UKC

I see on FB a psyched team had arrived on the Blanca, gone straight to the Carrefour to stock up and got back to the car to find everything - climbing gear, clothes, passport, cash, computers, phones - gone.

Be aware out there, watch you stuff and if you have kit in the car, leave someone with it.

What a shitty way to start a holiday,


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Had a similar experience at the big supermarket out of Benidorm on the road up to Finestrat, and as the items were visible no insurance cover......an expensive lesson!!

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Saw that on Emma's FB. Exactly the same place me and my mate got done about three weeks ago

Feel pretty lucky just to have lost laptops / diaries and not the whole lot.

In reply to Chris Craggs:

We had the same experience 3 years ago at the same supermarket on the day of our arrival when we were getting supplies for the trip. Fortunately pretty much all they got was my small point and shot camera from the door pocket. Local police and BMC Insurance were both very good about it.

In reply to Chris Craggs:
A lot of bags are also stolen out of trolleys at the supermarket, one method is to grab the trolley with bag while stuff is being weighed, the trolley minus the bag turns up in another aisle....in general, gangs of thieves target tourists in the Benidorm supermarkets.

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Alot of thievery in spain in general, they are well prepared for it !. Caravanners are advised only to stay on acredited sites. One trick is whilst you sleep they pump sleeping gas into your caravan and then ransak you whilst your unconcious, i do not know of such things happening in the Uk or france or italy or germany !

In reply to Chris Craggs:
I've had a car broken into twice in Spain, once when we were climbing Puig Campana, and once near Almeria outside a car show room on an industrial estate. Supermarket car parks are notorious for thievery. Beware of gypsies who hang around them and can be into bag snatching. Remote laybys near mountains/crags are also risky.

If you have a hire car, remove all the stickers from it after you've picked it up so that it's harder to identify it as a hire car. Leave nothing in it and take the parcel shelf out and leave the glove compartment open so that they can see it's empty.

In reply to petrochemicals:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1560520/Beware-sleeping-gas-gang-car...

http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/derby-family-gassed-robbed-camper-van-frenc...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4001318/British-family-gassed-robbe...

In reply to Trangia:

We're going to Calpe on the 2nd and plan to do just this with our hire car when we park up. We plan to be really careful, not the best way to spend a holiday but guess that's life in that area.

In reply to Steve Perry:

A rental car will always stick out like a sore thumb... because it's clean!

In reply to petrochemicals:


Don't be complacent about it elsewhere though. My friend has been a victim of this in his motorvan in France, not once but twice, most recently in July this year!

In reply to petrochemicals:


This is nonsense. It's something that's wheeled out fairly regularly and it has no basis in reality. The Royal College of Anaethetists published a statement on this some time ago that points out all the many and obvious flaws. Their conclusion is that it's a myth.

The stories that POD links to all contain the phrases like "the family believe they were gassed" or "We are 99 per cent sure we had been gassed because we would have heard something." They're all anecdotal, and whilst one family had traces of CO in their blood that doesn't prove anything other than they breathed in some CO at some point. The method of delivery in this case was apparently to put a hose from the attackers' car under the van where there were some vents. This falls apart because in terms of density CO is about neutral - in other words it doesn't rise, unlike e.g. helium. It's hard to see how these exhaust gasses could have risen so effectively to gas a family of 6 who were sleeping at different heights.

In another story a guy claims to have a rash on his leg due to an adverse reaction to the gas, but he's fat and unhealthy so strange rashes possibly aren't that unusual.

The most likely explanation is that the thieves are very stealthy, the occupants are very tired after driving and when they wake up in the morning to find a robbed van they say "We must have been gassed!" because that's the only explanation, right?

Robbery from supermarkets is a greater danger so be super aware and take the time to leave all your valuables hidden or in your apartment etc etc.

In reply to petrochemicals:

A huge amount of motorhome and van folk stay in lay-bys etc all over the Costa Blanca region with seemingly little in the way of problems.
Being robbed is of course crap. Sadly it goes on, but probably no more in Spain than in the UK

In reply to Trangia:

Yep we had our broken into at the Cuevas de Canelobre while we were out on the Cabezon last year, luckily nothing stolen but a trip to the Guardia Civil isn't a lot of fun when your Spanish only extends to asking for a couple of cañas.

If anyone is thinking of going there you can park the car up the dirt track towards the crags out of sight from the main road and car park.

In reply to Mark Eddy:

Thats exactly where it happens ! I know because people i know are big touring van people.

In reply to Chris Craggs:

It's nothing new. In summer 1978 I was camping just outside Granada and thieves drugged the camp site owner's dog then during the night, went round and slit open almost every tent, removing valuables from between people's heads where they had thought them safest. They cut one rubber on my outer tent but I must have stirred so they went away. Somebody woke up and suddenly the whole camp site was in uproar with people screaming and running around everywhere. My companions' tent had a big T cut right through the inner but the thieves had not been able to get the briefcae with all their documents and cash through the hole so they had left it. The Police said the gang had attacked two other camp sites in Granada that night.

In reply to Chris Craggs:

This was so sad to read and we have offered Emma gear if she needs any, climbing shoes the worst to not have I suppose but you can buy more in La Nucia or Alicante gear shops!

I am about to do a big facebook and email campaign warning people again about the Carrafour car park as it is happening to our guests too often! We mention one route is to pass by the shops on route from airport but that is about to be removed as just too risky, unless one of you stays with the car I suppose.

Another bad stop is the Mascarat Gorge parking area down near Missing Link, one year a young german girl lost her entire University work from 3 years! Was so sad as they took her mobile which we called they answered and we tried to get them to dump her work but they didnt the bastards!

Sam Orange House

In reply to Sam Mayfield:

You are right, it is such a sad way to start a trip when folks are so keen to go on holiday and just get some climbing done. I guess you have arrived in the sunshine and your guard is down - I'm not sure how we can make people more aware apart from flagging it up on a regular basis,

Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Maybe next Rockfax could have a warning somewhere, hate saying bad things about the area but if it saves just one theft its worth it!

I will add to the bottom of our emails when booking and make sure its on the directions we send to print out!

Sam

In reply to Sam Mayfield:

Also beware of more devious ploys at the Carrefour car park. Last year my wife's rucsac was taken from a front seat while the thief's accomplice distracted us trying to "help" us with a puncture, after, I assume, one of them knifed our tyre. We knew he was up up to no good, but thought it was a different scam.

No passport or cards taken, and covered by insurance, but not a good experience, and a hassle to sort out.

John