We recently were in St Martin for our winter getaway. It was my 11th consecutive year. My gf visited the island 15 times before we met, so it was her 26th time there.
We have made friends on the island, so we spend time catching up with them. One of our friends, Jahbah, started a small business selling coconuts to tourists. He hacks them open with a machete, then serves them with a straw. He knew what time our flight was landing, and surprised us at the airport.
We went over to the Sunset Beach Bar for a quick drink. At Sunset, Jahbah reached into his satchel, pulled out tiny tortoise, and put him on the bar (getting a weird look from the bartender). A yellow-footed tortoise, which he “rescued” from a friend who could not keep it.
Unbeknownst to Jahbah, my gf loves tortoises. Once he found out how enamored she was with the tortoise, he told her it was hers to keep. They then began planning how to get him back to the US. I had to stop their impractical planning. It would be too difficult. But they argued that it could be done.
So then I had to explain that I’d purchased a tortoise for my gf, whose birthday was the day after our return flight. When we arrived home, I picked up her birthday gift (and set-up). She named him Kevin, because he looks like a Kevin.
But what a coincidence!! I get her a red-footed tortoise as a gift, and she is nearly-gifted a yellow-footed tortoise all in the same week. Additionally, the two species are closely related (Chelonoidis denticulata and Chelonoidis carbonaria).
