What an amazing trip! This was our first trip to Dominica, and we spent 10 days there-- 7 in Roseau at Pepper's Guest Cottage, 3 in Calibishie. What a great decision to stay there. Pepper truly made our vacation exceptional.

We flew into Melville Hall and weren't really sure what to expect. We had rented a car and were promptly greeted by the friendly folks at Roadrunner with our 4wd Jeep. At that time of the day, school had just let out, so there were kids and buses everywhere. Needless to say, by the time we got to Pepper's we were tired and stressed out from the right-hand driving and narrow roads. Pepper greeted us kindly and stayed out of our way for the first couple days while we caught up on sleep and did some scuba diving. He recommended some great restaurants the first couple days and we didn't do any cooking in the room.

However, when we expressed interest in going to Boiling Lake and doing some other hikes, Pepper immediately went into host mode! Talk about customer service! Even though he had hiked Boiling Lake two days before with the guests in the adjacent room, Pepper did not mind going again. He said that it is difficult to combine people who have different hiking abilities and don't know each other for something grueling like Boiling Lake. The hike was beautiful and his optimistic and supportive attitude made a very long hard hike seem much shorter! When we got back he woke us up for dinner and surprised us with some local cuisine and sightseeing.

The second day of touring, Pepper took us to Victoria Falls, Middleham Falls and Trafalgar Falls all in one day. Not only did he take us on a few scenic drives around the southern part of the island, but we got a sneak preview of "Suite Pepper" a BEAUTIFUL guest house he is building outside Roseau overlooking the ocean. It will have 2 studio apartments for rent, with 10" walls between them for ultimate privacy. (Normal interior walls in Dominica only have to be 4" thick.) Suite Pepper should be done in July of 2007. The falls were amazing. There were things on these hikes that only a local could show you and that we would never have found in a guidebook. (I won't spoil it though!) I couldn't believe we did so much AND that Pepper was able to convince us that our legs weren't too sore to do all the hikes in one day!

Even when we left Roseau, Pepper had excellent advice for us. He told us about a delicious restaurant with an amazing view (like out of a Corona commercial!) and told us which beaches were the best and how to get to them and where to park. He even introduced us to the Park Ranger who would be working at Indian River when we were planning on heading up there!

More about the accommodations: We stayed in the larger of the two rooms. We had a queen size bed, a private bathroom, a full size fridge/freezer, stove, sink, pots and pans, blender, TV, VCR, movies, books, and a radio. Though the room was crowded with all these things in it, it really didn't matter. We had everything we needed and were able to cook dinner for the two of us 3 nights we were there. He even gets cable in there! Oh and the AC. Can't forget that! The room is small so it didn't take much to cool it down. Outside the room, there was a patio area with a table for eating and relaxing. It overlooked a small clean pool and a gate that lead out to a rocky beach. Next door was a grocery store. Very convenient! Pepper's was modest and charming and just what we needed. We were so happy we decided to stay there instead of at a hotel or a more resort-y type place.

More about Pepper: I'll say it again. Pepper made our vacation exceptional. He is so passionate about what he does. He went above and beyond to make our stay the most comfortable, interesting and memorable possible. He was all about the extra touches, which meant a lot to us. Pepper is knowledgable, funny, ambitious and has a good outlook on the world. Staying at his guest cottage, we really felt like we weren't just another couple passing through Dominica. He left us alone when we were interested in being lazy and catching up on sleep, and sprung into action when we were ready to go out and explore the island. He was truly a host with the most!

Dominica was beautiful and unspoiled. We will never forget our trip to this country, and Pepper has a lot to do with that!