Our Tour Van Was Shot (We Think)

First off, I'm not going to name the tour company because it probably could have been any and wouldn't have made a difference.

FWIW, our tour was in early January of this year. On our way back to the ship we were somewhere in the southern part of Belize city when we heard a loud pop. I was sitting in the front passenger seat and my window shattered but the glass did not fall out. At the same time the window directly behind on the door of the van shattered as well. There was one small impact point on my window but whatever it was did not break through the window. There were two small impact points on the window of the door behind me and both of those did go through the window. The driver pulled over within a minute or so of this happening and a group of three guys came up to the window. It was clear he was not comfortable with the situation so he drove a bit further and then pulled over again. At this point he was nervous about what his boss was going to do because he was responsible for the van, so he called his boss to let him know what happened.

We don't know for sure what happened but there were no cars around us so rocks are unlikely. There was a building to the right of us as this happened so the consensus was that it was likely pellets from a shotgun, and this makes sense given the size and spacing of the impact points. One person in our group is a native Spanish speaker and she said the driver told his boss we had been shot.

They speak Portuguese in Brazil. You should call your cruise line!

Navigator of the Seas

THANKSGIVING CRUISE

Sept. 23!!

They speak Portuguese in Brazil. You should call your cruise line!

 

 

Navigator of the Seas

THANKSGIVING CRUISE

Sept. 23!!

Thanks for the tip. This was my first trip out of the country so I am very appreciative of any suggestions from a genius such as yourself:rolleyes:

thanks for the tip. This was my first trip out of the country so i am very appreciative of any suggestions from a genius such as yourself:rolleyes:

lol!

They speak Portuguese in Brazil. You should call your cruise line!

 

 

Navigator of the Seas

THANKSGIVING CRUISE

Sept. 23!!

This is on the Belize postings so I am not sure what Brazil has to do with this post. What am I missing as if this happened in Belize Cc members would want to know.

First off, I'm not going to name the tour company because it probably could have been any and wouldn't have made a difference.

FWIW, our tour was in early January of this year. On our way back to the ship we were somewhere in the southern part of Belize city when we heard a loud pop. I was sitting in the front passenger seat and my window shattered but the glass did not fall out. At the same time the window directly behind on the door of the van shattered as well. There was one small impact point on my window but whatever it was did not break through the window. There were two small impact points on the window of the door behind me and both of those did go through the window. The driver pulled over within a minute or so of this happening and a group of three guys came up to the window. It was clear he was not comfortable with the situation so he drove a bit further and then pulled over again. At this point he was nervous about what his boss was going to do because he was responsible for the van, so he called his boss to let him know what happened.

We don't know for sure what happened but there were no cars around us so rocks are unlikely. There was a building to the right of us as this happened so the consensus was that it was likely pellets from a shotgun, and this makes sense given the size and spacing of the impact points. One person in our group is a native Spanish speaker and she said the driver told his boss we had been shot.

What was the end of your tour?

I'm sorry.

Navigator of the Seas

THANKSGIVING CRUISE

Sept. 23!!

What was the end of your tour?

The end of the tour was the port. We were returning from Cave Tubing.

I was going to post a pic of the window but the image hosting site is blocked. I'll try to find another.

Was this reported to RCI? If you did, what was their response? If not, I think they need to be. Scary.

oh my!!! how terrifying!

I'm a little confused...you said "The driver pulled over within a minute or so of this happening and a group of three guys came up to the window. It was clear he was not comfortable with the situation so he drove a bit further and then pulled over again." So when he pulled over after this happened and 3 guys came up to the window...what was going on? Where they attempting to rob anyone? You said there were no cars around and only a building by, so if someone was shooting and he stops and 3 guys came up, then what? How did he manage to just pull away and stop again up the road? If it was a robbery, somehow I don't think he would have been able to just pull up the road without something else (potentially bad) going on with the 3 guys standing there. :confused:

Would like more information?? Trying to plan what to do there. Thanks!

First off, I'm not going to name the tour company because it probably could have been any and wouldn't have made a difference.

