is brought to you by PeakNutritionLabs.com A team of international researchers working on the development nutritional suppliments for improving health and longevity.

PeakNutritionLabs.com And by Swiss International Airlines.

Flying to over 70 worldwide locations.

Truly Swiss made.

Swiss International Airlines.

And by the BMW European Delivery Program, a way to experience the roads BMW was made to drive.

BMW European Delivery Program.

(instrumental music) "Travels and Traditions" with Burt Wolf is a classic travel journal.

The record of Burt search for information about our world and how we fit into it.

Burt travels to the source of each story, trying to find the connections between our history, and what is happening today.

What he discovers can improve our lives, and our understanding of the world around us.

(upbeat music) - Over the last few years, the idea of combining a vacation and learning something new has become more and more popular.

I know a group of people who went to Japan to learn the art of kintsugi, you take gold paste and use it to repair broken pottery.

The work honors the history of the object.

Last winter, a friend of mine and his family came to Switzerland to have an instructor teach them to ski.

I thought it would be interesting and somewhat challenging if I could put together a vacation in the Palm Beaches of Florida and combine it with my 16 year old son Nicholas, learning a few new things, worked out quite well and in fact became a television show.

Here's what it looks like.

(upbeat music) Teach Me Something New with Nicholas Wolf.

(melanchoric music) Teach Me Something New follows the adventures of a teenager, traveling around the world and learning new things from skilled experts.

And learning them in a way that can help us understand the places and the cultures he visits.

(upbeat music) In this program, Nicholas visits the Palm Beaches of Florida, learns how to surf fish, how to scuba.

(water babbling) How to take photographs that inspire people to protect endangered animals.

(camera clicks) How to make a new drink called the Palm Beach Flagler and how to eat a lobster.

- Wow.

(upbeat music) - First up for Teach Me Something New was scuba diving.

Scuba stands for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.

During the 1940s, Jacques Cousteau developed the first safe open circuit scuba, it was known as an Aqua lung.

- Perfect spot to go diving.

- Sure looks nice.

- Nicholas learned how to scuba with John Richard at the Force E scuba center in Riviera beach.

- I find it amazing that anyone can just come down to the shop, get it all set up in a couple of minutes and go out.

- Well, that's our goal.

We want people to come in to experience something that's brand new as a sport and to experience the amazing underwater world that's out here and so what you're doing today is what we call basic diver.

And it means you're gonna get in the water, you're gonna do a few skills and you're going to just learn to be a safe diver.

- What makes this Blue Heron bridge area such as special spot?

- Yeah, so this area several years ago, it was actually named one of the top shore dives in the whole United States.

- Wow.

- And it's because of the diversity that we have here.

Now let's go ahead and put our mask right on our face.

Okay, so what I'm gonna do is put the regulator in my mouth and let's drop right down to our knees.

So regulators in, hold your deflator up, yeah.

(upbeat music) So what else makes this place in Palm Beach, such an amazing place to dive?

Well, it's so easy to access.

Okay, we don't need to go get on a boat.

We don't need to, you know, climb or walk very far, we park right here, we're able to come right into this amazing area.

(water babbling) People come from all over the country, especially photographers, photographers like to find octopus, seahorse, nudibranch, small sea slugs that are incredible and they can find all of that in one simple dive right here.

So, this is a historical trail that was constructed so all of those artificial reefs like that we have here in Florida, so those reefs are there to attract the fish.

(upbeat music) - Boys we got dinner.

(laughs) See, you already have your bib on looks pretty nice, right?

Fabulous, I'll get the butter.

(laughs) (upbeat music) - Lobsters live in the crevices at the bottom of the sea and they've been part of our menu since prehistoric times, as far back as the ancient Romans, lobsters were already a delicacy.

One reason is that they had to be cooked within two days of coming out of the ocean.

Transporting them inland was expensive, however, during colonial times in America, there were so many lobsters on the shores of new England that they were regularly fed to servants who eventually refused to eat them, to find out how to eat lobsters, both the variety from Florida and the ones from Maine, Nicholas paid a visit to Chef Michael Hackman at his restaurant Aioli.

Michael has been cooking in the Palm Beaches for over 20 Years.

- All right, so we have two beautiful American or Maine lobsters.

- Wow.

- It's a cold water lobster and you'll notice they both, there's two claws on the lobster and then we have our Florida spiny lobster, which does not have claws.

It gets his names from all the spines, the little pokey parts of it.

They have really thick, larger antennas, they have a meatier thicker tail.

- Is there a difference in taste between the two types of lobsters?

- Oh, there's a little different taste, the Maine American lobsters are a little bit sweeter.

The Florida spiny lobster is gonna be a little meatier, a little bit bitter, a little bit saltier.

- So tell me how you prepare them.

- All right, so traditionally you would take the main lobster and boil it, have a lobster boil in boiling water and cook until it's done.

