The bus for the swamp tour arrived exactly on time, which was 3:30, and it was filled with glorious cool air! There was about 25 people on it, for the different tours that are offered (big boats, air boats, pontoon boats etc) The driver was a short but wide, little man, with a strong Cajun accent, who told us to call him Bam-Bam and he was filled with interesting bits of information during the approximate 40 minute drive to Honey Island, although it was sometimes hard to understand what he was saying.
We crossed Lake Pontchartrain which is huge! 630 square miles, but only an average of 12-14 feet deep. Some channels are dredged deeper for shipping routes. The bridge (causeway) that goes over the lake is 24 miles long, and is the longest, continuous bridge over water in the world. I did not like it. Not a bit. I have this fear of my vehicle going into water, and I am always prepared with doors unlocked, windows at least partially down and a “window-glass-breaker” at hand. I had none of this while in the bus, so the best I could do was carefully check out the exit places….windows, ceiling, doors and hope that Bam-Bam would not have a sudden cardiac arrest and/or seizure. Luckily he stayed healthy and we arrived safe and dry.
We had the chance to use the washroom and buy a snack before we went in, Steven spotted his all-time favourite snack which are the revolting pork rinds. He grabbed a tiny bag (like the size of potato chips you get for Halloween treats) and of course when I paid they were $7.00. And that’s $7.00 US dollars! Sheesh.
Anyhow, we gave our names to the ticket person and were issued a purple wristband and were sent off to an large, outdoor waiting area where there was a sign with the colours of the wristband and the amount of people in that group. Purple said “2”. “Hmmmm” I thought “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were the only 2?” And sure enough, we were! Hooray for that! I had booked the tour that had the smaller, flat bottomed boat as opposed the big pontoon boats that hold 25 or so people. Those are (to me) horrible…you can never see properly, nor hear the guide speaking and you’re usually crammed in. I also didn’t want an air-boat tour, they are so noisy and rough. We actually did that in the Everglades in Florida, and while it really was fun, I was hoping to have a quieter, more natural ride this time, plus the small boats can go into some of the narrow and shallow bayous. The small boats hold 10-12, and I figured we might get lucky and have maybe 6 or 8. I certainly didn’t expect no one else!
Our guide was a retired military man who had grown up in the area and he also hunts alligators and wild boar on his days off. He ended up showing us his hunting pictures on his phone, so needless to say, he and Steven hit it off right away. He was so knowledgeable, not only about the wildlife, but also about the plant life and how so many of the species can be used for healing, medicine, and even just plain eating. He obviously loves his job and has taken time to learn about the area. Of course, he also could have been making things up as we went along, who knows?
We saw a lot of alligators, the other companies apparently feed them marshmallows, which alligators adore, oddly enough, but this company (“Cajun Encounters” in case you decide to go) is more environmentally and ecologically aware and do not, but they do throw compressed tablets of
chicken in the water and the alligators come around to check things out.
After we discussed the gruesome ways that alligators behave, we cruised down some narrow byways and our guide perked his ears up and said he could hear raccoons fighting, and off we zipped down a little narrow passageway and startled two sweet wild pigs who were rummaging for something or other in the mud.
Then we came across the family of raccoons, by far my favourite part of the day! They are adorable! (I know they are “trash pandas” and pests and all that, but I love them anyhow.)
I could have sat there for hours watching them with their nimble fingers as they searched for goodies in the mud.
However, our guide decided that he needed to take us downstream (or upstream, I’m not sure) to a small village. There are only 7 families remaining in this little dwelling area, as the majority of them have moved into the city and have given up “the old ways”. These folks have a pretty hard life, but are content in what they have. I shouldn’t joke, but the sounds of “Deliverance” ran though my head.
By now it was just starting to get dark, so we zipped back to the dock and said our goodbye’s. The other groups were just arriving back too, so we all hopped on the bus with Bam-Bam and headed back to the city. It was an amazing tour, and the boars and raccoons were just an added bonus.
Steven opened his pork rinds on the bus, and holy geez, it smelled like those wild pigs were right there beside us! I don’t know how they make them in Louisiana, but they are a whole lot smellier than the ones you get up here. Good thing we were not right beside anyone else.
When we got back, we walked down to Canal Street and then headed off to our hotel. It was about 9 by then, so time for relaxation and bed.
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