First stop of the day after leaving New Orleans was Cajun Swamp Tours!

Aboard a metal long type boat, we toured the swamp areas of the river seeing dragonflies, birds, water spiders and snakes, swamp pigs and of course ‘gators! Encouraged by a piece of sausage at the end of a stick, we were lucky to see the alligators up-close, and even jumping slightly out of the water next to the boat.

Next stop was Pass Christian, where there was a magnificent park festival with hundreds of craft and food stalls, emanating wonderful smells of barbecue, noodles, hot dogs and Mississippi’s famous gumbo.

After wandering the stalls, some of the group decided to spend some time relaxing on the glorious white sands of the beach, and some relaxed on the water aboard a schooner ride. With blue skies and beautiful warm weather, it really was an afternoon of bliss.

Then it was back into the vans for the 3.5 hour trip Raymond, where we met our host families for the first time and retreated to their respective homes to unpack and hopefully get a good night’s rest after a wonderful but busy day.

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