Kewl, i'll try both to see how my mileage varies. I ordered the one wannabe suggested, already have the one you suggest, I'll post my comparison when I get back... to leak, or not to leak!
Any changes in security situation in Bonaire?
- Thread starter ronski101
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Bonairetrip
Contributor
In case anyone is confused, taking items of value that do not belong to you, with the intent of depriving the owner, is theft.
DiverVince has spot on advice -- if you follow it, there is no issue for you. Yes, it is unfortunate that we need to do that. Yes we should all be able to leave our personal property (anything from money to ipods to books to a cold beer) anywhere and be able to return and find it undisturbed). But is it really that big a deal? Is it even a minor deal?
Here is why Vince is correct: dive sites are somewhat remote with pretty much a guarantee that the owners will be out of sight for 45 minutes plus. And people were leaving serious money in their cars. (My two favs are the person who was amazed someone would steal his old running shorts. Why would anyone even do that? Then he said what he missed most about his shorts was the $50 bill. Bingo. Or the woman who complained that she couldn't bellieve this was the second time she had $100 stolen from her glove box.)
The same thing happens in the USA - park on a remote beach on Oahau. Or just about any remote trailhead in the lower 48. My theft record (non-Bonaire): wallet (Madison, WI), cell phone (Chicago), sunglasses, wallet (in my hotel room, as I slept, Los Angeles), Car seats (twenty feet from my apartment bedroom window,as I slept, in Tumwater), stuff from an apartment (during the day, Parkland), from my office in Tacoma, and car locks screwdrivered (at least three times, nothing of value lost but costly to repair), cars gone through at many hiking trailheads and...
Out of ten plus trips to Bonaire: gas siphoned. Once.
DiverVince has spot on advice -- if you follow it, there is no issue for you. Yes, it is unfortunate that we need to do that. Yes we should all be able to leave our personal property (anything from money to ipods to books to a cold beer) anywhere and be able to return and find it undisturbed). But is it really that big a deal? Is it even a minor deal?
Here is why Vince is correct: dive sites are somewhat remote with pretty much a guarantee that the owners will be out of sight for 45 minutes plus. And people were leaving serious money in their cars. (My two favs are the person who was amazed someone would steal his old running shorts. Why would anyone even do that? Then he said what he missed most about his shorts was the $50 bill. Bingo. Or the woman who complained that she couldn't bellieve this was the second time she had $100 stolen from her glove box.)
The same thing happens in the USA - park on a remote beach on Oahau. Or just about any remote trailhead in the lower 48. My theft record (non-Bonaire): wallet (Madison, WI), cell phone (Chicago), sunglasses, wallet (in my hotel room, as I slept, Los Angeles), Car seats (twenty feet from my apartment bedroom window,as I slept, in Tumwater), stuff from an apartment (during the day, Parkland), from my office in Tacoma, and car locks screwdrivered (at least three times, nothing of value lost but costly to repair), cars gone through at many hiking trailheads and...
Out of ten plus trips to Bonaire: gas siphoned. Once.
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
Hey Bonairetrip, do you have a tough time finding people that will travel with you????
:joke: It sounds like you have some pretty bad luck with theft.But all jokes aside, I do agree with you. Although theft is bad anywhere, theft on vacation while somewhere to have a great time is just terrible. There really is no excuse, but it happens everywhere. So we have to watch what we bring to the dive site. I personally do not leave $100 bills laying around in my car here in my very low crime rate home. I know if I did, the crime rate would go up by one.
You touch on a toic I would like addressed though.....GAS!! I am not sure what has happened with the cost of gasoline and diesel on Bonaire but have the number of gas siphoning instances increased?
What I don't hear people talking about here is the significant rise in thefts from locked hotel rooms, and in many cases while the people are asleep.
Most of the theft at the resorts are inside jobs. Local police just wink wink..nudge ..nudge and say what can you do. Until the locals want to put a stop to the growing theft problem, it will just get worse.
Most of the theft at the resorts are inside jobs. Local police just wink wink..nudge ..nudge and say what can you do. Until the locals want to put a stop to the growing theft problem, it will just get worse.
DiveMaven
Contributor
I was reading in the Bonaire newspaper today that the police have created a taskforce to reduce thefts since people were complaining they don't feel secure on island anymore. Perhaps this is an example of the Dutch Government's new influence??
seaducer
Contributor
I'll just throw my $0.02 in. Bonaire itself acknowledges there is a petty theft problem and that was where I saw the advice to leave nothing and the windows down for the first time. I have also been on the Island twice and have yet to see a cop, there just is not that many of them.
