daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #601 Share Posted February 10, 2013 The drive to the boat that took us "swamping" was smooth and uneventful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #602 Share Posted February 10, 2013 As we're getting closer and closer to the meeting point to start our Swamp Tour, I had flash backs to my first glimpse at Louisiana's swamps as we were touching down in the New Orleans airport, the embarkation day of our Western Caribbean cruise: VIDEO (arrival in NOLA's Airport via a Jet Blue flight, 09/23/2012): New Orleans is surrounded by water. Lakes, rivers, swamps and marsh. To get the real feel of what makes New Orleans so geographically isolated, you have to take either an aerial tour or a swamp tour. Either one will take your breath away as you begin to realize that New Orleans is a giant Venice, an island city, built on wetlands and held hostage to the forces of water all around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #603 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Once the van driver dropped us off at the meeting point for the boat, the check-in process was a breeze: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #604 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Got our colorful boat tickets and stayed in the waiting area for couple of minutes, mingling with the rest of the gang and chatting over refreshments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #605 Share Posted February 10, 2013 For visitors like us to New Orleans, the best way to see the environment that both besieges the city with the threat of inundation and blesses it with a bounty of seafood, waterfowl, lumber, oil and natural gas, was to take a Louisiana swamp tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #606 Share Posted February 10, 2013 The Swamp Tour in the New Orleans area proved to be entertaining, educational and lots of fun for the entire family. Many swamp tours are close enough to New Orleans to be enjoyed in a morning or afternoon ( leaving the rest of your day for more sightseeing in the Big Easy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #607 Share Posted February 10, 2013 All aboard! The Captain invited us to join him for a unique journey back to the early days of Louisiana bayou and swamp explorations. The weather couldn't be better and we were so happy that we waited 'til the last day in NOLA to complete this combo tour! If you're wondering where we were that Tuesday, October 2nd 2012, read the banner below! : - )) SWAMPING with the... 'gators! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #608 Share Posted February 10, 2013 VIDEO (watching the gator by our boat): The top predator, the alligator, is a reptile largely unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs. During this tour, we wanted to capture the beauty of the swamp, as well as the stillness of the gators that watched us glide by. VIDEO (watching the stillness of a gator): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #609 Share Posted February 10, 2013 We started moving slowly but surely... There are over 1,000,000 alligators in Louisiana, and the population is growing. Alligators have been around for 200 million years and have been described as a "living fossil". Today, alligators can be found in swamps and marshes from the Carolinas to Texas. Louisiana’s swamps and marshes are home to the world’s largest population of alligators according to the 2005 Scholastic Book of World Records with Florida a close second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #610 Share Posted February 10, 2013 VIDEO (start of our narrated Swamp Tour): Adult alligators typically grow to 12 or 13 feet and 800 pounds but can grow much larger. The largest alligator ever recorded was caught at Marsh Island, Louisiana. The monster gator was 19’ 2” long and weighed nearly 2,000 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #611 Share Posted February 10, 2013 (edited) Allen, our Boat Captain and knowledgeable tour guide, introduced us to the privately owned wildlife refuge area in the Manchac Swamp. Manchac Swamp, located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, near the city of New Orleans, is also known as "swamp of the ghosts." In the belief that this move surrounding swamp was cursed by a sinister adept senior voodoo cult, in the early 20s of last century, when locals were imprisoned her, on charges of witchcraft. Three small villages located near the swamp were burned to the ground after a hurricane that swept everything in its way shortly after the spell of the woman alleged. VIDEO (narrated Swamp Tour, the beginnings): "One day I'm gonna die, and I'm gonna take all of you with me," oracle Julie Brown would sing from her front porch. And in 1915, on the day of her funeral in Frenier, Louisiana, it happened. A hurricane swept hundreds of residents to their deaths in the Manchac Swamp near Lake Pontchartrain's western shore. See the mass graves by torchlight on a night-time swamp tour through the cypress trees. Hear stories of the spirits sighted, and see the red eyes of crocodiles as you float into the moss-draped darkness. VIDEO (narrated Swamp Tour and the gators): Edited February 10, 2013 by daliflor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #612 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Swamp creatures, seeing our boats daily, recognize