So all of the tanks are finished being repaired (I’ll have a photo here when they are filled with water). There was actually a crab still alive in one! He had escaped during a previous laboratory study and built himself a home at the bottom of some styrofoam (it fills in some areas that would otherwise be crevices, but it’s surrounded by plastic). He managed to survive for quite sometime without food and water and through my rinsing and cleaning of the tanks with fresh water. I haven’t given him a name yet, but he does have his own little tupperware filled with tasty mussels. If anyone would like to submit a hearty sounding name, I would love some ideas (I’ll post a photo of him soon).

Since I finished up my work and needed to let things dry out, I had some time to spend being a tourist. I caught a bus to Isla Negra and went to see Pablo Neruda’s favorite house. It was really interesting. Everything was incredibly nautical. I really like his tastes in decorations and his immense collections of random knick-knacks. It made me feel really good about avoiding what I would consider my similar natural tendencies. The logo for the Foundation which runs the museums has a fish inside of the old constellation plotting compass. It’s great! (Although, it did force me to buy a journal and a windchime.) I have postcards to mail at some point now, and others which I used to decorate my room. They don’t allow pictures in the house, so I can’t really give you a glimpse into the tour (unless I scan the postcards). Public transportation was less than a dollar each way. I had lunch in Isla Negra, which had good and bad parts (good food, but they tried to charge me ~30% more than the menu price). Overall, an excellent half day adventure to top off completion of my repair efforts.

Now comes the hard part. Once we get everything up and running the crabs have to be monitored hourly. Yes, hourly (for around 48 hours to start with). Evie and I are going to split up the time, so I won’t go without sleep for days. It should be interesting. Stay tuned!