The Florida lobster what we would do is take the tail off and not I cook the body, use that for something else and broil it or grill it.

So we're gonna put it right in the oven and then just roast it off.

- Wow, we've got the lobsters, these look amazing.

So we got to Florida Lobster tail and our Maine whole lobster, should we start with the Maine lobster?

- What you want to do?

You're gonna take the whole thing.

- Yeah.

- And the whole knuckle, these are the knuckles and the claw.

And you're gonna take it, just twist it off like that.

- Okay.

- And then if you take yours again just kind of break it off.

- Yeah.

- So this is our cracker.

So basically you're gonna get into it and it's just gonna help you crack the shell.

- Well, that's practical.

- You wanna take this bottom fin right here, and you're going to kind of work it a little bit.

- There's a whole technique involved.

- Well, there's a whole technique.

- We're not at the eating part yet, right?

- No, we're almost there though.

- Okay, I'm looking forward to it.

- The rest of it, you just kind of break with your hands, - Just pull it open.

- That's gonna come apart and then you got your claw like that and then the best part is you just dip it in butter.

- So dip it in butter, what do we do with the lemons?

Do we put that on it?

- Yeah, we can put lemon, lemon is very good on it.

- Now we'll give it a taste.

- Enjoy.

- Wow, that's really good, yeah.

- That's really good, that butter, the lemon, that's really good.

- I really do like the lemon, it adds a bit of acidity to it.

- Yeah it does, all right now we're gonna go into the tail.

All right then we're going to just spin the tail.

Then you're going to crush it a little bit.

- I see.

- And then we're gonna open it up.

- So that's the same part as the Florida lobster.

- That's the same part as the Florida lobster.

- We should do a comparative testing, do I dip it in butter?

- Yeah, dip it in butter and just go to town.

- Wow.

- So we're going to do a comparison with the Florida.

- What's your non-biased opinion on what you like best.

- I grew up in Florida, this is a recreational sport for us.

So if we catch them, it's fun, I got to go with the Florida.

- And you can catch him around here.

- All right, so I'm going to split this in half for us.

- Okay.

- Right down the middle.

- So here it looks a little crispy, we have the seasoning on it.

- Yep.

- Give this shot, man imma be honest Florida lobsters is way better.

- It was good, right?

- Yeah, I just loved a little bit of seasoning it adds to it perfectly.

- Yeah.

You know what?

The Florida lobsters is also way easier to eat.

You don't have to crack anything, you know, it's just right there for you.

- It's right there.

- Tell me what's for dessert?

- Here, this is for dessert.

(laughs) - It sure is a mess, but it's worth it.

(upbeat music) - The next morning, just before sun up, Nicholas met with Benji, one of my old pals, Benji is the supervisor of the Palm Beach county, Department of Environmental Resource Management, which means his job is protecting the environment.

And one of the techniques he uses to do that, is taking photographs of endangered animals, which illustrate their beauty and importance and the need to protect their environment.

- Today, we're gonna be looking for this really charismatic shorebird species called the American Oyster catcher.

We're out here on the Lake Worth Lagoon here in the Palm Beaches and specifically we're at Snoke islands natural area.

So this is a hundred acres of mangrove restoration, oyster reef, and sea grass habitat.

The public can come here, they can rent kayaks and paddle boards.

They can come paddle this amazing resource.

- So what types of birds are we gonna find on that island?

- Well, hopefully we'll see some of these Oyster catchers, but I see one that just flew in.

It looks like one of those smaller Egrets, maybe a Snowy Egret.

- The white one?

- Yeah, let's go see if we can see any birds kind of tucked in back in that island.

So this is one of these nesting islands that our Oyster catchers nest on.

Now, again, they're not nesting right now, so we know we're not going to disturb them but we're gonna get out on this island and check out this habitat that they rely on.

So let's just get them up and make sure they don't go away on us.

- Yeah, I feel like an Explorer.

(laughs) In uncharted territory.

- It's what I love about adventures man, it's you never know what's around the corner.

So if you look out, you can see there's all these different layers and habitats that we've created.

We've created these higher spoil islands that we top with the shell material.

- Did that to attract wildlife?

- So specifically some of these shorebirds, these birds will come in and they'll just, they'll find a spot in this shell, kinda like right here, right?

They'll move this aside and they'll kind of create this little cup, this little depression, right in the sand and shell.

- And they lay their eggs there?

- And that's their nest.

- Wow.

- That's it, so if you come upon a bird, we are ready to shoot but as soon as you see that target, you wanna get one foot in front of the other.

So you get your stable base and then you're ready to go.

- Then shoot.

- All right, so Nico, we're a little closer.

So we thought this was an Osprey, this is a vulture though, but still a really cool bird, got a bad rap, but let's see if we can get a shot of him up in the tree there.

- All right, let's do this.

(camera clicks) - All right and he just took off, it kind of worked out because that's the action that we really want with wildlife photography is a portrait of a bird is cool, but it doesn't really tell the story, right?

