<p> After a truly titanic struggle on this tiny and lovely stone beach on the big island, we managed to open a coconut. Actually, I wouldn't have recognized it at all if Anika hadn't pointed it out: Coconuts <i>au naturel</i> are encased in a large green fruit. A machete, cleaver, or even a pocket knife would make fairly short work of it, but it was pretty back-breaking work to get it open using the tools we had at hand---i.e., our hands. </p>