TAP 189. Escape to paradise. An interview with Marcus Xavier

This week's episode is a little different. and Joel, I think we need some tropical island paradise music to set the mood.ahh, perfect...It's a story of one couple's passion and courage to trade their regular lives for a chance to experience island paradise.So, let me ask you a question... Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming about escaping to a tropical island in the south pacific? Exploring hidden beaches, discovering mountain trails and diving in an ocean so fresh and unaccustomed to humans that the fish actually swim up to your mask to check you out?At night you're treated to amazing island meals like lobster paella and exquisite local fruit deserts as you stare at a brilliant canopy of a billion stars in a dark sky untainted by city lights or sirens.As we suffer though our fourth COVID lockdown here in Ontario, I find myself craving an island escape with daily sun-filled swims and warm, tropical island air. So I thought, why not track down a good mate of mine who stopped thinking about it and made it happenI'm delighted to introduce you to this week's guest, Marcus Xavier. I first met Marcus and wife Stoney when I was living in Queensland quite a few years ago before I came to Canada.Marcus and I share a passion for marketing, looking for great opportunities in our respective fields and generally preferring to zig when everyone else is zagging. Social media has its fair share of critics but without it, I wouldn't have been about to keep in touch with Marcus and Stoney and their adventures. A few years back I started to see posts of Marcus doing things like building vacation villas, creating amazing meals and even building a pizza oven.I blitzed off a message to Marcus. "Mate, what the heck are you up to?" "Great to hear from you Ray" He came back. "We've bought a retreat-style resort on an Island in Vanuatu. We run gourmet cooking retreats for private guests and are having a ball"Marcus sent me the link to their resort called Papaya Loco and I was hooked! They run cooking retreats where Marcus gets to share his love of cooking and the skills he inherited from his Mum and Godfather.  I've put the link to Papaya Loco in the show notes.If you've ever been tempted to explore the wonders and pleasures of island life and you're ready for a pandemic distraction, this might be a great place to start.  We've got all that and more coming up!