First Bonaire trip report 3/22 - 3/29

[scubamickey]

Scubamickey ... I have been going to Bonaire for 10 years and by following the "windows down, nothing of value in the truck" have never had a problem. Other than dive gear, water and a snack the only thing that gets left in the truck are old t-shirts, cheap flipflops and cheap sunglasses. Keys and a few guilders go in a BC pocket. Easy to do and not really absurd ... I would not leave valuables in an unlocked vehicle here at home and to lock the truck at a dive site in Bonaire sends a signal that there is something of value. Relax and enjoy Bonaire!

I've heard many first hand accounts of t-shirts, towels, etc getting stolen from trucks. That is absurd. I would understand if you left an IPod or a cell phone. But t-shirts and towels? This is the only place I've been to where you have to cater to the thieves.
Whatever...I hope nobody minds it if I hit their vehicle because I had to leave my prescription glasses in my room for fear of theft .

I'm sure things won't seem this bad once I'm there.

 

[scubamickey]

As to how many tanks you can take, nobody is checking them out to you, so you can pretty much take what you want. However, the island is so small that you would have no need to take 5 tanks per person. It's not a hassle at all to do 2-3 dives, return to the dive op, switch tanks, and go back out to dive more. From Den Laman, it's no more than a 10-15 minute drive to most of the sites on the island.

We also followed the "rules" and left our truck windows open with nothing of value in the truck, and had ZERO problems during our 2 week stay last week. Personally, I'm pleased that we were told about this practice prior to our visit, rather than learning the hard way.

Billmosel, I see you rented with Total...where are they located now? Across from the airport, or still at the Plaza?

Thanks for the info!

 

[tiggrr]

Hey!! Did you really see Jawfish??

Do you remember where? Did you happen to get pics??

When we talked with the Naturalist at Bonaire Dive and Adventure, he mentioned they had not come back yet after Omar. Asked to let him know if we spotted any. I certainly looked as they are such cool fish.

As for the number of tanks.....it really is unnecessary to take more than 3 apiece.
We had 2 guys at our place who would load up at midnight with 6 for each of them. Yup. Serious. Freakin 12 tanks in the back of a truck for 2 guys. Really sucks when there isn't enough for everyone else. Hey! As long as they get theirs right??

 

[herman]

I've heard many first hand accounts of t-shirts, towels, etc getting stolen from trucks. That is absurd. I would understand if you left an IPod or a cell phone. But t-shirts and towels? This is the only place I've been to where you have to cater to the thieves.
Whatever...I hope nobody minds it if I hit their vehicle because I had to leave my prescription glasses in my room for fear of theft .

I'm sure things won't seem this bad once I'm there.

Not to be argumentative but I question the validity of such stories. Why on earth would someone take an old T-shirt or a towel? In 12 trips (13 weeks on island) since 99 with groups ranging from 2 to 24 we have had zero problems. So far as best as I can tell, no one has even looked in our stuff. I put my glasses (old pair) in a hard shell case and into the BC pocket. The salt water will not hurt them , just rinse them with water after the dive and go.

Hey!! Did you really see Jawfish??

Do you remember where? Did you happen to get pics??

When we talked with the Naturalist at Bonaire Dive and Adventure, he mentioned they had not come back yet after Omar. Asked to let him know if we spotted any. I certainly looked as they are such cool fish.

As for the number of tanks.....it really is unnecessary to take more than 3 apiece.
We had 2 guys at our place who would load up at midnight with 6 for each of them. Yup. Serious. Freakin 12 tanks in the back of a truck for 2 guys. Really sucks when there isn't enough for everyone else. Hey! As long as they get theirs right??

6 tanks each... whew what air hogs.

 

[billmosel]

Hey!! Did you really see Jawfish??

Do you remember where? Did you happen to get pics??

When we talked with the Naturalist at Bonaire Dive and Adventure, he mentioned they had not come back yet after Omar. Asked to let him know if we spotted any. I certainly looked as they are such cool fish.

