The first weekend of May is the National Agricultural and Trade Fair in Belmopan and it's a big deal. People flock from all over the country for the games, rides, animals, displays, food, and great deals on cell phones! It's probably the best weekend of the year to buy a cell phone...all sorts of sales and specials and every dealer in Belize has a booth set up. But even if you're not shopping for electronics the Agric Fair has much to offer.
We made the 45 minute drive fairly early on Saturday morning. Right away I noticed how well organized the traffic was. Lots of police directing cars, big signs for parking and pedestrians keeping neatly to the side of the road. A certain level of organized chaos rules so much in Belize but this actually had the feeling of organized organization! So far...I'm impressed!
We made the 45 minute drive fairly early on Saturday morning. Right away I noticed how well organized the traffic was. Lots of police directing cars, big signs for parking and pedestrians keeping neatly to the side of the road. A certain level of organized chaos rules so much in Belize but this actually had the feeling of organized organization! So far...I'm impressed!
After parking the truck we found our place in the admission line. Adam does so poorly with crowds and waiting so he was ready to bolt at the sight of the long line up. But I grabbed him by the ear and we patiently waited our turn which only took about ten minutes. Once again, I'm impressed! We paid our entry fee and the whole fair was in front of us! All the sights, sounds and smells. Everything that you would expect.
One of my favourite exhibits at the fair was the joint British Military and Belize Defence Force display. Officially know as the British Army Training and Support Unit Belize but that shortens to BATSUB and BATSUB is just a way cooler name! They had a number of big pieces of 'equipment' on display and they were wide open to explore. How could I pass up that opportunity? I quickly passed off the camera to Adam and started climbing! "Take my picture...take my picture!"
After I finished playing soldier, we wandered around the rest of the grounds. We gorged on BBQ and washed it down with fresh coconut water to convince ourselves we were being healthy. We checked out the farm displays and played a few games of chance (luck was not with us). And then the sun started to come out full force and it got really hot. That was our cue to finish up and head back home.
Big compliments to this year's fair organizers. A job very well done!
Big compliments to this year's fair organizers. A job very well done!