The South VI: Shaggy's and the Swamp

“What shall we do on our last day on the Gulf Coast?” I asked David.  “I like outdoor things,” he said, as I suggested a science center and some art museums.  I couldn’t figure what he meant, since he had turned down kayaking and sitting on the beach.  “How about another swamp tour?” David asked, and I quickly agreed.

The swamp tour we chose was with the same tour operator we hired when we were in New Orleans a year ago, and to the same Honey Swamp.  Each swamp tour is delightfully different, though, since the guides and animals constantly change.  

We passed under a picturesque drawbridge.

As we motored down the swamp, we passed houses on stilts, to avoid flood damage from hurricanes like Katrina.

Many of the homes had a shrimp boat anchored nearby.

This house was a casualty of Katrina.

Our guide today was particularly knowledgeable.  He led us to a spot where two raccoons crawled up a bush to reach the food which he held out.  

On the way, we passed cypress trees with markers showing how high the swamp had once risen.

We then traveled deeper into the swamp, where we found a mother hog, waiting for a handout, with crocodiles cruising nearby. 

 

The guide was careful to feed the hog but not the crocodiles at that spot, since he didn’t want the crocodiles to associate getting fed with that place.  “The hog can fight them off with her hooves,” he said, “but if they get used to eating right here, the crocodiles may catch her when she’s not looking.”  The guide knew, from visiting the swamp regularly, that the hog had a new littler of piglets, hidden on high ground where the crocodiles were unlikely to catch them.

We passed a group of houses that could be reached only from the water.

People parked their cars on one side of the swamp and then took a boat home.

We had one last fish dinner at Shaggy’s Biloxi Beach.  This was David’s favorite restaurant of the trip.  It had a bright, beach vibe, with big platters of shrimp, in various forms.  I eat shrimp and grits wherever I find it.