In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Garifuna Story Teller

Livingston, Guatemala

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

While visiting Livingston, Guatemala, we ran into a local and decided to spend some time with him. We were transported to a land of amazing coincidences and sometimes, yes, even magic.

This is Polo. Or Richard. It depends on what day one speaks with him.

Polo had tales to tell longer than his arm and we were curious. Offering him a cold drink of his choice anywhere he wanted to go brought us to Buga Mamas - an open air restaurant with a sea view where we listened to his personal history, stories and perspectives.

Richard/Polo

Decades ago, his job was to unload cases of Coca-Cola from a truck into the neighboring restaurants and bars in this town. In an unguarded moment, a case of coke fell directly on his thumb, splitting it open. Being a Garifuna drummer, this was terrible news, as he could no longer work lifting the cases of coke and could no longer drum in the bars at night. Living in the tropics, his thumb eventually became infected and "swole up, size of my foot…"

At this time, a kind and funky-looking hippie took pity on his condition and gave him 200 Quetzales. This paid for medical care for that damaged thumb, and the two became fast friends. Soon Polo was securing fresh fish, any sort of living supplies and ganja for this man. The odd looking eccentric then gave Polo a guitar and taught him how to play.

Jerry Garcia was his name (yes, that Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead fame), and their association lasted for years. They became such trusted friends that Garcia paid Polo's way to the University of Illinois.

Polo continued telling tales that could have been straight out of one of Carlos Castaneda's books. These stories were complete with apparitions of Oltec Indians, caves full of jade and other semi-precious stones, time travel in dreams and amazing synchronicities.

They were so wild and off the charts that they were completely believable.

And all we were drinking was iced tea... Honest.

If you go to Livingston, Guatemala, you can meet Polo for yourself. He hangs around town and is all too happy to share his stories with you. It’s worth it to buy him a refreshment and then sit back and enjoy his tales.

For more stories, photos and information about Antigua, click here

For more stories and photos of Guatemala, click here

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About the Authors

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.