Lessons in life - a close call on the mighty Mississippi

A lesson in maintaining your normal sense of judgement when abroad

When you travel abroad it's all to easy to get caught up in your different surroundings, throw caution to the wind and end up doing extraordinary things that you never dream of doing back home. Somehow you're convinced that you will never get caught for speeding, and that you have the agility of a mountain goat when climbing anything from rocks at the seaside to the pyramids in Mexico. Foreign calories also count for less somehow than those consumed at home.

Even foreign currency feels like Monopoly money. Dangers of different sorts lurk at every corner, but the fact that you are not in the UK mysteriously seems to mitigate the potential risks.

On one trip to New Orleans we were invited to experience the 'redneck life' with a fishing trip into the Bayou swamps. To get to 'the camp', an austere masculine structure perched on wooden legs to keep it out of the swamp, we had to cross the mighty and extremely wide Mississippi. It is a busy waterway with ocean going ships and local fishing vessels. It is also home to a large number of alligators.

You cross it at your peril. And once you get into the Bayou it is a web of small winding waterways that, to the uninitiated, all look identical.

You cross it at your peril. And once you get into the Bayou it is a web of small winding waterways that, to the uninitiated, all look identical.

Our redneck guide was an experienced fisherman, but unbeknown to us, he was also a reformed alcoholic. Unfortunately he decided on that day to celebrate the catching of each fish with another can of Budweiser. After six hours fishing, and deep into the Bayou, we decided to call it a night having had considerable success, but none quite as much as our guide. Back in the UK we would no more let someone in his intoxicated state warm a tortilla for us, let along navigate the complexities of the Bayou. We have experienced a reckless full-throttle dash across the Mississippi in complete darkness in an over-crowded boat. Had we hit an alligator - a distinct possibility - the boat would certainly have turned over instantly and made us into a tasty snack. We were pretty much invisible to the oil tankers heading both ways.