Lafayette, Louisiana

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9-13 March 2000

But we think you'd be missing a real treat to visit New Orleans without taking some time to explore nearby Cajun Country. This is the real south: friendly folk, smaller -- and even tiny -- towns, great food...

Here are a few of the pictures we took and some links to things we enjoyed.

Atchafalaya Swamp

As our headlights pierced the early morning darkness, we spied white puffs resembling cotton balls clustered in the cyprus trees. Suddenly, one, then another ibis burst from its perch and soared aloft, their generous white wingspans looking ghostly in the gloom.

Dawn had come to Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Swamp. The creatures were stirring. We were passing by the first of many ibis rookeries, where the great white birds roost together for safety at night.

We were a handful of explorers intent upon discovering how swamp critters rise and shine come morning time. Boarding a broad, shallow-draught motorboat, we quietly nudged our way through the cyprus-filled waterworld. For that is what the swamp is: as far as our eyes could see, the broad expanse of water was punctuated by trees draped with strands of Spanish moss.

Birdsong filled the air as the sun rose. The pungent smell of the swamp embraced us at one (and only one) protected spot. And the rough texture of the cyprus, tupelo and button-bush trees growing in the water created a texture inviting our touch.

As we navigated through the trees, we grew intimate with the creatures of the swamp. Those “cotton ball” ibis were everywhere but now they were statue-like, on stilt legs, hunting frogs and fish for breakfast. Brilliant balls of scarlet and pink puffs in the trees suddenly took to the air and, silhouetted against the azure sky, we could see why they are called roseate spoonbills. Their long thin beaks have an improbable-looking round tip, resembling a soup spoon. All the better for digging about in the muck for food!

Our well-informed guides, Kim and Coerte Voorhies of Atchafalaya Experience, have been taking people through the swamp for years and were able to point out birds and animals we'd have passed right by -- like the baby nutrias on a tupelo root or the tell-tale bubbles of an alligator submerging deeper into the muck.

St. Martinville – the home of Evangeline

Many Acadians came to live in this area after their horrendous expulsion from the Maritimes in 1755. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow spun his epic poem, Evangeline, around this historic dislocation of a people and destruction of a way of life. His romantic tale tells how two lovers, Evangeline and Gabriel, are separated. Throughout her life, the troubled heroine seeks her beloved, only to find him years later on his deathbed.

The people of St. Martinville tell a different tale. Emmeline Labiche and Louis Arceneaux were the star-crossed lovers and after years of searching, Emmeline discovered her Louis beneath the branches of the now-ancient oak tree near the river. Her delight crumbled when Louis revealed he had married, despairing of ever finding his beloved Emmeline. The sadness engulfed her and she died of a broken heart.

As we rested under the welcome shade of the oak, the Romero brothers performed their Cajun tunes as they do most every day.

A few random items...

• Crawfish - or crayfish - are a staple "crop" for Louisiana, with >110,000 acres being farmed. Although Bayou Land Seafood's processing plant can process as much as 60,000 pounds a day, the extended drought was hurting local production and the plant was quiet when we visited. But we did manage to enjoy several feeds of the tasty crustaceans!
• This delightful little girl was fascinated with the huge head of the Texas Longhorn steer at the Zoo of Acadiana near Lafayette. "Mommy, look, he can stick his tongue right up his own nose!" she exclaimed. The zoo is unique in that it is privately operated. We're not great fans of zoos but this one appears to be particularly well-run and has large pens with lots of trees.
  
• Many of the Acadian people settled in this area after being forced to leave their homelands around the Gulf of St Lawrence. And if you greet someone in French, be prepared to continue: more people than we expected are quite keen to speak it!

Some links

• Stay in a real old southern mansion at Chretien Point Plantation (1-800-880-7050), with bed and breakfast from US$95.
• For unforgettable Cajun-French food and live music, visit Prejean’s Restaurant.
• Check with the extraordinary helpful folks at the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission, 1-800-543-5340, www.lafayettetravel.com for information about what's happening in the area before you go.

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Last updated on 06 December 2001 .