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Guadeloupe, sister island to Martinique, naturally shares certain traits with its sibling: a dormant volcano (La Soufriere), a vast rainforest park, and a colorful heritage tinged with tragedy. But just as true sisters emphasize their differences, these two are rivals as well as mates, with Guadeloupe the undisputed rebel. For if Martinique is an Edith Piaf - passionately, even melodramatically French - Guadeloupe is a Josephine Baker, exotic verging on the risque. This island flaunts its fiercely Creole identity - and nowhere more proudly than in its cuisine. Some say that Guadeloupe - not dignified St. Barts - is the Caribbean's culinary star, for here more than 200 restaurants celebrate the hotblooded marriage of French cooking with the heady spices once shunned by privileged palates. In fact, many seasoned visitors claim that, despite the brief daily rains, Guadeloupe shines brightest in August, when islanders turn up the heat for La Fete des Cuisinieres, honoring their beloved women chefs. Guadeloupe is also distinguished by its twofold topography; shaped like a butterfly, it actually consists of two islands joined by a bridge: Basse-Terre, the rugged mountainous half, and Grande-Terre, a land of gentle hills and sugar fields with a shoreline of soft white sand (don't let the names confuse you; they're based on nautical orientation, not elevation). Where beaches face the Atlantic, they are pounded by bracing surf and a hazardous undertow; for clients who like to mix their sunbathing with lazy laps in the sea, choose resorts that face the gentler Caribbean.