FWIW, our tour was in early January of this year. On our way back to the ship we were somewhere in the southern part of Belize city when we heard a loud pop. I was sitting in the front passenger seat and my window shattered but the glass did not fall out. At the same time the window directly behind on the door of the van shattered as well. There was one small impact point on my window but whatever it was did not break through the window. There were two small impact points on the window of the door behind me and both of those did go through the window. The driver pulled over within a minute or so of this happening and a group of three guys came up to the window. It was clear he was not comfortable with the situation so he drove a bit further and then pulled over again. At this point he was nervous about what his boss was going to do because he was responsible for the van, so he called his boss to let him know what happened.

We don't know for sure what happened but there were no cars around us so rocks are unlikely. There was a building to the right of us as this happened so the consensus was that it was likely pellets from a shotgun, and this makes sense given the size and spacing of the impact points. One person in our group is a native Spanish speaker and she said the driver told his boss we had been shot.

I'd love to know which of the cave tubing tours this was (since there are a few). Please do share.

Was this a ship's tour or independent one?

They speak Portuguese in Brazil. You should call your cruise line!

 

Yes, they do speak Portuguese in BRAZIL. But they speak English, Cajun and Spanish in Belize along with a "native" language that is a combination of all three. Their official language is English because before they became an independent nation, they were British Honduras.

FYI my son attended a work related security lecture where Belize was named as the place the speaker would never go to based on US kidnappings and crime. He mentioned that the drug trades have left Mexico due to crackdowns and are now running operations in other countries with Belize being one of them. So whatever you do be careful. Last time we were there they had to barricade the bridge to town so the protesters would not get to the downtown area so they set fire to it. Not a great place to venture out.

FYI my son attended a work related security lecture where Belize was named as the place the speaker would never go to based on US kidnappings and crime.

Last time we were there they had to barricade the bridge to town so the protesters would not get to the downtown area so they set fire to it. Not a great place to venture out.

I do not doubt that some speaker said this, but I would like to know what kidnappings he is talking about. Also when were you in Belize that they had to barricade the bridge? I live here and have never heard of a kidnapping or a barricade. Yes we have had parents kidnap their own children (maybe three times in the last couple of years), but I have NEVER heard of a kidnapping of a nonBelizean. And barricading? Well that did happen in the 60s during Hurricane Hattie, but I do not think that is what you are talking about.

Belize gets a really bad rep from people who have never been here or who expect it to be Disneyland.

Every bad story about Belize that has even a kernel of truth has been so distorted by people with an agenda that many travelers are missing out on some beautiful country and wonderful experiences.

Practice safe travel habits no matter where you go, even the Grand Canyon in the great State of Arizona and you can go just about anywhere.

They speak Portuguese in Brazil. You should call your cruise line!

 

 

Navigator of the Seas

THANKSGIVING CRUISE

Sept. 23!!

What does that have to do with Belize City? They mostly speak English there with some Spanish thrown in.

I do not doubt that some speaker said this, but I would like to know what kidnappings he is talking about. Also when were you in Belize that they had to barricade the bridge? I live here and have never heard of a kidnapping or a barricade. Yes we have had parents kidnap their own children (maybe three times in the last couple of years), but I have NEVER heard of a kidnapping of a nonBelizean. And barricading? Well that did happen in the 60s during Hurricane Hattie, but I do not think that is what you are talking about.

 

Belize gets a really bad rep from people who have never been here or who expect it to be Disneyland.

 

Every bad story about Belize that has even a kernel of truth has been so distorted by people with an agenda that many travelers are missing out on some beautiful country and wonderful experiences.

 

Practice safe travel habits no matter where you go, even the Grand Canyon in the great State of Arizona and you can go just about anywhere.

We've taken many cruises so I can't give the exact date but yes they did have to block the bridge to downtown with barricades and they had set some things on fire. As we walked in the port the day after, the radios were on and we could hear angry people talking about something be is politics etc. We have been to Belize on many occasions and have taken excursions but as with many of the Islands these days I don't need to venture out if it is not safe to do so.