Carnival Splendor in St. Croix
When the Carnival Splendor stopped at St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, we took one of the random taxi tours often available near cruise ship piers. This tour had a stop at a bar with a very unique attraction. On a narrow country road winding uphill through the rainforest, our driver pulled over at a small unassuming local bar with a sign that said Mt. Pellier Hut Domino Club. Here, he said, they had pigs that guzzle beer. Only it was too early in the day and they had no pigs available to perform at the time. The guide mentioned the possibility of stopping back by later.
gecko on the sign in front of the bar
He proceeded to take us on a tour around the island. After visiting a number of places we stopped at a rum distillery, which costs $7 to get in and includes a couple of drinks. Nobody in the van seemed particularly interested in the distillery tour so our guide offered to take anyone who did not wish to participate back to the ship while the others went on the tour. John, Tina, Justin, and I were the only ones who did not get right back in the van. When informed that Justin (who is 12) could not take the tour he went back with the folks. The 3 of us stayed not because we cared about the distillery tour, but because we really wanted to see pigs drink beer. We hoped he would take us back to the first stop once he returned from dropping the rest of the people off back at the ship.
Mt Pellier Hut bar sign
The driver left and we paid for the distillery tour which we thought we would take while waiting for our driver to return. After collecting the money they said a tour had just started and it would be awhile before the next one began. They said people sometimes just collect their drinks and opt out of the tour. You could not, however, have drinks while waiting for the tour because you could not go on the tour after having drinks.
waiting area at the rum factory
As more time passed we all decided we were not going to have enough time left to see the pigs if we took the distillery tour. Since we would rather see the pigs than take the tour we got our drinks (mine virgin) and waited for the guide to return. The next tour started just a few minutes before he got back so had we gone we probably would not have gotten to see the beer drinking pigs. As soon as he got back we piled back in the van and took the long way back to the ship via the little bar in the rainforest.
A pig waits for a beer while the bar girl tells Tina what to do
It cost $1 to watch, $2 for a beer for the pigs, and $3 to take a video. We paid our dollars and each bought a beer for the pigs. John paid the extra $3 to video. A bartender, or possibly the owner of the place, led us across the parking lot to an enclosure on the other side with 4 stalls. 3 stalls held one pig each, though one was a small potbellied pig to short to perform. The other two stood up on their hind legs with their front legs on the wall when offered a beer.
pig drinking beer
They take an unopened can right out of a person’s hand and open it with their teeth, chugging it and chomping the can as they go. When done they spit out an empty flattened can. When asked how the meat tastes, the lady said the pigs are pets and they don’t eat them. The pig show is well worth the low price even if the beer is of the non-alcoholic sort.
Even though we took the scenic route back to see the pigs our guide got us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare for browsing through the shopping booths and taking photos of the ship from various places on shore. Frederikstad had a number of little booths set up along the waterfront across the street from permanent stores.
shopping in Frederiksted
I’m very glad that these beer-swilling swine are being raised as pets and not bacon. The one in the video does seem to enjoy its beer, but my inner paranoiac feared that it might swallow the can, which was probably irrational. The pig seems to know how to quaff a beer. Do you know if the beer was serve to them chilled?
The one pig did look like it might choke on the can, but when it was done drinking it spit the can right out. One pig went back down in its stall and kept picking up the same can and chewing it trying to get more while the other pig spit the can right out and stayed up there hanging out of the stall waiting for more – so it got the extra can. We had three people each with a can of beer and only two pigs. I think the beer was just the ambient temperature of the area. I’d say room temperature, but it was an open air bar. A lot of places in the Caribbean don’t have full walls.
Well now … this is surely an unexpected surprise … and a big hit for tourists. I wonder if the pig would appreciate shooting/spraying the beer into the mouth (as opposed to chewing a can. Thanks for the grins.
I’m guessing the pigs would be happy however they got their beer, but it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun to watch if they didn’t drink it on their own.
Wouldn’t this make a great Budweiser Super Bowl commercial?
hahaha-if they were drinking Budweiser it would.
Someone finally found a use for O’douls.
Well that sure is different.
One of the best things about traveling is finding unique things.
What a unique thing to experience. I’m sure this made the trip so much more pleasant! Thank you for sharing it with us!