Today, Liz, Leo and I set off to explore the area south of Breaux Bridge. Along the way we passed truck after truck filled with just-harvested sugar cane. They were heading towards the processing plant. On this cold morning, I could see thick smoke billowing from the plant from miles away. I pulled over to take photos because the images were so arresting. Interestingly, there was no scent at all.
We were on our way to Avery Island in New Iberia. You may have heard of it in relation to Tabasco sauce; this is where the plant was for many years and the name McIlhenny is on every bottle. There is still an exhibit on how Tabasco sauce is made (we skipped it). Our goal was to see the jungle garden @ https://www.junglegardens.org/ The garden was created by Edward McIlhenny, son of the founder of Tabasco sauce. He was born on Avery Island, became an arctic explorer, naturalist and conservationist and transformed the landscape into the magnificent garden it is today.
Louisiana had a severe drought this past summer that stressed the trees, significantly reduced water levels in the bayous and generally created an environmental crisis. As a result, the trees changed color this fall, something Leo (who is a native Cajun) said he’d never seen. Cypress knees, which are generally submerged or peek out of the water, were on dry ground. Still, it was gorgeous. The Spanish moss, cypress knees, turtles, egrets, herons, and even an alligator all testified to the vitality of the environment.
What I hadn’t realized is that the garden had had bamboo introduced to it from Asia and that there are Asian influences all over. There is a large Buddha, Chinese-looking bridges, and gates in several areas.
When we left the island, we headed to Jefferson Island for lunch at the @https://ripvanwinklegardens.com/ Lunch was in a glass enclosed room with views of the semi-tropical gardens nestled among ancient live oak trees, with a backdrop of Lake Peigneur. Lunch was crawfish Étouffée (I’m going to miss being able to order that at home).
Leo wanted to show me what the shrimp fishing boats looked like, so we headed to Delcambre. On our way into town, we ran across a Christmas parade. It was a lot tamer than the one I watched in New Orleans!
On our way back to Breaux Bridge, Leo realized we’d be passing right by his cousin Ken’s home. So, we stopped off and spent a while with them. As both Leo and Liz said, it was a taste of authentic Cajun culture. With the Saints football game on TV as a backdrop, Leo and his cousin exchanged news of family members—deaths, births, who was in the hospital, recent family events, and ancient family history.
Then back to Breaux Bridge.