Rental truck not vandalized

[Reidkon]

I found the driving in Bonaire to be very easy for the most part. We only regularly went to a couple places in town and soon learned the best way of getting to them. The traffic circles are easy, when entering yield to the car going around the circle. We only encountered a couple of idiots on the road. One was a rental truck and the other was someone driving a fancy SUV the wrong way on the one-way north of Karpata.

I've been enjoying the thread. In honesty, I like hearing all the good, bad & the ugly, to enjoy the trip, yet keep safe. I will be going for the first time at the end of July with a large group. I've got a couple (silly) questions. I've heard about he missing sunglasses,... I wear prescription glasses & need them to drive (I have been put down as a driver because in the condo of women I will be in, I am the only one that can drive a manual transmission), are these commonly taken? Also what side of the road do they drive on? I don't want to make a mistake & cause an accident...

 

[wwguy]

Now you have my attention...is this something Gibi is doing often and if so where? It's been a long time since I had some of his kabrita stoba. I would love to see my old friend again.

In our case it was a special request made by our hosts at BCV during the winter holidays. We gave Gibi carte blanche for shopping and preparing the meal at our villa. He's been busy recently preparing a lot of meals for the students at the CIEE Research Station, but they were in between sessions during the holidays. We were lucky he was available, and lucky to spend some time getting to know Gibi and his wonderful family.

 

[gypsyjim]

I have begun popping my eyeglasses into an old eyeglass case, and stowing them in a pocket on my harness. I think it was Herman above, who was the one who observed that the salt water was no more salty than human sweat, so the sea water wasn't going to harm my glasses. Mine are also progressive lens, sunglasses.

By bringing my eyeglasses with me I not only know where they are, but if for some reason I have a distance to walk over rough ground on the entry or exit I will have them, instead of wishing I had them.

 

[boat sju]

A donkey tried to steal my buddy's GoPro . . . until he realized he couldn't eat it.

 

[gypsyjim]

A donkey tried to steal my buddy's GoPro . . . until he realized he couldn't eat it.

He probably has family in the police dept, covering up his crimes.

 

[herman]

Yep that was my idea...I use an older pair of safety glasses. Works great.

 

[KeithG]

11 trips to Bonaire, nothing gone missing. Even when we forget and leave gear on the dock overnight. Never had anything gone missing from a room either. Never felt afraid for my safety. We walk to / from supper very night after dark.

And yes, the traffic circle rules do not follow the norm. Almost got hit once by some idiot entering the circle I was already on. Seems he had the right of way. Stupid system.

 

[T.C.]

It's kind of sad and a sadder commentary that we need to have a thread that documents not being a victim of crime in a country.

It's not "sad", it's to offset the outright stupidity you were posting. Sorry, but that's the truth.

No one is "begging" comments here. You couldn't even post more than a handful of thefts in your thread; we can post the countless times we've never had anything go wrong. It's not an exception, it's the rule. Crime is the exception.

By expensive equipment you mean like sun glasses, flip flops or t-shirts that get stolen, and by drawer in a room you're referring to when divers have had laptops and items stolen from their rooms that were locked in safes.

No, no, and no.

I have seen cameras, dive gear, camera cases (Pelican Boxes), and room keys left in trucks. The sheer idiocy of this baffles me. You wouldn't do this elsewhere, why do it in Bonaire?

Often, those shirts, sunglasses, and flipflops are left alone.

Lastly, the laptop and stolen items from rooms were left out. Very, very few safes have ever been reported opened. This is just a myth of your creation.

I've heard about he missing sunglasses,... I wear prescription glasses & need them to drive (I have been put down as a driver because in the condo of women I will be in, I am the only one that can drive a manual transmission), are these commonly taken?

The one time we were robbed (my own fault for not enforcing the rules on new Bonaire divers because of time), they looked through our glove box where my buddy had put his glasses. They left them, despite moving them to the seat.

That said, I wouldn't take chances. I'd suggest a small, padded, positively locking case that you can carry securely underwater.

Somene stole half the air from one of the tanks in our jeep the last time we were there. Thankfully they only took the air and not the tank.

This happens to me every dive. I go down with a full tank, someone steals 1/2-3/4, and leaves me hanging.

Damn oxygen thieves.

 

[gypsyjim]

11 trips to Bonaire, nothing gone missing. Even when we forget and leave gear on the dock overnight. Never had anything gone missing from a room either. Never felt afraid for my safety. We walk to / from supper very night after dark.

And yes, the traffic circle rules do not follow the norm. Almost got hit once by some idiot entering the circle I was already on. Seems he had the right of way. Stupid system.

Try driving in Oz. They freek'in drive on the wrong effin side of the road there!

(Well, they do in a few other places too, but at least on St Thomas the traffic was more rural than trying to keep that **** straight in a huge city like Sydney.)

 

[lmorin]

I have begun popping my eyeglasses into an old eyeglass case, and stowing them in a pocket on my harness. I think it was Herman above, who was the one who observed that the salt water was no more salty than human sweat, so the sea water wasn't going to harm my glasses. Mine are also progressive lens, sunglasses.

By bringing my eyeglasses with me I not only know where they are, but if for some reason I have a distance to walk over rough ground on the entry or exit I will have them, instead of wishing I had them.

That's basically what I do, too. However, I have noted damage to the surface of the lenses. Not really able to state that it is related to accompanying me on dives because I tend to be a bit hard on my glasses anyway. Nevertheless, it is possible that the coating on the lenses are "bubbled" off in a process somehow related to the major pressure changes involved. Doubt the problem is water-related, per se, and as I said, may not even be dive related.