The Chicken Drop, a Firsthand Account
Belize is known for pristine reefs with clear blue water, jungle locales where wildlife and all sorts of adventure awaits, and a hilarious betting activity on the beach of Ambergris Caye known as the World Famous Chicken Drop.
Yes, you heard me right - there’s something out there called a Chicken Drop and it’s World Famous (by some standards).
Let me set the scene a little. There you are on a glorious fair-weathered Thursday night. You just had a filling and possibly slightly spicy meal in downtown San Pedro and now you’re enjoying a Belikin Stout on the beach just outside of Wahoo’s Lounge while admiring the scene before you of what appears to be a WWE wrestling ring, but instead of a mat, there are large squares with randomized numbers inside. A DJ is pumping Top 100 party music and an Emcee is hyping the crowd up and reminding passerbys that the next round will be starting soon and there’s still plenty of time to place your bet. The crowd on the deck already has drinks and colorful tickets in their hands.
The game is about to begin.
A tourist is selected from the crowd and is directed to shout, “Security - bring me that chicken!” Suddenly a man emerges with (you guessed it) a chicken.
Now the fun begins.
The chosen one gets the privilege of holding the chicken and disorienting the poor bird by moving it in big vertical and horizontal circles in the air. Then, as the pièce de résistance, they blow a puff of air directly into the unsuspecting chicken’s butthole (don’t worry, the chicken security man is nearby to ensure the bird is placed just so for optimal air flow) and it’s placed in the ring.
The crowd goes wild.
The music kicks back up and the Emcee encourages the chicken to take a dump on the numbered squares. Yes, you heard me correctly - a dump, a shit, a big old pile of poo right on the ring to determine the winning ticket holder.
Tourists attempt to get in closer to the ring for that perfect Instagram video. A policewoman asks that they step back to “let the chicken do it’s thing. Tourists keep huddling closer, shoving their phones to the front of others to capture that magical winning moment, but the chicken appears to have stage fright.
“Bring in the backup chicken!,” someone shouts over the music.
A second chicken goes through the same ritual and is placed in the ring. The crowd does a silent prayer that this chicken will do it’s duty (and will not make everyone wait in anticipation for another five minutes). Not even thirty seconds later, you see what must be chicken poop in the ring.
The chicken has provided for the crowd - the chicken has taken a dump!
It is by far one of the weirdest and most hilarious gambling activities I have ever witnessed, but I loved every second of it. If you find yourself in San Pedro, Belize on a Thursday evening around 7pm I highly recommend stopping by Wahoo’s for a visit.
But just beware that where large swaths of touristy tourists are known to congregate, so too are pickpockets. (This is true for most tourist hot spots I have been to, so it should really come as no surprise and it’s worth nothing that I don’t believe it is representative of Ambergris Caye or Belize as a whole.)
It was wild to watch the petty theft attempts unfold.
I watched as an apparent local chatted up unsuspecting tourists and encouraged them to buy tickets to bet on the next game, thus a) knowing they have money and a wallet on them and b) knowing they will be present and attentive and likely not paying attention to their surroundings during the next round.
I saw this same schemer huddle up with a group of other guys and young boys (literally probably 10 years old) on the far side of the bar as the next round was starting to kick off.
And I waited until nearly the end of the game for that same group of guys and children to magically appear directly behind the same tourists they had earlier encouraged to place bets. The children were literally peering into the side pockets of the unsuspecting tourists and reaching for wallets.
Bottom line, was the situation a little sketch? For sure.
Was I in danger? Eh, probably not.
Would I go back to see the Chicken Drop if I was in Ambergris Caye again? Most definitely.
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