As for the number of tanks.....it really is unnecessary to take more than 3 apiece.
We had 2 guys at our place who would load up at midnight with 6 for each of them. Yup. Serious. Freakin 12 tanks in the back of a truck for 2 guys. Really sucks when there isn't enough for everyone else. Hey! As long as they get theirs right??

Yes Tiggrr, I really saw jawfish on the Bari reef. My wife really enjoys them also. They went into their little holes peaked out a couple of times but could not get a shot off, sorry.

 

[tiggrr]

Yes Tiggrr, I really saw jawfish on the Bari reef. My wife really enjoys them also. They went into their little holes peaked out a couple of times but could not get a shot off, sorry.

Awesome.

Thanx for the confirmation.

I love the jawfish and I'll drop an email to the Naturalist (Jerry Ligon) and let him know.
I'll link this thread so, if he has any questions for ya!

 

[billmosel]

Awesome.

Thanx for the confirmation.

I love the jawfish and I'll drop an email to the Naturalist (Jerry Ligon) and let him know.
I'll link this thread so, if he has any questions for ya!

No problem Tiggrr

 

[driftin' by]

Hey!! Did you really see Jawfish??

Do you remember where? Did you happen to get pics??

Saw this little fellow at Eden Beach on 3/5 along with another one about 18" away.

I've heard many first hand accounts of t-shirts, towels, etc getting stolen from trucks. That is absurd. I would understand if you left an IPod or a cell phone. But t-shirts and towels? This is the only place I've been to where you have to cater to the thieves.
Whatever...I hope nobody minds it if I hit their vehicle because I had to leave my prescription glasses in my room for fear of theft .

Theft is absurd no matter when or where it happens. I was apprehensive about it before our first trip to Bonaire earlier this month but it is truly blown out of proportion. I felt extremely safe on the island with my wife and 3 year old daughter. Also, if you build some context around someone's allegations of theft the motives become clear. Someone told me that their old ratty flip-flops and t-shirt got stolen but it didn't make sense until I found out they were stolen because they were inside a large Akona Duffel Bag. The thief didn't want the flip flops or t-shirt, they wanted the expensive bag and whatever potentially hide inside. It's usually not as petty as you think. With the exception of my save-a-dive kit, I didn't take anything that I would normally take on a boat dive in Cozumel. You just don't need to take anything else.

 

[tdeckert]

Hey Bill - Jon and I had a GREAT time diving with you guys! I must say your photo skills are fantastic - great pics!

This was our first trip to Bonaire and we also stayed at DL and loved it. Like Bill said, not a big deal to take 2 tanks for the morning, come back, grab 2 more. We used the outside lockers to store extra tanks for early morning dives/evening dives.

As for theft, I admit I was very apprehensive but NEVER had a problem...left nothing of value in the truck, windows down, doors unlocked. As best as I could tell, the truck was never touched. Actually, we went to pack gear on Saturday and realized we left our regs in the rinse tank at DL after our night dive (imagine the sick feeling we had...stupid yes, but I was tired and cold...). Well, someone found them and kindly hung them up in the gear room for us!!

As for DL, the room was a 1 bedroom overlooking the ocean and it was immaculate. The water pressure in the shower was amazing - just shy of a pressure washer..and HOT...I swear it was almost boiling coming out of the faucet, which meant we never ran out of hot water!

A great experience for us and would definitely go again.

One more thing, if you shop at the Food Warehouse with a credit card, you should take along photo ID. I got to the checkout line and had to put everything back b/c they would not take my card w/o photo ID. This was not a problem at Cultimara. Next time I'll know!

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Don't worry about theft , do worry about mosquitoes . I came back march 2 with a severe case of Dengue Fever . It is underplayed and is prevalent throughout the tropics . Bonaire is inundated with the mosquito that carries dengue. I only got 4-6 bites , maybe just the luck of the draw .

As much as I loved Bonaire , after this I doubt I ever go back . Deet is your best friend on Bonaire