afternoon tour. Of course clouds rolled in once our domestic chores were
completed.
The headquarters for the Honey Island Swamp Tour were very modern and
sophisticated, consisting of a shack and three portaloos. Unsurprisingly the
base also boasted a range of merchandise, including alligator heads, turtle
shells, and other exotic gifts - such as T-shirts!
Our transportation for the trip was a shallow aluminium boat that looked
fairly insubstantial. In fact it resembled a tin can to some extent, an image we
hoped would not be conjured up by the alligators we hoped to see. It certainly
did not appear to be large enough for the 20 or so of us who made our way on
board. Our guide, Kevin, did not seem to share this concern however, but
then who would if you were being paid for each body crammed on board?
Kevin was a funny, interesting Cajun, though he did have a tendency to
be self-depreciating. For example, he described himself as the under-achiever
in his family and played down a college football career cut short by injury. The
tour itself lasted 90 minutes, though it was advertised as a 2-hour excursion.
This discrepancy probably arose from the lack of questions asked by the
group, as some people seemed very disinterested in the experience and one
man took a mobile phone call while in the middle of the swamp. I am happy to
say that this was not me, our phone (purchased in New York) did not have
any reception in the middle of the swamp.... or indeed in the middle of most
cities. The tour would probably have also lasted longer had we seen more
wildlife.
We saw some birds and a few animals, but we were quite disappointed