A Tour of a Cajun Swamp

Yesterday (Thursday, December 23, 2021) I took a tour of a Louisiana swamp in Breaux Bridge, Louisianan with Cajun Country Swamp Tours. The tour company is owned and operated by long-time residents of the area who grew up boating, hunting, and fishing on the swamp.

The weather at the time of my tour was incredible - 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit with clear and sunny skies. The resulting photo opportunities were a pure stroke of luck. The combination of sunny skies plus still waters in the deeper parts of the swamp created wonderful reflections.

The swamp is a mysterious but beautiful place. Perhaps because it was "winter" and the temperatures had been down near freezing several days earlier, it was very quiet and peaceful. Large bald cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss dominate the landscapes. Wildlife was abundant - alligators, cormorants, turtles, and egrets were the most common that were visible. Many alligators were out sunning themselves on logs and banks of the swamp because of the water temperature being below 70 degrees (F).

The guide was a wealth of information about the history of the swamp's formation, the behavior of wildlife, how local residents navigate the swamp, and plant and tree life. The 90-minute tour was a great experience. If anyone is in the area of a Louisiana swamp, I would highly recommend a swamp tour. Note: we were in a motorboat that could provide a leisurely and well-narrated experience. Had I been on an airboat I don't believe I would have been able to capture the photos that I did, nor do I think the tour would have been narrated as well as the one I experienced.