We have seen some interesting "critters" over the many years we have lived in Chichicastenango, but this last sighting has really left us stumped! First, a few weeks after arriving here 13 years ago, we caught a rat behind our apartment. Since then, on our new property, we have encountered 2 snakes, 3 mice, 4 scorpions, at least 10 frogs, a tarantula, multiple black widow spiders, and several other varieties of spiders, moths, and other creepy leggy things.
But last night we actually found a crab (yes, a crab) scurrying sideways along the sidewalk right outside our living room door! We are at 7000-ft. elevation in the mountains! Upon googling it, we discovered that there is indeed a species of freshwater crab in the rivers of Guatemala. How this crab arrived on our sidewalk is a mystery, since the nearest river is about a mile away, down at the bottom of the huge ravine behind our house. Maybe it was caught by someone and carried up the ravine into our neighborhood, where it made its getaway and crawled under our gate... or maybe it made the mile-long trek up a steep mountainside ravine? Your guess is as good as ours!
We heard that climate change is confusing the animals, but this one was a surprise to us!