New Orleans continued……

Finding a campsite in close proximity to a major city is always a tall order in the urban jungles of today, and New Orleans was a no different, but we did find one right on this bayou a little south of the city center . Following usual procedure, we found our allotted site and began to put up our tent. What followed was the single most aggressive attack on human life since the D-day bombings. These killers were taking every available opportunity to gore on our flesh and within minutes Celia and I were covered in red welts from head to toe which started a frantic search for our mosquito repellent which had not been used since the great New Zealand Sand Fly battle of February ’08.

As soon as the tent was up we got the hell out of there and fondly retold our battle stories and displayed our war wounds. Celia vividly and quite animated explaining how four mosquitoes in synchronized attack landed on her thigh; broke down all defenses and continued their brutal lust for life until she had lost so much blood she felt dizzy. Not even my 501’s could keep them at bay and they got me right through them forcing me to scratch uncontrollably during our drive to the chemist.

With all our repellants and creams now bought, we headed down to the famous Bourbon St. With its image and reputation spurning many nightclubs and bars throughout the modern world, some which I must admit have ashamedly frequented on countless occasions. I can’t lie about the fact I was disappointed at how Bourbon Street has turned out. I know it is the survival of the fittest (richest), but every third bar in this place is a strip club which really takes a lot away from its carnival atmosphere. I have been told that since Hurricane Katrina had its devastating effect on this town, many restaurants and bars were forced to shut with the sleazy alternatives popping up all over the place.

We did manage to find a great little seafood spot just off the main drag and settled in for some snacks, I don’t really recall what type of seafood we ate that night, but it was tasty and most notably, all deep fried.

We were in the mood for more exploring so headed out to find some night life and ended up at this great bar with some fantastic live jazz music playing. We sat back and sipped on some cold ones. Celia was in her element, and I must admit that I enjoyed it too.

On our way home that night as we were driving through the national park to our campsite we saw a whole bunch of armadillos along the road which are infinitely cuter when they are alive than as road kill. Sadly they are very shy creatures so we could never get close enough to get a picture.

Sod’s laws definitely in place that night, as when we got back to our tent, there were no mosquitoes to be found near the tent, so armed with our cans and sprays of repellent, we had nothing to fire at and sleep would not be a problem.