Day Thirty Three: Alligators and Steamboats

A swamp tour was on the cards for today. It meant an earlier morning but we took that in our stride. There are lots of swamp tour options. It is hard to know which one to choose. Your first decision is airboat, which is speedy but more expensive or slow boat, which is cheaper but slower. Although you do get to see more wildlife when going slower. We chose the slower option mostly because I wanted to see as much wildlife as possible. So we settled on Ultimate Swamp Adventures. Our concierge at our hotel helped us book.

The swamp tour headquarters was not too far out of New Orleans. A little bit too urban perhaps. But once we were on the boat we soon left the houses and powerlines behind. We saw lots of birds, dragonflies and alligators. The guide attracts the alligators by throwing marshmallows, which they eat. Apparently the alligators have bad eyesight so large white marshmallows are easy to see. The guide then tempted them to jump out of the water with chicken on a pole.

A blue heron

I love dragonflies!!

Jump alligator!!

Our guide knew a lot about the area. His family owns a lot of the swampland. He was very knowledgeable about hunting. It was informative and interesting but I think if I went on a swamp tour in the future I would probably look for one that is more Eco focused, as I am not particularly interested in hunting seasons and hunting permits. Although if you want to hunt in Louisiana I can now give you some tips!

 

He did know a lot about the wildlife and vegetation as well. The boat went surprisingly fast in between slow bits so we could see the wildlife. Overall we had fun!

Nice water plant? A weed called the Japanese water hyacinth.

The alligator is coming!!

Working oil rig

White bird

In the afternoon it was time for shopping and exploring. The French Quarter (also where you find Bourbon St) has a lot of old buildings and history. There is a French Market there that has been used for hundreds of years. There are a lot of souvenir shops but also some nice arty-crafty shops.

Feels like Disneyland

French Quarter

The famous Café Du Monde was our first stop. It has been in operation for about 150 years. It sells coffee and beignets. Which are sugar coated donuts. It was super busy but we could see why. The beignets were yummy!

Cafe Du Monde

Yum yum yum

Yummy sugar coated beignets

For lunch I had some lovely Vietnamese Pho (noodle soup) at the French Market. We also had a snow cone as it was hot hot hot!!

Delicious Beef Pho

That evening we had plans. We were finally going to make it onto a dinner cruise. No missing the ship this time. We were there super early and were entertained by the steamboat as it has a pipe organ on the top. A very heat immune lady was up there playing for our entertainment. I feel for her!!

Playing use lovely music

Our steamboat

We had chosen the early dining as our concierge said that you see more after dinner that way. The food buffet was great. I loved the cornmeal-covered catfish. Desert was a bread pudding that was quite nice as well.

buffet dinner

dessert bread pudding

dining room on the ship

We spent the rest of the cruise out on the top deck looking at the Mississippi river and the shore. There was also a live Jazz band playing. The atmosphere was great!!

On the Mississippi

Engine room

Night time New Orleans

Beautiful boat, beautiful sunset, beautiful couple :P