Tropez and all,

I read your post and I truly appreciate and ‘get’ what you’re saying.

I’ve been in direct contact with several islanders, some of them transplanted ex-pats, and some who were born and raised and stayed there and their different perspectives were interesting and helpful to me in making my decision of whether or not to go this year. Beyond the horrors of riding out the storm on Island, they’ve spoken of spotty electricity and water services even now that it’s returned to much of the island; and the big question of functioning waste removal not to mention debris everywhere; questions of visitors safety, and the inability of the island to take care of its own in so many cases, let alone the addition of thousands of visitors. I’ve thought about arriving at and departing from an airport that is far from what we’ve come to expect, even as we complained at the long lines in the air-conditioned arrival and departure lounges; and visiting beaches that in many cases will no longer have the bars and services we’ve come to expect. And reading of the thievery and break-ins as late as this week cause me to wonder about personal safety, too.

We’ve been visiting the Island at least once a year every year since 1973 and for about the last twenty-five years we’ve been going twice a year. This was to have been our first year making three trips but Mother Nature has caused us to change those plans. We thought long and hard about still going in November and we ultimately decided, at our ages, and after listening and paying attention to a lot of people more in the know than we and who had no reason to try to dissuade us, this was a trip we didn’t need to make. Remembering our much loved island seven months after Luis also factored into our decision. It was so sad to see.

Another deciding factor was realistically looking at the comments of some who have already returned, I couldn’t help but notice many advocating for rapid returns have vested interests in promoting the same rapid return of yearly visitors, be those interests their own private homes, rental villas, realtors and property rental agencies, restaurants and other tourism related services.

As a multiple week timeshare owner myself and one who also rents at various locations around the island, my island investment doesn’t come near to equaling that of so many others, but I still stand to lose all those accumulated AMFs that I’ll have to pay to remain in good standing, but I’d rather lose the monies than go back and have a vacation that is far less than I expect it to be. There are so many ways to still support the Island and it’s many causes, be they through international charities such as Samaritans Purse or the Red Cross, or individual Go-Fund-Me accounts. (I have taken a personal liking to the ShopnDrop grocery voucher program since it’s inception.) I encourage people who are able to do that immediately and as generously as your situations allow. And not just now, but down the road, too, since it goes to those who really need the help with no government interference.

We all know the island depends on tourism, which was one of the main reasons timesharing was such a big hit on this island over so many others. After a lot of debating the pros and cons of should we go or should we cancel, we opted for the latter and we will greatly miss our trip this year. I’m not suggesting others should follow our lead and I certainly would never cast aspersions at anyone else for their personal decisions either way.

I’m not wringing my hands and I don’t think of myself as a nay-sayer. I do consider myself to be a fairly reasonable person, but one who has a limited amount of vacation dollars to spend every year and I had to seriously question the logic of spending anywhere from $5 to $10000.00 on a trip (depending on your style of vacationing and the length of your stay) and have the vacation be less than I want it to be. Call that being selfish if you will, but in the long run, it won’t help the Island at all to have first-timers drop that kind of money and walk away with a less than positive attitude as so many did for years after hurricane Luis.

I offer my personal kudos to those who will return immediately, or already have, and my good wishes to those who will soon return to view the status of their Island properties along with my hopes you will find them in even better condition than you anticipate. And to my family members and good friends, good luck to all of you as you make your early returns. I honestly and sincerely hope you are all correct and I’m dead wrong in my reasoning. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />