VAmtnguy
Registered
In August, I returned to Bonaire for my 7th trip there. As always, the shore diving was awesome......I haven't done a boat dive there the last couple of trips.....I can boat dive anywhere.
But we encountered several situations that I think members here should be aware of.
During a dive at Tori's Reef, our vehicle was gone through. As always instructed by the rental car companies, we left the doors unlocked, and the windows down......I had the ignition key with me underwater, as well as my ID, credit cards and money. Our day bags were emptied out on the seat, and my wife and I were both missing our shorts....that is the only thing that we could determine that was missing. We passed a police car sitting on the road at 1 of the next dive site or so (Invisibles, I think) , and we stopped and talked to the officers. There had been a report of locals going through a truck (ours ??), and they already had 2 girls in custody. The officers were waiting to check with divers there, to see if they were missing anything. The officers requested that we file a report, which we agreed to later at the police station. When we got back into the truck, the officers were making their way across the road to some clothes laying there, and they picked up our shorts.....what are the chances in that ?? The pockets were unzipped and inside out.... presumably the crooks took our shorts and after coming up zip, tossed them out the window....evidence gone. We went and filed out a report.....the officers were polite and professional.
The next morning, we did a dive at Weber's Joy (Witches Hut). When we got back to the truck, I noticed a soda can in a potato chip bag, as well as a beer bottle in the truck bed.....no big deal. We got ready to leave, and the truck wouldn't start. I raised the hood, and the battery was gone !!! We did an inventory, and we were missing a bag of potato chips, a leatherman's tool, a non-descript hat, and my flip flops. I found my flip flops laying beside the road about 50' away...apparently size 13s didn't fit.
A passing motorist let me use his cell phone to call the rental company mechanic, and we were in the water at our next dive site in under 2 hours.
At Tori's we were the only vehicle there. At Weber's Joy, we were the only vehicle there for about the 1st hour (after talking to the returning divers). Both dives were about 1 1/2 long, so plenty of time for mischief. At Weber's Joy, I had the front of truck pulled up into the bushes, but not well enough, apparently.
Another couple at the Plaza had their backpack stolen, but some good Samaritans found it, Googled the IDs, talked to the parents, and got directed to the Plaza. $60 gone. Another couple we talked to had their Blackberry stolen. We heard stories of other thievery that week, but did not talk to those divers personally.
This will not stop me from going to Bonaire !!! I just want others to be aware, and don't leave valuables in your rental trucks. Overall, we were lucky. And I have never felt unsafe in Bonaire. These couple of incidents were unfortunate, but manageable.
But we encountered several situations that I think members here should be aware of.
During a dive at Tori's Reef, our vehicle was gone through. As always instructed by the rental car companies, we left the doors unlocked, and the windows down......I had the ignition key with me underwater, as well as my ID, credit cards and money. Our day bags were emptied out on the seat, and my wife and I were both missing our shorts....that is the only thing that we could determine that was missing. We passed a police car sitting on the road at 1 of the next dive site or so (Invisibles, I think) , and we stopped and talked to the officers. There had been a report of locals going through a truck (ours ??), and they already had 2 girls in custody. The officers were waiting to check with divers there, to see if they were missing anything. The officers requested that we file a report, which we agreed to later at the police station. When we got back into the truck, the officers were making their way across the road to some clothes laying there, and they picked up our shorts.....what are the chances in that ?? The pockets were unzipped and inside out.... presumably the crooks took our shorts and after coming up zip, tossed them out the window....evidence gone. We went and filed out a report.....the officers were polite and professional.
The next morning, we did a dive at Weber's Joy (Witches Hut). When we got back to the truck, I noticed a soda can in a potato chip bag, as well as a beer bottle in the truck bed.....no big deal. We got ready to leave, and the truck wouldn't start. I raised the hood, and the battery was gone !!! We did an inventory, and we were missing a bag of potato chips, a leatherman's tool, a non-descript hat, and my flip flops. I found my flip flops laying beside the road about 50' away...apparently size 13s didn't fit.
A passing motorist let me use his cell phone to call the rental company mechanic, and we were in the water at our next dive site in under 2 hours.At Tori's we were the only vehicle there. At Weber's Joy, we were the only vehicle there for about the 1st hour (after talking to the returning divers). Both dives were about 1 1/2 long, so plenty of time for mischief. At Weber's Joy, I had the front of truck pulled up into the bushes, but not well enough, apparently.
Another couple at the Plaza had their backpack stolen, but some good Samaritans found it, Googled the IDs, talked to the parents, and got directed to the Plaza. $60 gone. Another couple we talked to had their Blackberry stolen. We heard stories of other thievery that week, but did not talk to those divers personally.
This will not stop me from going to Bonaire !!! I just want others to be aware, and don't leave valuables in your rental trucks. Overall, we were lucky. And I have never felt unsafe in Bonaire. These couple of incidents were unfortunate, but manageable.