I have left things in the truck and have not noticed anything gone through. I also think much of the theft in the Southern sites is done by other tourists, not locals. You just don't see very many locals on that end and there is no place for them to hide.
I also have been in places where locals were selling things on the roadside, or in the little square in town and have noticed 0 dive gear or used stuff. It is all crafts and homeade junk, but nothing that looks like it might have been stolen. This seems to fit my idea above, it is not the locals doing most of the stealing.
I have been all over the island, day and night, and have been in some places that looked so depressed you could tell there was very little money there. I had a pocket full of cash that time, was drinking heavily, and locals and I were taking turns buying each other drinks. I am pretty sure most of the locals, who were obviously laborers, could have bonked me over the head, taken my money, and there would be nothing to it. But they didn't.
the local kids sometimes like to hang out on the corners and look tough, but unlike the little turds in my own country these kids will actually move out of the way and even open a door for you.
the first trip there the key was in the ignition the whole week, nobody took our truck, even in town. Last trip we took the key but again, I like the idea of leaving the windows down anyway, it is not so hot when you get back in. I cannot however leave my windows down here, someone may steal the car or at least the stereo out of it.
Is there crime in Bonaire? You betcha. But I challenge you to show me a country where there isn't. I would like to live there.
It is also manageable to the point it is so not something I worry about. I feel not only safe, but welcomed there. Going to Bonaire for me is more than just a dive trip, it is almost like visiting family.
And there is less crime in Bonaire then many other dive destinations.
I was really worried before my first trip, about the crime. Now the only thing I worry about is the Post Bonaire Depression when I am in Flamingo waiting for my plane.
Go there. you will love it. Don't worry about the crime, but certainly don't be vulnerable.
I have left things in the truck and have not noticed anything gone through. I also think much of the theft in the Southern sites is done by other tourists, not locals. You just don't see very many locals on that end and there is no place for them to hide.
I also have been in places where locals were selling things on the roadside, or in the little square in town and have noticed 0 dive gear or used stuff. It is all crafts and homeade junk, but nothing that looks like it might have been stolen. This seems to fit my idea above, it is not the locals doing most of the stealing.
I have been all over the island, day and night, and have been in some places that looked so depressed you could tell there was very little money there. I had a pocket full of cash that time, was drinking heavily, and locals and I were taking turns buying each other drinks. I am pretty sure most of the locals, who were obviously laborers, could have bonked me over the head, taken my money, and there would be nothing to it. But they didn't.
the local kids sometimes like to hang out on the corners and look tough, but unlike the little turds in my own country these kids will actually move out of the way and even open a door for you.
the first trip there the key was in the ignition the whole week, nobody took our truck, even in town. Last trip we took the key but again, I like the idea of leaving the windows down anyway, it is not so hot when you get back in. I cannot however leave my windows down here, someone may steal the car or at least the stereo out of it.
Is there crime in Bonaire? You betcha. But I challenge you to show me a country where there isn't. I would like to live there.
It is also manageable to the point it is so not something I worry about. I feel not only safe, but welcomed there. Going to Bonaire for me is more than just a dive trip, it is almost like visiting family.
And there is less crime in Bonaire then many other dive destinations.
I was really worried before my first trip, about the crime. Now the only thing I worry about is the Post Bonaire Depression when I am in Flamingo waiting for my plane.
Go there. you will love it. Don't worry about the crime, but certainly don't be vulnerable.
dvrliz1
Guest
Drew...hey....have you been picking my brain?????? You said it exactly as I would have. I mean, come on, if it was as bad as some say it is, why the heck would I live here???? Can't wait to see you guys, never heard from Scott.
DiveMaven, You are correct! They did establish as "taskforce" dedicated to reduce thefts on Bonaire. You will be seeing a lot of positive changes over the next few years, also in a lot of other areas within the infastructure of Bonaire.
Hugs to All!
Liz
DiveMaven, You are correct! They did establish as "taskforce" dedicated to reduce thefts on Bonaire. You will be seeing a lot of positive changes over the next few years, also in a lot of other areas within the infastructure of Bonaire.
Hugs to All!
Liz
And I have the PBD badly.... for the record, i never felt worried about being robbed, but wished we didn't have that worry about the truck unlocked, etc. Also for the record, I *will* return to Bonaire - read my trip report. With a few exceptions, the resort was excellent, the diving incredible, and overall a great experience. And, if a task force does make an impact then Bonaire would SERIOUSLY move to the top of my list (it already is close!).
gNats
Guest
Just returned from my first trip to Bonaire.
