Having fun on the Bayou

Monday 16.22. Cock up on the room situation. They have me checking out today and wondering where I got to. The manager is now on the case and I’m slightly panicking that I won’t have anywhere to stay tonight.
Lucky I came back really. I’ve been on the Jean Lafayette Swamp tour and after that wandering around New Orleans Quatier Française.
The swamp tour was fun. We drove for about an hour on a coach and got to the wet lands. Louisiana is dead flat anyway but this bit is flat and low. There are natural waterways, the Bayou, but also man made canals. Once we got there we hopped on a flat boat and off we went. The trees and grasses overhang the waterway, and through the duck weed from time to time an alligator swims up to the boat. Our tour guide gives us an interesting and humorous narration of the history and myths of these wetlands. Where we are is fresh water, but further south, close to the Gulf of Mexico, is salt water. In between it is ‘brackish’. Here, the man says, you can catch both fresh water and salt water fish. It is his idea of heaven.
When we got back I went for a walk and had lunch on Bourbon Street, Cajun burgers and French fries. I had to leave most of it. They were not the best choice, but I did get to know the origin of the word Cajun. It is the nick name given to the Acadian people who were exile to New Orleans from Canada. They are French speakers and were persecuted by the British, hence the New Orleans French connection. While Lower Louisiana had been settled by French colonists since the late 18th century, the Cajuns trace their roots to the influx of Acadian settlers after the Great Expulsion from their homeland during the French and Indian War (1754 to 1763). The Acadia region to which modern Cajuns trace their origin consisted largely of what are now Nova Scotia and the other Maritime provinces, plus parts of eastern Quebec and northern Maine. Since their establishment in Louisiana the Cajuns have developed their own dialect, Cajun French, and developed a vibrant culture including folk ways, music, and cuisine.Cajun music, or Zydeco, has its distinctive rhythm and is now quite well known. I got a CD and a Tee short.

You'll know this one. Here are the Jambalaya lyrics to the Jambalaya song done by Hank Williams Sr. Hank Williams Sr copied the Jambalaya musical melody from an earlier tune recorded in Cajun French called "Grand Texas". Although Hank Williams used the earlier Cajun melody, the words to the song that we know as "Jambalaya" was written by Hank Williams Sr.

After Hank Williams Sr recorded his version with the new words, Cajuns re-recorded Jambalaya with Hank Williams' words translated into Cajun French. Cajuns now consider the song to be one of our own songs. (By the way, Hank Williams mispronounced the word "Bayou". Hank pronounced it as "by-oh" when the correct pronunciation is "by-you". I guess he needed something to rhyme with "me oh my oh". Hank Williams Jambalaya song lyrics:
'Good-bye Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou
My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me oh my oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou

(Chorus)
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and file' gumbo
'Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou'

16.50. All sorted, panic over. I can stay. Hurray!
Yesterday was the first full day of the conference. We went to register, conscientiously, had a coffee, then I looked around the posters before meeting up for lunch. We went to the Gumbo Shop on St Peter street. I had a triple combo which included Jambalaya, Etoufee, and Gumbo. I had to leave most of that too. Surprisingly, I was disappointed with the taste which was frankly bland. Several douses of Tabasco later and the food came to life. So did the sweating, which had to be dealt with with a couple of beers. It seemed by then a little too late to get back to the conference hall, so we passed the afternoon on the balcony of Muriel’s bar overlooking Jacksons Park and watching the world go by in the warm sunshine. Before we knew it, it was time for a nap then out again. New Orleans night life is pretty hectic even on Sundays, but I needed to be up early for my swamp trip. It’s a hard life