decapitating the coconut

We were on Alfa Beach and one of our party, a writer visiting Nigeria for the first time, wanted to drink the juice of a real coconut fresh from the tree. Maltina, Gulder and such like, would be fine for the rest of us. But as for the coconut, the owner of the beachfront bar where we settled ourselves, said: 'oh yes', one or two could be fetched, for the right price. Price paid and we were informed that this young man (pictured above) would do the fetching. Perhaps his light frame would be best for climbing the slender coconut trees, we told ourselves. There were a few specimens in our sightline but the boy had gone elsewhere, where we could not see the actual climbing. In a way, this showed a concern on the part of the traders of Alfa Beach, not to deface or abuse the specimens right at the oceanfront. Some of us had nearly finished our bottled drinks by the time the young man arrived, dripping of sweat. No 419 at all. He'd indeed climbed some tree somewhere. Then he proceeded to remove the top of one coconut so expertly, that the filmy membrane protecting the juice inside was still intact. A straw inserted, our writer had her organic coconut drink. We took a second coconut with us in the car as we left. I don't recall what became of it. But I won't forget the young man above, for a while.