Be careful in Bonaire (Burglaries)

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From what I have heard/read a rental home is much more of an issue than a resort or condo. (This is a generalization but I believe it to be true)

That makes a lot of sense, since the resorts do have better control of access to their properties than many of the condos, and stand alone rental homes that many of us love to use.
PM me, if you have a moment. You and Herman were there at about the same time as these events, and I would welcome any info or opinion that you could share.
 
Let us all share in any info, not just you in PM's. Keep it all open and transparent, OK? Divers are growing tired of the same old................:shakehead:


That makes a lot of sense, since the resorts do have better control of access to their properties than many of the condos, and stand alone rental homes that many of us love to use.
PM me, if you have a moment. You and Herman were there at about the same time as these events, and I would welcome any info or opinion that you could share.
 
From what I have heard/read a rental home is much more of an issue than a resort or condo. (This is a generalization but I believe it to be true)

Perhaps I should just stick with what has worked so far then.
 
You are making fun of this serious crime report? :confused:That tells me something. Maybe this is funny to you but not to the victims:shakehead:

Nope. I lost over $2k worth of stuff. My point was that I've had more stolen in my driveway in Alabama than I have in Bonaire. One should always be careful and prudent when traveling but you are quite an alarmist when it comes to Bonaire specifically. What exactly did you have stolen in Bonaire and when?
 
I was actually talking to some friends last night who live in Houston who have already paid for their upcoming trip to Bonaire and if it wasn't for losing their money for the room and plane tickets, they were going to cancel. From what I gather they knew one of the folks that was recently burglarized. They have very expensive, and I mean very expensive camera and camcorder equipment. They are staying at the Plaza Resort this trip. Don't know if they are going to take their equipment on this trip or not.
 
Wow - again?! Clarfrieda, thank you very much for your posts. I am sorry to hear your vacation was so severely harmed.

:rofl3: You could look over thread titles or :search: But seriously, how can you be that experienced on the island and be that ignorant of how common the problem is? OK, you said it's not happened to you yet; different, but why question that it happened to them - when it is so very common? :dontknow:
And nothing is likely to change until it has to, which may only happen because of threads like this. [/INDENT]
Again, I am sorry about your losses harm to your vacation and thank you again for reporting as only a small percentage of the victims do so here.

Don; yes I knew about the crime issues 30 years ago.I take the same precautions that I do here in NY and have not been a victim neither on Bonaire or Bronx or Manhattan NY back in the day when things were really bad.Ever walk or work in East Harlem in the early 70's?
The problem is not as common as many may believe..Could it happen? Sure it can,can happen anywhere.More likely to happen if victim is careless.Not blaming the victim here but people do let their guard down at times,its human nature.
I originally called bs because op wrote that watch's (plural) (actually turns out to be wrist computers)had been stolen.Not a cop or detective here,but have trained quite a few,and my experience tells me who leaves a watch in their hotel room? Most people wear it constantly.Then Liz from Golden Reef Inn resort posted that in fact the op is a victim.I have meet with Liz in the past and now I believe the op.I posted to that effect.Sorry about what happened and glad that the perps have been caught. I Hope the op gets their items returned promptly.Liz says it the same people/gang from a few years ago that have returned.I knew about them years ago.That gang used to recruit kids on the island to do the deeds. I am returning back to Bonaire in April and may try to go visit Liz sometime while I am there.
 
This thread has been useful, even though some posters try to muddy and muffle the flow of info. After reading these Bonaire crime threads, I immeadiately made two color copies of my passport. Better to be prepared. Any suggestions on where to put the copy? One at home seems like a good idea?

I was actually talking to some friends last night who live in Houston who have already paid for their upcoming trip to Bonaire and if it wasn't for losing their money for the room and plane tickets, they were going to cancel. From what I gather they knew one of the folks that was recently burglarized. They have very expensive, and I mean very expensive camera and camcorder equipment. They are staying at the Plaza Resort this trip. Don't know if they are going to take their equipment on this trip or not.
 
This thread has been useful, even though some posters try to muddy and muffle the flow of info. After reading these Bonaire crime threads, I immeadiately made two color copies of my passport. Better to be prepared. Any suggestions on where to put the copy? One at home seems like a good idea?

The dive shop we book some trips with likes to make a copy and keep it at the shop under lock and key while you are on a trip with them. They will destroy it when you return. That way they can fax it in case it is needed.
 
Greetings all, I pay close attention to Bonaire threads and ones concerning theft are important. Our group travels to BON every other year and we all love it. If I had to choose only one place to dive Bonaire would be it.

With that being said, I would like to know what places were hit recently as our next trip is very soon. (Wow! I was just going to give the dates and our choice of accomodations this time but thought better not to. Anyone can read this. A little research for future use? Thats SAD!)

With that being said...... It would be nice to know if our place is in a zone of more or fewer cases of theft. It would give us just abit more diligence to keep aware. I think a list of prior theft locations is a good bit of knowledge for the visitors to Bonaire. Leave it to the individual to decide. After all, knowledge is power. We can weigh the factors and make our own decicions as to where to stay. I'd rather know on the front end rather than after the deed is done. If I was aware and fell victim to an event then at least I made the decision fully informed. I've already resigned to leave everything worth something at home. My concern is for my travel documents.

I know and love the secluded nature of Bonaire. I don't want to change that. As I get older I enjoy the relaxed, easy shore diving Bonaire offers. I can deal with the drive-by truck tossing. I can prepare for that. I understand how difficult it would be to police all the various shore locations. But I can't keep the very few most important items with me ALL THE TIME.

I think the visitors to Bonaire have the right to know. Will I continue to visit Bonaire, of course I will. It will be a sad day when Bonaire is no longer an option for my favorite sport. In my opinion transparency is the best policy. When these thefts occur the circumstances need to be available for all. The local government may not want to release this info but the victims can. I know I would. And I can say that during our next trip I will do my best to find out about recent events and pass it along on this board and Bonaire Talk.

I hope and encourage others to continue to discuss the good and bad times on Bonaire. And the good times far outweigh the bad, many times over.

In case anyone is wondering. We were victims of a truck tossing on our first trip to Bonaire. A ngt dive at Andrea 1 or 2, I think. For the record, the kids took a pair of shorts belonging to one of us. inside the pocket of the shorts was the room key. They put the room key in the glove box. Honor among thieves?

Thx to all for your time and future consideration. Good dives to all.

SeaFlea.
 
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I was actually talking to some friends last night who live in Houston who have already paid for their upcoming trip to Bonaire and if it wasn't for losing their money for the room and plane tickets, they were going to cancel. From what I gather they knew one of the folks that was recently burglarized. They have very expensive, and I mean very expensive camera and camcorder equipment. They are staying at the Plaza Resort this trip. Don't know if they are going to take their equipment on this trip or not.
... and we have 34 ScubaBoarders heading there in June/July 2010, some for 7 days and some for 14 days. We have no inclination to cancel our trip. We have very expensive camera and camcorder equipment. We are taking the equipment and staying at the Plaza Resort this trip...
 
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