Swamps and Bayou Tour (New Orleans)

While in New Orleans, we decided to take a 90-minute Swamps and Bayous boat tour, launching from the small town of Jean Lafitte, about 25 miles south of the city. Located on Bayou Barataria, Jean Lafitte is named after the French privateer and pirate who, along with his brother Pierre, ran a successful smuggling operation in this area (in addition to their more above-board business ventures). The tour took us through the heart of Southern Louisiana's swamplands into privately owned bayous, and gave us a glimpse into the past. Our Cajun guide is a bayou native, his family going back several generations, and he navigated the waterways with an easy sense of familiarity. All along the ride we were treated to fascinating plant life, including gorgeous trees draped with majestic Spanish moss and semi-submerged cypress trees with roots that look like stumps growing up out of the water. Many creatures make their home here, but most impressively were the many alligators. Our tour guide seemed able to recognize each one individually, knew where they congregated, and used his unique alligator call to beckon them up and out of the water. Of course, it didn't hurt that he had treats for them, and this, it was clear, they had come to expect. This was an interesting and pleasant way to spend an afternoon and get a peek at another side of New Orleans.