The Bayou, near New Orleans, USA, 11th November 2014.

It would be easy to think of the Bayou as a wilderness populated by alligators and escaped convicts, an inscrutable maze in which all who enter become hopelessly lost.  This is far from the truth.

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Here are habitations deep inside the bayou.  It is a monochrome post because two thirds of the underlying images were infrared and one third regular and I decided to skip colour.

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Houma Indians lived in the bayou, making use of the abundant fishing and wildlife.  They were historical allies of the French and many still speak a French dialect as their primary language.

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Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

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From the end of the eighteenth century, people of non-Indian descent began to move into the bayou.  French is still the dominant language spoken amongst locals.

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Though fishing and wildlife are plentiful, mosquitos can be too so it is not necessarily a very healthy place to live.

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It also can’t have been a very good place to hide out from Hurricane Katrina and there are many signs of devastation from that time.

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Houses range from the modest …

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… to the somewhat grand

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… and many are rather the worse for wear

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though all retain an undeniable charm.

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A small fishing boat, I presume.

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West Pearl Bridge.  The two towers look just like the ones used in mines to raise and lower cages in mine shafts.  Maybe that’s exactly what they are.  Clearly, though, this is not a bridge like Tower Bridge in London that parts from the middle and raises to the sides; this is a case where the towers raise and lower the whole central section, as controlled by the small room in the middle.

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Notice says:  West Pearl Bridge  {Phone number}  No operator on duty;  Require 4 hours advanced notice for bridge openings.

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Boats and houses behind the bridge.

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And finally, a house with aspirations towards becoming a house boat.

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