What are the police doing to end the crime on Bonaire? - thread split

[dmoore19]

To a point, I'm Ok, but I do like my creature comforts, so I pay for them, I roughed it when I was younger but now I feel like I want it safe, clean and not too rugged. Rustic I can deal with, if it has charm and they won't swipe my Omega.

Before going anywhere, I research the place so I know what to expect. Google is a friend of mine. I weigh the risks, figure out what I am willing to deal with make my decision and go there with my eyes open and ready to deal with it. It's part of the fun.

 

[Papa_Bear]

I love Roatan as well and at BIBR it is safe to drink the water! It maybe rustic, but if we want home it would be cheaper to stay there, but the travel is part of the adventure! You have to use common sense and ask a lot of questions! Travel and life is harder for some than others, but a big part of the adventure is getting there!

 

[DPJ]

Been to Bonaire the last two years. I left gear in the unlocked gear room and my second floor balcony. Nothing was stolen. No one broke into my unlocked truck; always found my tshirt, shoes, granola bars and bottle of water where I left them. Only time I felt ripped off, was when had o-ring replaced on my regulator; for 5 minutes work they charged $40 USD.

 

[sffrenchman]

Dived, dived, dived, not a white bird a Dove? Did you Skydove? No you skydived! If your going to Troll at least get the past tense right!

From Merriam-Webster's dictionary

Main Entry: dive
Pronunciation: \ˈdīv\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): dived \ˈdīvd\ or dove \ˈdōv\; dived also dove; div·ing
Etymology: Middle English diven, duven, from Old English dȳfan to dip & dūfan to dive; akin to Old English dyppan to dip — more at dip
Date: before 12th century
intransitive verb
1 a : to plunge into water intentionally and especially headfirst; also : to execute a dive b : submerge <the submarine dived>
2 a : to come or drop down precipitously : plunge <the temperature is diving> b : to plunge one's hand into something c of an airplane : to descend in a dive
3 a : to plunge into some matter or activity <she dove into her studies> b : to plunge or dash for some place <diving for cover>; also : to lunge especially in order to seize something <dove for the ball>
transitive verb
1 : to thrust into something
2 : to cause to dive <dive a submarine>
usage Dive, which was originally a weak verb, developed a past tense dove, probably by analogy with verbs like drive, drove. Dove exists in some British dialects and has become the standard past tense especially in speech in some parts of Canada. In the United States dived and dove are both widespread in speech as past tense and past participle, with dove less common than dived in the south Midland area, and dived less common than dove in the Northern and north Midland areas. In writing, the past tense dived is usual in British English and somewhat more common in American English. Dove seems relatively rare as a past participle in writing

 

[Papa_Bear]

The Grammarphobia Blog: Grammar, Usage, Etymology, and More: "Lighted" vs. "lit" and "dived" vs. "dove"
The Ten Foot Stop: Dived or dove, which is correct? From Dr. David Colvard
English and Grammar Rules: English Grammar Rule - DIVED or DOVE?

And yes "Ain't" is in the dictionary but not in my vocabulary either! I still haven't met anyone who skydove? My feeling is English is screwed up enough and pronouncing a word spelled the same two different ways doesn't help!

It is still a bird!

 

[Mossman]

The original thread turned into a bash Bonaire by 1 or 2 people. I don't buy into all the bull that was posted about Bonaire. I would like to go there some day. Please don't turn this into a bash Roatan thread. You have made posts in that spirit. I am sure there are thefts from every dive vacation spot in the world. I know that there are places you can't drink the water. Bonaire has desalination plants for fresh water so the water is safe to drink. I know there are places you can go that bugs and diseases are problems. When traveling things can happen any where you go. I have been to Roatan and throughly enjoyed it. International travel has challenges, it's part of the deal. If you want to go some place perfectly safe, without crime, diseases, the chance of eating or drinking something that makes you ill............Good Luck, I don't think it exists. If you aren't prepared to deal with the challenges of traveling to a foreign country, stay home.

Heck, I'm not bashing Roatan per se, just comparing it to safe Bonaire for someone who apparently bashes Bonaire but prefers Roatan. Neither place is total paradise, obviously, but with enough precautions and foreknowledge they can both come close. On the other hand, taken by surprise, I can see how divers could react negatively to "side effects" from either locale. Overall, I enjoyed my one trip to Roatan and I'm sure I'd enjoy another. Still, I prefer the quality of the dive experience at Bonaire, not to mention the food, so if there ends up being a war between the two, I'd have to side with Bonaire!

 

[Mossman]

That's kind of how I feel too, especially in the Caribe. Forget that pioneer stuff. Out in the Pacific, New Guinea etc, it would be a bit different.

Really? The more exotic I go, the less I want to endure "pioneer stuff" and in many parts of the Pacific/SE Asia, you'd want even more security than you'd want in Bonaire. The Blue Lagoon "compound" in Truk, for example, is surrounded by barbed wire. Indonesia has lots of terrorists bent on destroying our decandent Western way of life (i.e. "luxury" dive travel). And PNG? That's probably the most dangerous of all.

I've experienced enough really dangerous places to know that Bonaire and its minor thefts are a picnic in comparison. When tourists start getting robbed at gunpoint and maybe killed anyway, or bunches of tourists get anhilated by terrorists, separatists, insurgents, what have you, or even caught in the cross-fire of a minor military coup, that's when I'd start to worry.

 

[Mossman]

I love Roatan as well and at BIBR it is safe to drink the water! It maybe rustic, but if we want home it would be cheaper to stay there, but the travel is part of the adventure! You have to use common sense and ask a lot of questions! Travel and life is harder for some than others, but a big part of the adventure is getting there!

Yeah, they told us it was safe too, with that intricate system of plastic jugs and old pipes. I guess over half our group must have gotten their intestinal bugs from the food instead?

 

[Mossman]

The Ten Foot Stop: Dived or dove, which is correct? From Dr. David Colvard
And yes "Ain't" is in the dictionary but not in my vocabulary either! I still haven't met anyone who skydove? My feeling is English is screwed up enough and pronouncing a word spelled the same two different ways doesn't help!

Your cite from "The Ten Foot Stop" includes the following:
However, there have occasionally been changes in the other direction: the past tense of wear, now wore, was once werede, and that of spit, now spat, was once spitede. The development of dove is an additional example of the small group of verbs that have swum against the historical tide. "
So apparently you also prefer to say "spitede" and "werede" instead of spat and wore?
I would think it's a lot easier to differentiate between spoken words that sound different like dove (bird) and dove (past tense of dive) versus words that sound the same like fore, for, or four. Maybe we should just change the name of the damn bird to duv and be dun with it.

 

[DiverVince]

Only time I felt ripped off, was when had o-ring replaced on my regulator; for 5 minutes work they charged $40 USD.

DPJ...THE place for regulator repairs is Bruce at the Carib Inn. You'll never meet anyone nicer nor more efficient on scuba repairs. Personally I've had repairs done where I had to plead to give him $$. Finally he relented and said put it in the can for the Bonaire Animal Shelter. I highly recommend folks patronize his store. He is one of Bonaire's true gems.