Yes, we went on the swamp tour. It was a blast! I recommend the Airboat Adventures tour to anyone who visits New Orleans. I have always wanted to do it and just never have. A MUST, I say! Be careful though, there are a lot of "swamp tours" that aren't as good as this one. The guys who run it are so personable and gracious. (They thanked us profoundly for taking the tour. These guys are hurting, I tell you. Our captain lives right on the swamp and knew everything there was to know (at least the questions we asked). It was just us on the boat and he made the tour worth every penny!
Guess what they fed the alligators? Marshmallows! Is that wild or what? As soon as they would throw some in the water, one or two would come up. This one was one of the smaller ones.
The swamps were gorgeous. Just what I 
imagined. It was just like a painting with the beautiful sky as a backdrop. The cypress and magnolias were just lovely with the Spanish moss draped from their limbs. You know I have a thing for that stuff. It's just so, well, Southern! Did you know that Henry Ford used Spanish Moss to stuff the seats of the first Model Ts? Yep. Learned that on the tour.
The captain showed us several nests. One mother was docile while the next was totally protective of her mounds. She hissed and guarded it like a momma should. The captain let the cuz use the paddle to show how aggressive she was. Amazing. She then crawled up to the nest to make sure we weren't going to bother her eggs. It's amazing how still they can be, even with their mouth wide open ready to strike.
What amazing creatures they are up close in their own environment.
It was very hot in the sun on that water, so the cap took us over to a little shady spot for us to cool off. He then whips out this baby gator for us to see! Said he caught it the day before. This one was less than two years old. The kid and I did not hold it, Raphi and the cuz did, however. Does Raphi look American or what?It really was a lot of fun. A storm was forming in the distance so we headed for the shore. I would definitely do this again.
6 comments:
Down in Port Charlotte, FL, my dad lived at the end of a canal where we saw gators on a daily basis. We had to be sure not to let small children or small pets out back, as they are quite dangerous, and come right up on shore. So fun to see them in their natural habitat...but at a safe distance!
The closest I've ever got to gators is at a restaurant in Florida...they had some...
OMG,,I loved the tour!!! Those bloody crocs were pretty cool!!! Amazing about the marshmellow eating crocs, and the spanish moss stuffed in the first model T seats. What fun you had!!! Are you back in Tn now? If so,,would love to see you maybe next week?
xoxoxoxoxo
Beth
Gators love marshmallows??? Who would have thunk! hehe I've never seen live alligators before but I can just imagine how neat it would be to be on this tour!! Loved all the pictures and yup, Raphi does look like a typical American guy! hehe xox
Wow, a great tour! Just the kind of thing I'd love to do...
After the food, the swamp tour was my favorite part of New Orleans experience. We had the most handsome, I mean knowledgable, Cajun tour guide. I tried everything I could to get him to say "watah" over and over again. Oh, and the alligators were cool too. Saw a great blue heron evry close up and watchd the barges wend their way up the bayou. Lovely.
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