I’ve been a little hard on Belize in past posts, but I will admit it was refreshing to get there and be able to speak and read English again after nearly seven weeks of trying to make myself understood in Spanish. Suddenly I could say exactly what I meant instead of some approximation that would hopefully get the general idea across.
It was fun seeing the signs too. I only captured a few of them here because most I saw from a moving vehicle. Belizians have a good sense of humor and they’re quite creative when making store signs. Hiring your cousin or brother-in-law to do the artwork seems the norm and the results are cute even when they’re not meant to be.
I like the attitude too. Many expats gravitate to Belize because of its libertarian live-and-let-live outlook on life. That results in some pretty ugly towns (from weak zoning laws), but you can pretty much do what you want if it’s not putting anyone else in danger or infringing on their property.
Two signs here are reminders to be a good citizen though and overall Belize did seem to have less litter around than mainland Honduras. So maybe ones like the top one are working.
For loads of great sign photos from around the world, get these books:
Lonely Planet’s Signspotting
Signspotting 2
Signspotting 3
Caution: Funny Signs Ahead
Shakey and his empty bottles...
