Every iconic travel destination seems to have its own off-the-wall attraction: whether it’s the world’s largest ball of twine in Kansas, a giant plastic lobster in Florida, or rows of spray painted Cadillacs buried nose first in a Nevada desert.
So San Pedro, Belize, where Cutest and I currently find ourselves, has its own little bit of strange. Every week at Wahoo’s Lounge at the Corona del Mar, a chicken drop is held. Now before you call up some world-wide humane society, hear me out.
At first I, too, had visions of chickens hurtling, against their will, out of second story windows to a splattered and feathery crash-landing below, all witnessed by over-served patrons of the bar raising their beverages in mock tribute to the chicken’s demise.
Well, that’s not quite the way the night played out. Cutest and I arrived at the slightly dusty, time-worn bar, ordered our drinks and waited for the debauchery to begin. (Yes, the drink on the right is not mine.)
To be eligible for guessing the winning chicken and claiming the $100 (Belizean, that’s $50 U.S.) prize, you needed to purchase numbered tickets. Cutest, of course, said buy five!
Then, with much fanfare, the bewildered fowl is brought from its pen, shown to the gathered mass, and placed in a six foot by six foot corral that has painted on its floor several squares of numbers. The video below is the scene before the chicken antics began.
Once the rooster is lowered on to the squares, there begins a flood of loud music, flashing lights and inebriated chicken fans screaming and hollering to encourage the chicken to poop, as that drop number is declared the winning one, along with its ticket owner, who then gets to clean up the mess before collecting his winnings.
(These two videos will give you a sense of that scene, though thankfully they are shorter than the actual event and the second is much shorter.)
Good news: the chicken went back to its coop unmarred, at least physically. Bad news: neither Cutest nor I won. Yes, here in what many people call paradise with its
sandy beaches, swaying palms and island time vibe, things can get a little weird.
But at least this bird isn't the famous Belizean stewed chicken with rice and beans. Yet.
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