it as part of their normal environment. Unafraid and responsive to the boat captain's call, they peak out from underbrush and between moss-draped trees and shrubs, frequently coming directly to the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #613 Share Posted February 10, 2013 As our boat drifted through the waterways, we learned about the Louisiana Wetlands, the inhabitants of the swamp, particularly the life and habits of the American alligator, as well as the unique history of the Cajun town of Frenier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #614 Share Posted February 10, 2013 The Louisiana swamps have an appeal to many people, from historians, to ghost hunters, bird watchers and artists. The beauty of the Manchac Swamp is undeniable. Tendrils of Spanish moss hang from the lanky branches of the cypress trees, skimming the knees that rise from the water. Tupelo gum and cotton wood trees shatter rays of light as it makes its way through the canopy, leaving bursts of bright that contrast the heavy shadows in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #615 Share Posted February 10, 2013 (edited) Tupelo gum and cotton wood trees shatter rays of light as it makes its way through the canopy, leaving bursts of bright that contrast the heavy shadows in the water. The beauty of the Manchac Swamp is undeniable. In the safety and comfort of our boat, we were able to actually come within a few feet of jumping gators. Our swamp tour was nicely narrated by a native who discussed the plants and wildlife, history and folklore surrounding the area. VIDEO (our Boat Captain feeding one of the gators): The two-hour tour took us through a section of a privately owned wildlife refuge, making for calm scenery and ideal gator watching. Edited February 10, 2013 by daliflor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #616 Share Posted February 10, 2013 This Manchac Swamp adventure was a fantastic New Orleans swamp tour that took us through the beauty of the bayou of New Orleans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #617 Share Posted February 10, 2013 For fast thrills in the swamp, consider aboat swamp tour! We had such a FANTASTIC TIME that Tuesday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #618 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Manchac Swamp, located in the state of Louisiana, near the city of New Orleans, is also known as "swamp of the ghosts". Still, for all of us it was an ALLIGATORS paradise and so enjoyable! It was as enjoyable as whale watching in Alaska! Great FUN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 10, 2013 Author #619 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Exploring a world of mysterious secrets and extraordinary beauty hidden deep within the swamps of Louisiana! The shadows created by the heavy vegetation become precursors to tales of haunting and werewolves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 11, 2013 Author #620 Share Posted February 11, 2013 A special THANKS to truby's DD who's allowing me to use their Photobucket account to be able to finish this photo trip journal! VIDEO (alligators watching @ the Manchac Swamp, Louisiana): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 11, 2013 Author #621 Share Posted February 11, 2013 VIDEO (Captain Allen feeding the alligators @ the Manchac Swamp, Louisiana): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 11, 2013 Author #622 Share Posted February 11, 2013 "In the bayou lived a big old gator. Everything else feared being lunch later. Cajun and gator tussled. Gator was soon out-muscled. It was stewed with peppers and a tater." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 11, 2013 Author #623 Share Posted February 11, 2013 The American alligator was designated the state reptile of Louisiana in 1983. The word Alligator comes from the Spanish "el lagarto" (the lizard). Native to the Southeastern United States, alligators construct burrows, or "alligator holes" for shelter and hibernation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 11, 2013 Author #624 Share Posted February 11, 2013 After surviving nearly unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs, and having virtually no natural predators as adults today, alligators were headed for extinction only 20 years ago due to intense hunting from man. Protecting the species and alligator habitats has allowed the status to be changed from endangered to threatened. VIDEO (spotting an alligator @ the Manchac Swamp, Louisiana): A typical male reaches 13-14 feet in length and can weigh over 600 pounds (there are unconfirmed reports of alligators over 16 feet). Immature alligators have yellow cross-bands on a black background for camouflage. Adults can be long and thin or short and stocky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daliflor Posted February 11, 2013 Author #625 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Other nuisance animals in Louisiana include raccoons, opossums, rats, mice, beaver, otter, skunks, squirrels, rabbits, and armadillos. New Orleans Raccoons - a masked animal that's fairly common in New Orleans, LA. VIDEO(spotting Louisiana raccoons @ the Manchac Swamp): Like many of the southern states with a abundance of water, Louisiana has a thriving population of alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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