Shopping
Compared to its neighbours, Belize has less to offer in terms of traditional crafts or neighbourhood markets . The latter are purely food markets, but in several places you'll come across some impressive local crafts. Wood and slate carvers are often to be found at the Maya sites, and their work, especially the reproductions of glyphs and stelae on slate, is high quality; ceramics are less good, but improving. In the Maya villages in southern Belize you'll come across some attractive embroidery , though it has to be said that the quality of both the cloth and the work is better in Guatemala. Garifuna and Creole villages produce good basketware and superb drums ; Dangriga, Hopkins and Gales Point are the places to visit for these. The excellent National Handicrafts Center in Belize City is the best place to buy souvenirs if time is short, with a wide range of genuine Belizean crafts, including paintings, prints and music recordings as well as the items mentioned above. The craftspeople are paid fair prices for their work and no longer have to hawk it on the streets. There are often exhibitions by Belizean artists here too, but the best place for contemporary Belizean art is The Image Factory in Belize City. For superb videos of Belizean wildlife, culture or history, have a look at the series produced by Great Belize Productions, which can be purchased from gift shops. Those with a philatelic bent might appreciate a set of wildly colourful Belize stamps ; relatively cheap, and certainly easy to post home, they often feature the animals and plants of the country. For everyday necessities you'll find some kind of shop in every village in Belize, however small, and most of the things you'd find at home are available in Belize, though you may have to hunt around for them. Luxury items, such as electrical goods and cameras, tend to be very expensive, as do other imported goods. Camera film is a little more expensive than at home, but easy to get hold of. One tasty souvenir everyone likes to take home is a bottle (or three) of Marie Sharp's Pepper Sauce , made from Belizean habaneros in various strengths, ranging from "mild" to "fiery hot". This spicy accompaniment to rice and beans graces every restaurant table in the country - and visits to the factory near Dangriga can be arranged.
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