- Tara and Keith Gaudette call the Louisiana marshes home
- Film director Peter Santenero, 45, spent a day with them and recorded them.
- They taught Peter how they survived living in a remote area.
A couple living on a houseboat in Louisiana’s deep swamps reveals what life on the bayou is really like, from being surrounded by alligators to having to hunt rodents for food. did.
Popular U.S.-based filmmaker Peter Santenero, 45, recently spent a day with Tara and Keith Gaudette, a couple who call the Louisiana marshes home, and created his own YouTube channel. I recorded the whole story for my own use.
The two not only showed Peter how they survived in an extremely remote area that cannot even be reached by car, but only by boat, but also told them about the ups and downs that come with their lifestyle. . They have to hunt and gather their own food while worrying about crime.
The video began with Peter riding a waterboat down the bayou to Tara and Keith’s residence.
When we arrived at the small floating houseboat, Tara immediately showed us around. The house consisted of just her two rooms, so there wasn’t much to see. He combined the kitchen and bedroom into one living area and bathroom.
The main room had a small propane stove and counter space on one side, and a bunk bed and sofa futon on the other.
A flat screen TV was mounted on the wall, but Tara admitted there was no cable or Wi-Fi and she had to use her phone’s hotspot if she wanted to watch anything.
For electricity, we used solar panels to run the house and also had a generator to power the air conditioning unit if it got too hot.
The bathroom had a toilet, but no shower. Instead, it was outside on the back porch.
Tara told Peter that they use filtered “bayou water” for everything, including cleaning themselves.
The couple, who both work “in the oil industry” and have one son, split their time between their houseboat and another home in Homa because of their work schedules. But if they could, they would live full time on the bayou.
“I’ve never had a problem with anyone here,” Tara exclaimed. “Everyone knows everyone. It’s a completely different atmosphere here, so calm down.
“When most people think of Louisiana, they automatically think of New Orleans, Bourbon Street, etc.
“But here is a whole other world that we enjoy. Please tell me this is no better than a city. This is God’s country.”
Tara explained that they loved being disconnected from the world and didn’t even turn on the news for “months”.
“It would be very upsetting to see something like this happening,” Keith added. “I’m much happier not keeping up with that stuff. This is what we do and we enjoy life.”
When asked what they do for fun around there, they explained that everyone who lives in the area usually has a “get together” “once a month.”
“Usually it’s about 20 to 30 people,” Keith said. “People like to get together and make crab stews and crawfish stews, and everyone tries to bring their own food.
“Everyone comes together to have a good time and cook delicious food. We love to cook and we love to let others enjoy our cooking.
“Every time Tara and I eat crab or shrimp, I call everyone and say, ‘Hey, meet me at my house, I’m cooking something.'”
He explained that they gather almost all their own food from fishing, crabbing, shrimp, frogs, hunting, etc.
Their favorite food is a rodent called a nutria, which Keith described as a “very large” rat.
“They’re a very invasive species. They tear up a lot of the wetlands around here and eat all the roots of the plants,” he explained. “And they’re digging holes in a lot of the levee systems around here.”
In the video, Keith and Tara take Peter out to the bayou to find nutria. Keith shot it and took it home to cook.
Tara made it into a stew and served it to Peter with rice and hot sauce.
‘not bad. not bad. It has a lot of flavor,” he said after eating the dish. “It’s a little stimulating.”
“The texture is different,” he added of nutria meat. “I don’t know what it feels like, but to be honest, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. The texture is like a gummy bear.”
“How amazing would it be to be able to go out and catch fish and shoot nutria and go back to camp and cook?” Keith asked him.
“It’s very fulfilling to be able to catch our own food and harvest our own food.”
While on the boat, Peter saw several crocodiles, which Tara and Keith described as common crocodiles around the area.
“There are alligators everywhere around here,” Tara said, admitting that didn’t stop her from swimming.
“They won’t mess with people,” Keith said. “They won’t come after you. I think there were probably two deaths. [from alligators] Hundreds of years later in Louisiana.
Other wildlife they regularly see includes snakes (some of which are venomous), bald eagles, and numerous birds.
“Every time we see a new animal or bird, we say, ‘I wonder if it’s good to eat?'” Tara joked.
In addition to gathering food for their meals, they also make their own wine from the muscadines.
Keith and Tara have their own YouTube channel called Dat Louisiana Life where they share their daily efforts on the bayou.
“It’s just us on the houseboat, eating crabs, fishing, and just enjoying the amazing scenery and landscapes around South Louisiana,” Keith said of nearly 66,000 people. He talked about the channel that attracted subscribers.
Later, while reflecting on his day with Tara and Keith, Peter couldn’t stop gushing about their lifestyle.
“I can see why they like this because it feels so far away from everything. [it feels like a] Please release it,” he shared.
“You seem so free here. There’s no crime, no police. It’s a unique perspective and I’m very lucky to have it.
“It’s so peaceful. The bayou is more special than I expected.”
