from the "working vacation II" dept.

For the last several days I have been in Punta Gorda, a small town in Southern Belize.

I'm working with filmmaker Katia Paradis (Yaha Films) on her story about three traditional Belizean musicians – one Garifuna, one Mayan, and one Creole.

The Garifuna musician, singer/guitarist Paul Nabor is the focus of our shoot in Punta Gorda.

Paul is a 78-year-old who traces his ancestry back to Africa. He's one of only a handful of people who still speak the Garifuna language and hold on to the traditional music.

We've been here for a number of days, and I have not had time to post much in the way of text. It's been a surreal experience. Paul is dirt poor, yet he is rich in many ways. Spending time with him is like being in another time. He has a myriad of stories about the old days and his life as a boxer. He also entertained people around Central America decades ago. In fact, he still prefers to use his beat off and somewhat out-of-tune guitar. The guitar is 53-years-old.

When he sings, this amazing voice suddenly appears. Normally he is soft spoken, but suddenly his voice becomes powerful as he belts out traditional songs in both Garifuna and Spanish. He also speaks Creole and English.

I was surprised to learn many Garifuna words, especially numbers, are very similar to French.

I don't think I have ever spent so much time in a place that is so far away from my reality. I mean, who goes on vacation and then spends 4 or 5 days hanging with an elderly musician in his leaky palapa hut.

That said, this is like no vacation before, and that's the whole point. All inclusives will be nice when I'm 70, but right now, sleeping with ants, getting bitten by sandflies and avoiding snakes seems to be a pretty cool thing.

And, at the end of the day, I can always relax under a sold roof with a rum and mango.

More to come!

Cheers!