USVI-On-Line

Ok. If you looked at my post titled "lesson learned", you will know that I am cursed or blessed, depending.
Same day and prior to locking the keys in the jeep at tourist trap, we were minding our own business at little lameshur. 3 of us gals . 2 of us in the water for a long snorkel while one sits in a chair by the picnic table with our "stuff" and reading her book.
As we 2 exit the water, my friend says, "oh, look, there was a mongoose near our table!" I looked in time to see his rear scurrying into the jungle. We dry off, and start to gather our stuff. In my bag, I had thrown the keys into a ziplock ( don't wanna get that fob wet) with 3 granola bars ( don't wanna starve)
Well....no ziploc! Somebody stole our ziploc?!?? Surely not. Let's think, for a change. Ok...mongoose! We all 3 go into the JUNGLE and find one wrapper, then another,.....then the ziploc WITH THE KEYS. Whew! The mongoose must have been too full to drag it very far. So, aren't we the lucky and smart ones?!?!
No. See my other post.
Don't leave your keys on the beach with food attached. There are quiet sneaky little devils waiting and watching ,just out of sight. Laughing.

Yikes, this story could definitely have a different ending if he (she?) took the baggie way off. This is really a lessons learned. We've been "robbed" by a mongoose at Little Lameshur before, but not the Jeep keys. Note to self - never store keys with food at the beach

I'm stepping back from the practical, "lessons learned" level to note that this has got to rank right up there on the list of great "Only on St. John" tales.

"The mongoose stole my car keys"!

Hilarious!! This is a classic that I'm sure you will enjoy retelling for many years to come.

All the best,

Kevin

Is this the culprit? Same beach, same MO. Only he got my $6.99 bag of pretzels right out of another sealed bag!
I think we should put up wanted posters! Just look at the Smirk!!!

During our last stay at Caneel, we watched one very determined mongoose completely clear a room service tray below our balcony. It was amazing how he/she went over every utensil and plate. He/she enjoyed the French fries the most.

OY! I never would have thought of that. That was a stroke of luck that he wasn't amused by your keys! A racoon probably would have taken them right home with him....

Im still crackin up I have watched those little guys at waterlemon steal from a snorklers backpack before so i can just imagine

Thank you for the laugh on this dreary morning. I am glad that you found your keys!

One time our snack bag was invaded by pearly eyed thrashers at Francis. They grabbed a couple of foil packs of Ritz crackers with peanut butter and flew back into the bush with them. The funny part was that they could not figure out how to get into them. They were determined though...for the next half hour we could hear them pecking away at the foil wrappers, trying to break through. I don't know if they ever actually got to eat the crackers or not.

I think next trip I will bring a padlock for my snack bag.

Our mongoose at Little Lameshur unzipped (not ripped into - unzipped) the cooler while we were snorkeling and got a turkey sandwich out, picked off the lettuce and tomato and ate the turkey...$9.00 gone!

TrvlJohn wrote:Our mongoose at Little Lameshur unzipped (not ripped into - unzipped) the cooler while we were snorkeling and got a turkey sandwich out, picked off the lettuce and tomato and ate the turkey...$9.00 gone!

OMG, I had no idea they were so clever! It's just like "Jurassic Park" - who would ever have dreamed that velociraptors were smart enough to operate a door handle? (oops, sorry for the spoiler if you haven't seen Jurassic Park).

Okay, maybe it's more like bears on a camping trip. To foil bears you hang your food bag from a tree limb. Will that work with mongoose(s)? Or can they climb trees and jump down on the food bag like squirrels?

Mongooses cannot climb trees but they will jump on to picnic tables. We did learn to hang the cooler from a seagrape tree after that.

Coconuts wrote:I'm stepping back from the practical, "lessons learned" level to note that this has got to rank right up there on the list of great "Only on St. John" tales.

"The mongoose stole my car keys"!

Hilarious!! This is a classic that I'm sure you will enjoy retelling for many years to come.

All the best,

Kevin

Glad you wrote this Kevin because I would hate if anyone thought I was laughing at the misfortune of the OP, but the visual in my head is pretty funny!

So hilarious! That is the good stuff you will be telling and re-telling for years to come! Thanks for the good laugh! And happy it all turned out ok!

It IS truly a fun story, and glad to entertain with it. We laughed til we cried , and " we have seen the mongoose" became a euphemism for " we have good luck"!

I love this story!! I'm glad it turned out well and sooo glad you shared!!!!!