Lobsterfest!

My discussion of the ethnic groups here in Belize will have to be continued on my next post because this weekend was the Placencia Lobsterfest! So this post will be primarily photos, unless my brain and fingers decide they want me to enter lots of words! Before that though, I find the little map to the right that indicates the location of visitors to this site quite fascinating, since I don't know anyone in Sri Lanka, Scotland, Germany or South Africa, to my knowledge. I suspect those folks found this site the same way I see others, by clicking the "next" blog button at the top of this page. What I've found interesting, and exciting, is that there seem to be considerably more blogs originating outside the U.S. than in. Of course, this search tool doesn't include blogs that are not google based. Back to Lobsterfest.

This is an event put on every year at the end of June by the local tourist board. It used to be held on the point, but I think it has grown, and is now on the beach. There are big tents set up as well as smaller ones by smaller vendors.

As I mentioned in my last post (I think) the lobsters here do not have the big claws the way they do in Maine, and they are caught by divers who break the tails off and discard the bodies when they catch them. I've never seen any signs indicating that they are prepared by boiling or steaming. Today I had a grilled lobster tail for lunch, with rice and beans, and cole slaw. The lobster tail wasn't nearly as tender as I had been used to.

I had a shrimp kabob yesterday. There are huge shrimp farms here, I think the biggest one in the country is just inland from the peninsula. (The farms are in man made ponds.)

I was there as part the Rotary booth, and we were teamed up with the Volunteer Fire Dept, which our club started several years ago. Here's a picture looking from our booth, past a vendor selling wood carvings toward the water.

And here's a photo looking down the beach, showing folks sitting in the shade of the palms.

Our Rotary club raised over $1000 for the Fire Dept. by having a duck race. We have 396 plastic ducks, all numbered, and people buy tickets with corresponding numbers for $5 ea. We dump the ducks in the water

and the first 5 to reach a rope we extend along the beach win cash prizes, starting with a top prise of $250. The Fire Dept is supported entirely by fundraising and donations it is a major and important source of revenue. Here's a picture of the fire truck for Placencia:

It carries a high volume pump, suction hose, and about 150 feet of 2" canvas fire hose. A major portion of Placencia Village is wooden structures on the beach with no road access, so this "truck" allows the VFD to get the pump to the water, and then run the hose out to the fire. At this time there is not enough hose to reach everywhere, so that is a priority. Another issue is that it is appropriate for Placencia Village, but can take a while to get the Seine Bight, the next village 5-6 miles up the peninsula. So there is effort to have a station there as well, and I will be getting involved in that. Here's a picture of the fire chief, having a good laugh.

I'm told she is a good fire fighter and a good leader. The Fire Dept has a thing people can stick their heads through to have their picture taken, so here's a picture of Jim taking a picture:

Jim is a Rotarian as well as a volunteer fire fighter. I think he is a retired doctor who took advantage of Belize's liberal arrangement for retirees. Here's one of the pictures I took:

Our booth was at the end of a tent, and next to the entertainment tent. That was OK when the steel band was playing :

but when the band wasn't playing, the DJ was playing Caribbean rock very loud, and six hours of it, I really liked the quiet of home. My last photo here is of my grand daughter Maddie, who was especially photogenic today when I got home.

So that's it for tonight. It is always a pleasure hearing from those of you following this! Those contacts help me justify spending an evening working on it.

Be well...