Tortuga!

I love my colorful Tortuga whistle, a simple memento of our visit to Mexico. I can remember where I was when I bought it -- laying on the very hot, and very beautiful beach, working on a book of easy crossword puzzles, reviewing my choral music, sipping a cold Pacifico. Along came a young man selling something. After already being there for ten days, I had grown accustomed to politely saying "no gracias" to the various vendors who offered jewelry, beautiful sundresses, and almost anything else you could imagine.

But this fellow had something I'd never seen offered before -- beautiful clay whistles of all shapes and sizes. He pulled a few out and played them for me. I finally settled on this adorable little turtle that puts out a bright, clear sound with a pretty decent range of notes. It now sits beside me at my desk (on my external drive, to be precise), and if I want to bring forth Lola Malu, I only need to play a few notes on my little ocarina - Mexican clay whistle.