Louisiana - The forgotten blog: Bounding on the Bayou

Well now how did that happen? I left out a whole adventure from the blog – and one of the coolest things we got to do – our Louisiana swamp tour.

Thirty minutes south of New Orleans and on our way to Florida several different operators run tours of Cajun country. I can’t think of why we chose Cajun Encounters other than their pamphlet looked good – and we chose well.

In the heavy southern air we waited with around 50 other people in the small (and airconditioned) gift and snack shop. When our local guides arrived we were split into two groups and boarded our river boats.

The journey began in a wide, open river. Here we saw a variety of birds and turtles and unique plant life.



The river winds and gets narrower - you are now entering alligator territory - Big Al’s to be precise.



Our guide tells us that Big Al is rarely seen by groups but his girlfriends frequently stop by. We were lucky as it didn’t take long for one of the giant females to appear.



We soon found out that gators like marshmallows and wiener hotdogs and they are a great way to get the animals to hang around so you can get a good look at them.

A short detour off the main river and we found ourselves in swamp land – green, lush and full of life, Spanish Moss drips off every tree.



Our guide joked that we could get out for a walk here if we wanted, but had to follow it with a disclaimer that just a few weeks ago an Australian girl and a Swiss guy took him up on the offer and were soon up to their waists in swamp water.



Back on the river we sailed passed a community of waterside properties.

Thankfully most of these houses escaped sever damage during Hurricane Katrina however one family wasn’t so lucky. The wind and flood waters carried their home up river and there it remains on top of a riverbank.



A few more gators later and we were back at the visitors centre. Next time you're in Louisiana you have to take a swamp cruise.

New Orleans: Voodoo and cooking

Rollin' down the Mississippi to New Orleans.

Louisiana - home to swamps, voodoo, Cajun Cooking and wild music... oh and one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, but hey, who cares in this extremely wicked state.

On route to the Big Easy we spent the night in the picturesque Arcadian (Cajun is the shorten form of the word) town of Lafayette, voted one of the top places to live in in the USA.

Here in the deep south the weather is warm and the humidity high which makes it feel a whole lot hotter than it really is. Luckily the anticipated Hurricane Bonny passed Louisiana fairly quietly other than a few small showers.

The sun came out in New Orleans and so did the sweltering temperatures and late night thunderstorms.

As you drive into the city it's easy to tell the safe areas from the bad - run down buildings, graffiti and empty sidewalks give it away. Visitors are warned against touring the city's many cemeteries even during the day time.

But it's a whole different story in the French Quarter. Beautiful old buildings stand on cobbled streets lined with trees and balconies are decorated with streamers, mardi gras chains and flags.





The charm of the French Quarter is only interrupted by the over-the-top-ness of Bourbon Street.





Music literally blast from every second bar and the high quality bands entertain crowds made up of everyone from families to middle-aged dancers. However, I loved the street bands the most - like this one - that got the people moving in the middle of the street, in the middle of the rain.



Our first full day in the city was spent wandering around from air conditioned shop to sweaty sidewalk taking in all the sights and sounds.

I bought this little guy - my very own authentic Voodoo doll.



When in came to dinner time I tucked into the traditional Southern food of red bean and spicy sausage on rice -ummmm - with an extremely ummm green cocktail (I got two because the used the wrong sized glass for the first one - yes!).

As far as party cities go, I'd say New Orleans gives Vegas a good run for its money.