The sun shone gently then began its descent behind cypress and oak trees, the sky slowly turned black from a brilliant blue, wildlife passed us by above and below the surface, and in the distance we could hear… Arcade Fire.
We weren’t in a remote swamp or secluded waterway; we were smack dab in the middle of New Orleans’s Mid-City neighborhood on Bayou St. John, and as luck would have it one of our favorite bands was onstage at the nearby Jazzfest. Our paddles resting, we floated on Bayou St. John as we heard Arcade Fire’s “Intervention” clear as crystal:
Who’s gonna throw the very first stone? Who’s gonna re-set the bone? Sitting with his head in a sling I hear the soldier sing…
We didn’t just happen upon the bayou’s “sweet spot” to hear music streaming from Jazzfest—our kayak guide, also an Arcade Fire fan, led us straight to it. Sonny Averett began leading kayak tours on Bayou St. John just a few months ago when he launched Kayak-iti-yat with partner Sara Howard. It’s a great way for tourists to get to know the city that exists outside of the French Quarter, and Averett points out, “About 25% of our customers so far have been locals.” In addition to the two of us from the far off land of Baton Rouge, out-of-towners in their first two months of business have included French, Chinese, Koreans, and Northwesterners.
So what can kayakers learn while navigating Bayou St. John with Averett and Howard? As we paddle past the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) in the Lake Pontchartrain direction, we see St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 and learn that the site was a leper colony before it was a cemetery. The colony closed when the yellow fever-stricken city needed more burial ground in 1853.
Averett also explained to us how Bienville and Iberville used this very same waterway to get to the city, avoiding the Mississippi River. Back in the city’s earliest days, the bayou was an essential trading route; as Averett puts it, “The French fed the city using Bayou St. John.”
They also erected a fort in the early 1700s at the point where the bayou reaches Lake Pontchartrain. Known at first as Fort St. Jean, it’s now called Old Spanish Fort. On longer kayak tours than ours, Averett takes the tourists to see the fort and the lake. Referring to the city’s history and inextricable link to watery surroundings, Averett says, “The old fort is where it all comes together for them. They get it.”
Once past the LSU Dental School, we turned our cozy vessels around and headed back towards the city. Passing under a few bridges for a second time, we were able to appreciate some great graffiti. For example, just who belongs to “The Bowel Movement” and what are they doing as they gather under a bridge? These are the kinds of things you won’t see on an average kayak outing. People watching is another thing you’ll miss out on during a remote paddling excursion; Jazzfest was over by now and colorful music fans from all over the world ambled by on the banks and bridges of the bayou.
On the other side of NOMA, we glide past historic Pitot House, a beautiful Creole colonial home that has graced the banks of Bayou St. John since the late 1700s. One of its notable occupants was Mother Cabrini, “the first American citizen to be named a saint by the Catholic church,” says Averett. Further towards the city, we approach another home that grabbed our attention at first because of the blaring sounds of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Bon Jovi—a post-festival house party. “That’s the Spanish Custom House,” Averett tells us. And it was a-rockin.
The Old Spanish Custom House is another eighteenth-century structure that probably has a few fascinating tales to tell. “Rumor has it that Lafitte and Jackson made their gunpowder deal in that house,” says Averett, referring to the accord made between these two men just before the Battle of New Orleans—Jean Lafitte offered the support of his Baratarians and abundant gunpowder in exchange for pardon from Andrew Jackson. Averett has more light to shed on the mysterious Lafitte: “He was quite a ladies man. They say you couldn’t get a girl in this city when Lafitte was around.”
It was getting dark, but just for kicks we paddled under the Magnolia Bridge, the only bridge that forces paddlers to duck a few inches for clearance. From a distance it looks as though passage would be impossible, but up close you realize that you have to lean back just a bit to avoid a headache later—well, I speak only for people under six feet tall. The Magnolia dates to the mid 1800s, and Averett told us that back then it was able to rotate open, allowing the passage of larger vessels. The bridge was stilled in the 1930s and became pedestrian only in the 1970s.
Night had fallen when we pointed our boats back towards the Kayak-iti-yat launch point—which by the way is just near NOMA—so we were suddenly treated not to a sky full of stars but a bayou full of city lights. The dome of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church was lit up, as was the Pitot House and other residences. Between the watery reflections of those lights, street lamps, and taillights of passing cars, it was truly a beautiful sight.
And another beautiful sight? The lawn chairs and ice chest full of cocktails waiting for us when we returned to shore, where Howard joined us for a post-paddle happy hour. By now most of the Jazzfest revelers were out of sight, nutria were just getting their nocturnal party started, and we were treated to even more history in the form of a spooky story. In 1918, a serial killer known as “The Axeman of New Orleans” had the full attention of the city, especially when he wrote a letter to the Times-Picayune in March with special instructions for all citizens: “I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned.” Apparently everyone survived to see the next morning and, according to Averett, “They say that night was the best party this city has ever seen.”
With that happy yet terrifying thought we parted ways, leaving Bayou St. John and its nutria, turtles, and waterfowl in peace for a while.
Details.details.details
Kayak-iti-yat
Three Bayou St. John
kayak tours offered daily:
9 am, 2 pm and 6 pm.
Visit kayakitiyat.com for their
online reservation form.
For those of you who want someone else to do the paddling in Mid-City, visit nolagondola.com. Robert Dula, owner of Nola Gondola, offers thirty minute or one hour rides through the lagoons of City Park on his authentic Venetian gondola, complete with Italian music, cheese and chocolates.
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