If chickens are not the Bahamian State bird, they should be! This is especially true in Green Turtle and the Islands north/west thereof. One afternoon as we were seated at a picnic table enjoying a just-made conch burger in New Plymouth, we watched a chicken cross the road right in front of us. My daughter commented “Well I guess the reason really is ‘to get to the other side.’”
Every morning while anchored out in this area I was heralded from my slumber by the crow of a distant “cock-a-doodle-dooooo!” the phonetic interpretation of which is “errrrrrr er errrrrr er-errrrrrrrrrrr!”
It appears that the locals are very protective of their foul. I think there are more beware / caution of chicken signs posted on the streets then there are signs for pedestrians.
If you need further proof of the popularity of the chicken in the Bahamas, then you must go to the Green Turtle Club on a Wednesday night at about 9:00 pm. The Gulley Roosters will be playing outside under the oak tree that night. There you will find all the locals and tourists, young and old, outside on the deck shaking like Southern Baptist converts.
If you go, and you really should, just make sure you put out a stern anchor on your dingy or, when the tide comes in, your ride will be hopelessly trapped under the dock. If that happens, you will have no choice but to find a bench to rest on until the tide goes back out – which coincidentally, is just about the time that the roosters start their morning concert.
