veryone here has a hurricane story. On August 29, 1979, a mega-tempest named David pummeled the southern half of Dominica for six hours. Winds up to 200 mph left 40 dead and 60,000 homeless, and removed up to six feet of topsoil in places. It was total devastation. But a visitor today won't see any signs of this.

That's because everything grows rampant in Dominica. This is the lushest, most verdant island in the Caribbean. When David wiped out square miles of trees, Nature grew back at a rate that is hard to believe. We're talking full-grown vegetation, not saplings or upstarts. What Nature couldn't restore was replenished by aid from the U.S., France, Venezuela, and other countries. Housing was replaced and roads rebuilt.

Much of Dominica (pronounced dom-in-ee-ka) is rain forest. Its volcanic, mountainous topography traps moisture from the trade winds and converts it into 200 to 300 inches of rain a year. The color green takes on a whole new meaning here, with so many shades it puts even Ireland to shame. Dominica has a few beaches, but this is not an island for beach freaks. The coves here are mostly of the black-sand variety, and the prettiest are on the windward side and have dangerous undertows. Quite frankly, there are better beaches on most other islands. Dominica's unique beauty is in its mountains. This is where the rain forest thrives, where waterfalls and thermal springs abound - where adventuring into the bush is the best in the Caribbean.

Dominica is for nature lovers, for those who like being in the rain forest, who enjoy hiking in wilderness areas, or who love the idea of lush, leafy thickets, raging rivers, waterfalls, hot springs, and so on. If you want big resorts, forget Dominica - you won't find them. The people who come here like nature and simple things. Room service is not an m.o. here; splashing around in the sulfur pools is. Get the picture?

Dominica is also quintessentially West Indian. Unlike the forests, Roseau, the capital, has had a harder time enduring hurricanes and only a few of the interesting older buildings have survived. Instead, the architecture is more modern/functional than attractive, and the town is hot and crowded. But it is still distinctly Caribbean, particularly when compared to the Americanized ports of other islands like St. Maarten or St.Thomas. Even with the almost-daily cruise-ship blight, Roseau is very much market-oriented, geared to satisfy the needs of islanders more than tourists. This is particularly refreshing, as is the friendliness and openness of its people, especially those in the small mountain villages.