Day 8

This was our last full day in New Orleans. We decided to do a swamp tour! They took us out to the swamps in a bus, and we did a boat tour.

In the photo above, the turtle is staring down the alligator. We weren't sure what was going on, but they got in the water and seemed to swim quite happily together.

The tour was a lot of fun. We got introduced to the area called Barrataria by a local, a true louisian who was missing his front teeth. He explained about the people’s ways of life down there. A lot of people catch fish, shrimp, and alligators for a living. We looked around at the different scenery and spotted a lot of wildlife. We saw a great blue heron, an egret, turtles, and even… alligators! The alligators weren’t very big though, since the bigger ones are in hibernation. They looked to be about three feet long. At one point we saw a turtle sitting on a branch and staring at an alligator. The alligator looked like it was staring right back at him.

Just when we think all the crazy stuff on the boat tour is over, the tour guide pulls out a little alligator that he had stashed for us to see. Everyone got to take turns holding the alligator. It was a nice calm alligator and seemed to not mind people holding it at all.

After the tour was over, we went back to New Orleans, and got to try crawfish, another bit of local cuisine we had wanted to taste. We had fried crawfish tails and a crawfish pie. They tasted just like mini lobster tails. They were extremely yummy.

For a final night out, we went back to the piano bar again. This time they had a funny guy who was playing rhythm on a metal tray by tapping it with his fingers. It was once again a very good time.

Oh, and randomly, here is a picture of one of the beer places on bourbon street that we passed: