WHO SAYS NOTHING EVER HAPPENS IN BAHÍA? (NO. 4)
Bahía de Caraquéz, Ecuador, 29 August 2007

Bahía has long had the reputation of being a safe harbour in the truest senses of the word. As a refuge from the turbulent oceans the estuary is a haven because it is storm-free. Robberies and muggings are little feared on the streets of this little beach town even at night. And, as for the safety of persons and property, most cruisers simply leave their boats unlocked when they go ashore or when they are sleeping during the pleasantly cool nights. Even when they take off to visit Manchu Pichu in Peru or travel up into the sierras to sightsee in Quito and Baños on their way to the jungles in the headwater regions of the Amazon River, most of us leave our boats unlocked. When we come back everything is as we have left it. Big-city street smarts aren’t really necessary here.

This may have changed. There are at present about five dozen yachts either at anchor in the river or tied to one of the twenty-four buoys owned by Puerto Amistad. When long-time Bahía cruiser Richard returned from two months of motorcycle travel in the sierras, he found the interior of his large multi-hull Mahayana out of Vancouver, British Columbia, had been trashed and all his electronics and various other valuables had been stolen. Investigating, he was told that one of the boat boys from Puerto Amistad had at some point of time noticed a propane tank hanging into the water from one of the lifelines and went aboard to investigate. Seeing the mess he reported it to his boss who also took a look. Everything was however left until Richard returned.

Reporting it to the local Policia was apparently the wrong first step. Although his staff is not made up of criminal police, the Port Captain is still responsible for all maritime matters in the area including vandalism and theft aboard yachts. Photographs were taken but, in Richard’s opinion, no attempts were made to take fingerprints even from obvious places. The case is pending.

Other cruisers are now wondering if our Ecuadorian paradise has also now been vandalised. Do we all now need to lock up our boats even when we are aboard sleeping, lock our dinghy to the dock when going ashore, hoist it out of the water at night just to be safe, and worry if a lancha or dugout comes too close to our boat? Unfortunately, mistrust is infectious. Nobody wants to see the atmosphere changed in the Mayberry of Ecuador. What to do?

Who says nothing ever happens in Bahia?