Norbert Leblanc did not disappoint. He turned out to be a wirey, youthful 77-year-old Cajun who knew the swampy Lake Martin inside and out. He could spot an alligator poking its head out of the water or two turtles on a log from several feet away. As we motored along in his small six seat swamp boat, weaving through a maze of elegant Cyprus and tupelo gum trees draped with spanish moss, he pointed out egrets, herons,cormorants, and hawks and regaled us with stories. We stopped inside a strand of trees so he could serve us some moonshine in small plastic cups and show us photos of his alligator conquests, including an 800 pound one he somehow managed to capture. He also pulled out a worn copy of national geographic to show us some photos of himself from a long ago story. There was one other passenger besides the three of us, a French Moroccan young woman from Paris who spoke English but also shared some French conversation with Norbert. We were out on the water for two hours and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty and peace.
Great value too… For $20 per person.
We landed at Mcgees landing for lunch, high atop a levee in nearby Henderson, overlooking a broad expanse of the Atchafalaya Swamp, a seemingly endless stretch of water and wetlands, a perfect perch for watching birds and the occasional boat.russ and I had our first crawfish .. We were underwhelmed. They were sort of tiny dry shrimp in a red peppery spice. Expensive too…about $18. But glad we tried and we enjoyed the backwoods feel of the place and chatting with the waitress.
We drove into Lafayette for a quick look around, finding the Blue Moon Saloon which we may return to for music tonight. But our little cottage by the lake beckoned so after picking up some butter toffee coated pecans and a satsuma (other local products we had to try)we happily returned lakeside.
Tag Archives: breaux bridge louisiana
Leblanc swamp tour, Mcgees landing, lafayette la.
Filed under Louisiana
Laura plantation, breaux bridge la., Cajun country cottages: Cajun country
I am sitting on the porch of a pretty little Cajun country cottage overlooking a small muddy brown-green lake bordered by dense trees. The frogs are chirping, the birds chirping, two bright green salamanders are climbing the mustard colored wood frame cottage. So much to report:
Laura Plantation, one of the first plantations on the river road heading out of Nola, turned out to be lovely and understated (compared to the grand Oak Alley Plantation nearby), a horizontal one story creole mansion with a wide porch set on a long swath of green lawn dotted with huge ancient oaks. surprisingly, this plantation was run by a series of women, all tough cookies from the sound of it. The tour was heavy on unvarnished history (notably the slavery discussion) which we appreciated.
B&C Seafoods was just east of the plantation so we had some local delicacies for lunch, most of it deep fried. boudin balls (deep fried balls of a creamy sort of sausage) a local delicacy, were tasty. I had the crab equivalent…a crab cake which came with hush puppies and fries. Francine was talked into having alligator burger. Not bad. Kinda dry.
Cajun country cottages, turned out to be a very good pick. And a nice change after our cramped quarters in Nola. It’s a two bedroom cottage with a big living room, eat in Kitchen and this lovely porch with a swinging bench overlooking the lake, (where I am now. ) we like it so much that we decided to eat in last night after picking up some locally made Cajun pasta sauce at the Heberts market in downtown breaux bridge. Nice and spicy!
Filed under Louisiana
TakeBetsywithyou 