Bike wars...

It's been all go here today. Nothing but adrenalin from start to finish! Yesterday, the people in villa 38 stole our bikes! Can you believe it?! Although the same design, ours were newer and had comfier seats so we went to confront the thieves. They weren't in. So, we called Gasim (our 'Man Friday') and told him that 38 had taken our bikes (36) and that we didn't want to ride around with bikes saying 38 on the number plate instead of 36. We didn't mention that they were simply better bikes :-)

So Gasim, in his restless need to please, swapped the bikes. Or so we thought... He actually just swapped the numbers on the back. Now I didn't mind so much, but Amanda had a far worse bike, with an uncomfortable seat and a snotty hankie in the basket, so when we found their (our!) bikes at breakfast this morning, we took off the number plates and swapped them back, and then parked somewhere else. Needless to say, it was a very nerve wracking morning! Oh the stresses. The stresses turned to relief over a Champagne breakfast when we realised it was Monday morning and if bike swapping is all we have to worry about... life's not bad!

We think the bike thing is resolved now as we nodded to 38 during a beach pass but we'll see. We passed them on the beach because we went snorkelling with sharks! What an experience. They were shy at first but then were all around us. You couldn't help but be paranoid about your toes getting bitten off!






Following that, back at our villa, an enormous stingray swam past. I eagerly took photos and then it decided to stop next to our shower. We quickly pulled on the snorkels and were in there with him. He was massive, about 2-3 metres from nose to tail. What was he doing outside our villa's 'private pool'? Taking a dump!!! Which was fine as a huge pufferfish decided that would be his meal so we happily watched him too. What a day! It was so stressful we had to lie on sun beds and hammocks reading and eating frozen mango, just to get over the shock of it all. :-)



Fact time: sharks today as they were my personal highlight. Sharks, just like that little annoying kid in the movie, have a 'sixth sense'. They don't see dead people, or dead fish for that matter. They have sensors around their nose area called electroreceptors where they sense electrical impulses given off by all living creatures. Therefore, if a fish is injured or dying, its electrical impulse will be picked up by the shark and eaten. Hammerheads are the most sensitive to the electrical impulses which is why they have the hammer shaped heads, where the whole front is packed with electroreceptors. A true marvel of evolution.



Check out this picture! It looks like Chokdee is in a vortex or something. He's actually just on a peephole in the floor of our bathroom. Having fun, as always!

Oh, and one final thing... I caught a snake here yesterday! Amanda filmed it and hopefully I'll get it on YouTube, but I came all the way to the Maldives and caught a wolf snake. This is truly my version of paradise!

The walking tour of our villa/mansion is still unfinished as I'm sure you can understand, it has been a very tough day...


Cheers!

Dave Canavan MSc
www.thechingchokhunter.com

Location:Fithiroanu Magu,Hulhumalé,Maldives