Tuesday, November 1, 2011

boat ride on the bayou

I finally did it! I finally got to go on my first boat tour of the bayou! And, yes, it was just as exciting as I had imagined.

For those that don't know, bayou is another term for river (borrowed from the Choctaw word for "slow moving water"). My only exposure to bayous prior to my move here came from the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disnelyland and the Disney classic, "The Rescuers." Disney's version of the world impacted much of how I am today (to include my desire to spontaeously break into song and dance), but I digress.

The weather could not have been better. It was sunny with a high of 75, with a very light breeze. There was a lot to see.



We got to see some wildlife (mostly birds, to include a blue heron and several kingfishers), but no gators. I am in no rush to see an alligator in the wild. The bayou serves as another form of travel form some (even today, with modern roads established throughout the area) and we passed some residential areas.



This house had a "Keep Out" sign posted in the front. It conjured up images of the Pirates of the Carribean ride (without the singing... or the pirates...). We passed some fishermen, the airport, a country club, and a dead cow. Not all at the same time, however. Evidently, dead cows along the bayou are fairly common. There is a lot of grazing along the bayou and sometimes the cows get stuck in the mud along the banks. The state of Louisiana offers a subsidy for fencing to prevent this, but some have not put up fencing (I was told because it was cheaper for owners to lose a cow every once in a while instead of fencing the cows away from the river and coming up with another way to provide water to the herds). In case you were wondering, dead cows smell about as horrible as you can imagine a dead cow smelling.

We partner with the Bayou Vermilion District's Historic Vermilionville, a site that interprets a recreation of a 19th century Cajun village. Our bout captain, Greg, is from the area (and Cajun) and helps with the tour (and, incidently, as boat captain, drives the boat). I am still in training but will soon enough be leading my own tours along the bayou!



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