a change.

The Muelle which could be about 800 meters long leads from the old little fishing harbor, almost, as far as Playa Jardin ( Garden beach) to the old castillo (fort).

The Muelle is a quay in Tenerife North which was built on an elevated stone wall above the sea.
Below the Muelle many artificial boulders have been heaped up to break the ferocious waves which might be about 5 or 6 meters below the stony barrier.

The strong Atlantic has broken off one end of this Tenerife quay, already.

while looking down
upon them.

One sees crevices

which seem to lead
into bottomless pits
between dark gray boulders.

My German friend calls them Voland or, Woland Krabben.

I could not find any information which confirms creatures by that name.

Many of them in different shades of green were in the majority. Some were almost black.

Then, I discovered some with yellow legs and, others with red legs.

All of those colorful reef dwellers were bigger than the others.

None, really, seemed to be hermits.The less spectacular ones were in big boulders in groups of their own. Others had joined the beautiful ones.

The yellow legged one was more rare than the red legged one.

A Tenerife red legged green crab seemed to let off much foam or white bubbles. It was too far away to see what it was all about. Also, I couldn't say for sure if the creature was lying on its side.

Perhaps, it was giving birth.

So many of those multi legged Tenerife reef cetaceans were sunbathing or 'socializing'(?) in certain areas.

Were they feeding of the old frail ones?

In some nooks some sort of fighting seemed to go on.

They didn't seem to be affrayed of the spray of the waves. When the waves are too strong by this quay a red flag is put up by both ends. For the two legged walkers, of course.

I don't think those creepy crawly cetaceans are eaten by humans, by the way.

Last not least, we saw two tourists that had a good shower by the unpredictable waves.

Please, go from Tenerife reef crabs to find out more about the island Tenerife which is volcanic, by the way.