I will admit, after reading the comments about the theft on this board, I was very apprehensive about traveling to Bonaire.
What a silly I was.
During the checkout dive with the resort, the Dive Shop Manager was very open about telling everyone to take nothing to the shore diving sites. Use a waterproof container for any money, keys, and licenses you need to take. He recommended that you leave the doors unlocked and the windows down or at least cracked (we did get some rain).
he told us that there was a group of individuals about a year ago taking things. The police, posing as divers, left a truck full of goodies and they were caught. Since then, he had not heard of a string of thefts.
We followed his advice. My dive companion and I took nothing but a change of clothes and a towel, some sunscreen lotion, lip balm, spare cheap sunglasses. She had the money, license, and truck/hotel key in her bcd pocket in a should be but wasn't waterproof container :depressed:. We also figured, what the heck. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. What is the big deal about leaving the doors unlocked if you have nothing in the truck to begin with? It was almost liberating not to have to dink around for a key every time we went back. Especially since the doors were not power locked. Locking cars is only a necessity if you are keeping valuables in them. In a rental truck, when I am diving, I had no need for valuables. Plus, even the most remote shore sites are only 30 -40 minutes from the resort, we just went back if we wanted to change out gear and called it surface interval time.
We were never approached by anyone but other divers asking about conditions. I never came back and found my towel out of place or any evidence that someone even stood by the truck.
The equivalent of the DNR did approach us one dive day, to verify we had our diving tag clearly affixed to our BCDs and logged our name, resort, and dive control tag number.
Based on my first experience, I would definitely recommend Bonaire's diving and the island to any new or seasoned dive traveler wanting a new dive getaway.
I think it is very good to talk about the potential of crime on any island or in any city, but we should keep level heads. If you feel the risk is to great for you, I respect that. But, as I said, I bought my trip and then started reading this forum and thought I was going to end up missing from the postings about the crime. Equipment stolen from a truck would have seem like a good thing from the comments I read in other threads.
Sometimes, we create an unfair image based on our own fears or, we are posting hearsay and 3rd person stories that are slightly exaggerated after being translated so many times.
The island is very quiet (at least where I stayed and I was right by the cruise ships). The islanders were friendly and polite. If you haven't traveled there yet, it is definitely a must experience.
Cheers everyone!
gNats
I will admit, after reading the comments about the theft on this board, I was very apprehensive about traveling to Bonaire.
What a silly I was.
During the checkout dive with the resort, the Dive Shop Manager was very open about telling everyone to take nothing to the shore diving sites. Use a waterproof container for any money, keys, and licenses you need to take. He recommended that you leave the doors unlocked and the windows down or at least cracked (we did get some rain).
he told us that there was a group of individuals about a year ago taking things. The police, posing as divers, left a truck full of goodies and they were caught. Since then, he had not heard of a string of thefts.
We followed his advice. My dive companion and I took nothing but a change of clothes and a towel, some sunscreen lotion, lip balm, spare cheap sunglasses. She had the money, license, and truck/hotel key in her bcd pocket in a should be but wasn't waterproof container :depressed:. We also figured, what the heck. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. What is the big deal about leaving the doors unlocked if you have nothing in the truck to begin with? It was almost liberating not to have to dink around for a key every time we went back. Especially since the doors were not power locked. Locking cars is only a necessity if you are keeping valuables in them. In a rental truck, when I am diving, I had no need for valuables. Plus, even the most remote shore sites are only 30 -40 minutes from the resort, we just went back if we wanted to change out gear and called it surface interval time.
We were never approached by anyone but other divers asking about conditions. I never came back and found my towel out of place or any evidence that someone even stood by the truck.
The equivalent of the DNR did approach us one dive day, to verify we had our diving tag clearly affixed to our BCDs and logged our name, resort, and dive control tag number.
Based on my first experience, I would definitely recommend Bonaire's diving and the island to any new or seasoned dive traveler wanting a new dive getaway.
I think it is very good to talk about the potential of crime on any island or in any city, but we should keep level heads. If you feel the risk is to great for you, I respect that. But, as I said, I bought my trip and then started reading this forum and thought I was going to end up missing from the postings about the crime. Equipment stolen from a truck would have seem like a good thing from the comments I read in other threads.
Sometimes, we create an unfair image based on our own fears or, we are posting hearsay and 3rd person stories that are slightly exaggerated after being translated so many times.
The island is very quiet (at least where I stayed and I was right by the cruise ships). The islanders were friendly and polite. If you haven't traveled there yet, it is definitely a must experience.
Cheers everyone!
gNats
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
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