Advent Crabs

There are blue crabs, and there are red crabs. Even purple crabs. But I have never heard of, nor read about, any violet-legged crabs, let alone see one. 

Until that fateful weekend not too long ago at the Cavite City public market. I was late, as usual - it was already nearing noontime, and there were not that many vendors at the fish and seafood section. Needless to say, there weren't a lot of choices, and not even a tumpok of the ever-present blue crabs.

So this heap caught my eye. Their color was attractive....but not in a crabby sort of way. Violet crabs? I associate that color with sweetness, as in purple yam sweetness - ube. But seafood? Nah.

It was expensive, at Php180 for the entire lot. More expensive than the Cavite City blue crabs. 

But on second thought, they were not - considering the novelty. And because of the cold weather that has uncharacteristically enveloped the holiday season, there had not been a lot of seafood  choices lately. So, on the basis of supply and demand, these were cheap.

But I was on a budget. And, how sure was I that these were edible? Would they taste great? And they weren't moving anymore, so they might not be that fresh. And on, and on, and on. 

But now, no matter how early I go to the market, or how late, I cannot find any violet-legged crabs. No sign of blue crabs, either. 

So I let an opportunity pass me by. Now I will never know how violet-legged crabs taste like. No matter if they taste bland, or bitter, or they might be diarrhea-inducing. I will never know. 

So this is my new year's resolution. I will not skip something, for I might  regret it later. And reviving this blog is part of it, because I have gone around the country twice, some even thrice, over, and have explored several foreign countries in-between, but I have kept all the memories of these trips to myself. Some I have even forgotten about. 

I don't even know if blogging is still relevant these days. But no matter.

So, violet-legged crabs, watch out.