Carol, February of 96 is about the earliest I've heard of anyone visiting the island after Luis. Our first visit after Luis was June of 97 and we couldn't believe how bad things still were then. Early 96 must have seemed like the "day after" in some ways.

1996 was the only year we have missed since we started going in 1988. The reason we couldn't go was, there was no Club O to go to. Club O was completely wiped out. When we got there in 97, Club O was nothing but new buildings and sand. They had placed coconuts on the ground and we were asked to water the ones near the unit we were staying in. A few of them had 6 inch "sprouts" coming out of them. Today, all of those coconuts sitting on the sand in 97, are full grown trees.

We did a lot of snorkeling in June of 97. Each day we would find remnants of Club O in the water (doors, furniture, etc.). Management wanted us to tell them where we found each piece so they could remove them.