Not The Same Bonaire

[redacted]

Let's see, we had a partial bag of potato chips taken, along with flip flops (found), a hat, 2 pairs of shorts (found), and a cheap leather's man tool for basic emergency repairs. So my question is how do we travel any more bare and not have to leave those couple of items ?? I need my flip flops for my tender feet in between dives. Potato chips for a little nourishment after the dive. A hat so the sun doesn't bake us when we are out of the water. Cover up shorts so we don't walk into stores and such with a speedo type bottoms on. Geez, we gotta live a little.

And that battery really comes in handy instead of push starting the truck every time we want to start it.

You had too much stuff and it was inviting. If that is what you have to have to "live a little", then you will probably continue to have to "give a little".

My bathing suit works fine for presentable shorts. My fast drying nylon shirt stay under my BC. I add a little duct tape to my flip flops and leave them in the bed of the truck in plane sight. Knife and o-rings also dive with me. All other tools and spare parts stay in the room. Only other thing I leave in the truck is enough bottles of ice/water that I can share with any petty thieves. Wife throws in shirt and shorts (no pockets) if we plan to stop in Rincon for lunch. Biggest impact if the thieves get my stuff is Rose Inn loses a couple customers. We dive quite a bit at Karpata and I'm sure we must get checked out on occasion. Never any loses that we have noticed.

 

[VAmtnguy]

Crime is so bad in Bonaire, I heard someone stole all the traffic lights.

I can believe that.....I have never seen a traffic light in Bonaire, so it must be true.

 

[Tom Smedley]

I lived in Guam in the 1970s and the rule then was no valuables left in cars and leave windows down and doors unlocked to prevent vehicle damage. There if you accosted a would be thief you may get knifed or worse. In the 80s I parked in daylight at the Jazz Fest in Jackson Mississippi and someone broke my truck window to get a bag of dirty laundry. Every time I kayak the Coosa or Cypress Spring I wonder if my truck will be there when I get back. I rented a car in Curacao and had to sign a paper stating that I was aware that if I parked in certain areas my insurance would be invalid. Right here in Montgomery Alabama I read police reports in the paper and car breakins are common. I've been to Bonaire 20 times and have had stuff like rolls of film taken from my vehicle. I have a small safe called a portable Lockr that is about $30 on Amazon and it has knife marks on it but so far nobody has gotten in. I keep a cheap camera and a cheap voice recorder to save information for my dive log in it along with enough money to get a snack and a beer. General poverty, drugs, and the importation of labor for the construction surge has brought with it folks who are looking for anything that will sell. I've heard of gas and spare tires being stolen but the battery is a first. Somebody needed one and saw the situation as a discount auto parts store. Stuff is just stuff and can be replaced, great diving is great diving and the freedom of walking into the water from the shore and not having to listen to the rantings of an 18 year old divemaster is worth the little risk that I take to continue to go to Bonaire while taking the risk into consideration. As long as the crime is petty and nobody is getting hurt just let it go with the flow. When the crimes become violent then shy away........ By the way my friend's dive bag fell out of the truck on the south end. We went to the police station to report the loss and someone had already turned it in.

Worry far more about the runaway construction and corrupt politicians than a few baubles. They revamped the traffic circles, pretty soon there just might be a traffic light.... You're right it is not the same Bonaire. What just a few years ago was a quiet and relaxing vacation spot is getting spoiled a little more each passing day.

 

[deeper thoughts]

It really isnt rocket science for the police to come up with a solution if they took it seriously.

 

[Tom Smedley]

You have to remember that the police are operating under the laws of the Netherlands. They are also under constraints of the governing party. Perhaps they are doing all they can do with the situation at hand..... With all the stuff written about petty theft I am amazed that divers continue to leave items like cell phones and cameras in their vehicles. I was at Thousand Steps and there was an unguarded Nikon SLR laying on a towel.

 

[drrich2]

I need my flip flops for my tender feet in between dives.

My little group wears SeaSoft Sunrays, which are more 'sneaker-like' than 'plain old' scuba boots, have a sole strong enough for me to walk around on the iron shore at Bonaire, and are comfortable to walk around on land in. Got them for my wife first, after the guy at the dive shop talked them up. She was impressed, and that was the acid test. They work well for us, and that way, no flip flops.

If you leave it in your vehicle, it is a potential donation to thieves. Yes, it's wrong & deplorable, but that's how it is.

Now, if the law let us leave poisoned food in the vehicles, that would be interesting (I wouldn't aim for lethal, but enough to put them in the hospital). Somehow I doubt Netherlands law would be so helpful that way, but I'm not familiar with it.

Richard.

 

[Mossman]

We were last there in 2000 and my wife was asked by a coworker this week for advice on the island ... hence I've been doing some checking-up. Between this firsthand report and the newspaper reporting that there's 80-100 police reports filed per month, Bonaire is still not a relaxing trip where you don't have to constantly be on your guard, but just like going to Rome and having to fend off the pickpockets.

I've been to Bonaire 4 times since your last trip and was in Rome in February and last November. There is no comparison of 'being on your guard'. Fortunately I didn't have any incidents with the battery, but I didn't worry about it. We didn't leave anything in the truck, so there was really nothing to be on guard about.

In Rome, on the other hand, holy crap. Criminal pickpockets and pursesnatchers on scooters (we didn't encounter any of that, luckily), criminal cab drivers (that, on the other hand...), and con men asking ridiculous sums for roses at the Trevi Fountain and photos with Ancient Romans at the Coliseum, and the guy asking me directions that conned me out of 50 euros for some leather jacket that turned out to be crap. I'm an easy mark in a foreign country and after a few days in Rome, my nerves were frazzled from having to constantly be on guard from all sides. When I go to Bonaire, I completely relax. Dive freedom, yeah.

 

[darook]

Rich, I think some chocolate chip cookies made with chocolate ExLax would do the trick. No long term harm but a nice lesson. Easy description for the cops, the bandits are likely to be found in close proximity to a restroom and unwilling to leave said area. I am sure this would be at best frowned upon but possibly effective. I think I will leave it up to someone else to try!

 

[Mike]

What would happen if everybody started rolling up their windows and locking the doors of their rental cars? Would the rental agencies put pressure on the police after all the broken windows?

It's too bad a place like Bonaire lets it's international reputation be tarnished by petty crime, but obviously those in authority there laugh their asses off that it doesn't matter, since tourists keep coming, and better yet, we've got half of them convinced being a victim of a crime in Bonaire is their own fault.

 

[gypsyjim]

Other than than the battery you only left and lost some fairly inexpensive incidentals. real bs stuff to have someone swipe, but unlike the other losses you reported, you really left nothing all that vauable, which is as suggested.

The truck battery is a differnet story. It used to be tires, that had a way of walking away on Bonaire, but it has been some time since I heard of tires being stollen. Batteries sure are hardy to getting the truck going tho, as you say, so i do hope your loss is not going to become common.