The steamboat Natchez is apparently the only authentic paddle-steamer left on the Mississippi (their friendly rival, the Creole Queen, runs on diesel electric instead). I went on a cruise up and down the river for a couple of hours – lots of interesting scenery, and the crew commentary was entertaining. The cruise route goes past the industrial area where the levees broke during Katrina – you can’t see much of the Lower Ninth from there, though.

I ended up with an extra day in New Orleans, thanks to the vagaries of Amtrak tickets – in the course of an hour, the NOLA-Chicago train doubled in price and then sold out completely. So I had a wander down to City Park, hoping to get some gator photos… No such luck, after the first half hour I realised the heat had been getting to me more than I’d thought, and I bailed out before I passed out…