So you want that movement.

- Yeah.

- So let's see what you got, all right.

I think that looks pretty nice and so, you see that one frame there where it's taking off and its wings are up, that's the one, right?

That's the one that, so of all those photos in that burst, that frame with it taking off and the wings up.

- That looks really cool.

- That's what tells the story and that's what wildlife photography is all about and you nailed it there.

- That's pretty good for first time, - Let's go find some of these Oyster catchers all right?

- Let's do it.

- All right.

- Look at that bird over there.

This is what we were looking for, these birds are resting right now 'cause the tide's up.

- Do we have to be quiet?

- Yeah, so we want to be pretty quiet.

Right there, one of them is doing this display.

So this is a Juvenile bird.

(camera clicks) - I see why everyone wants to shoot these birds.

- Yeah, yeah.

- They are beautiful.

(camera clicks) - The bird on the right, is one of these birds of the year.

So that's a bird that just fledged out this year, probably from one of our sites here in Lake Worth Lagoon, well, we found our bird.

- Yeah, we sure did, thank you.

(laughs) Thank you.

Awesome man, let's get back to shore.

- Let's do it.

(upbeat music) - Next was Nicholas learning how to surf fish.

- I tell you what, this looks pretty good right here.

- Surf fishing takes place on almost every salt water beach in the world.

You stand at the shoreline with a fishing pole and cast the line with its hook and bait far enough out to attract a particular type of fish, you're trying to catch.

You don't cast the line out very far, just past the surf.

- I think we're fishing for Pompano today, Florida Pompano.

They are migratory fish and they are... - And Nicholas is learning about surf fishing with Paul Sperco known as Captain Paul, he's one of the best surf fishing guys in the Southeastern United States and if you'd like to have a memorable surf fishing experience, he's your man.

- What we use, we use a two hook rig, so these are our baits here.

It's an artificially scented bait that has different colors and when the water is a little off color, like it is today, I like to use a brighter color bait because it's more of a fish attractor.

- So these are gonna work better than a live bait?

- In certain cases, they will yes.

- So tell me, how do I cast this?

- What you're gonna do, you're gonna use your right hand to hold the line for the release.

- Right here?

- That's perfect and then what we're gonna do with your left hand, we're going to hold the bottom of the butt of the pole all the way down there, that's it and we're gonna flip the bail, but we're going to keep the line tight as it comes off the reel, the rod, the tip of the rod will act like a fulcrum and out it'll go.

- So technique is really key with this.

- Probably the most difficult to learn, I always say, catching them is not as hard as finding them and getting to them.

- Let's go out there and give it a shot.

- Sounds great Nico.

- So how far out are they today?

- They've been holding about 70 to 90 yards out swimming north and south in that second trough, so that's where we need to place these two baits this morning.

(upbeat music) - It feels tight, I hope it's a fish, might get lucky, first time.

- Turn that handle.

- I think I see something.

- You got something on there Nico.

- All right, what's this a Pompano?

It doesn't look like one.

- You got two, you got a doubleheader, you actually got a Whiting on the top and a catfish at the bottom.

- Beginner's luck, I'm guessing it's not like this every time right?

- No.

- At least we caught something, right?

- Yeah, definitely got something.

They are going back, everyone goes back, we don't, we don't keep them.

(upbeat music) - Fishing sure isn't the relaxing sport I was led to believe.

(upbeat music) This sure is my kind of fishing.

(upbeat music) - Okay Nico that's enough relaxing, let's check the rods.

- Okay, fair enough, let's go do this.

(upbeat music) - Nico, got a bite.

- All right.

Let's reel this baby in.

(upbeat music) - Little Jack.

- Time to let him back out, time to let him go.

Your first cast you threw out, you got a doubleheader fish so... - Thanks to you and your experience.

- I mean that's great.

- I wouldn't have been able to do it by myself to be fair.

- That's good, you did a good job.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - Bootleg Greg was born in Jamaica where he learned about the medicinal benefits of plants and herbs.

That knowledge led to his becoming a famous bartender in Montego bay.

Eventually he moved to the Palm Beaches of Florida and opened the Bootleg Greg Cocktail Company.

(upbeat music) The word Bootleg was originally used in reference to American pioneers who kept homemade whiskey in the top of their boots.

During the 1920s, it came to describe the makers and distributors of illegal alcohol.

Greg developed a special drink for Nicholas, which he calls a Palm Beach Flagler.

- So show us what you are making here today.

- I think for you, we're gonna call yours the Flagler Jr, what do you think?

- All right, a non-alcoholic version.

I'm in.

- A non-alcoholic version absolutely, the key to drinking and drinking well is using the best ingredients possible, right?

So we're going to be using Glendalough, is the Irish botanical gin.

So this is something that I think Henry Flagler will be drinking in the 1920s and it's perfectly fitting for him.

So we're going to muddle some fresh raspberries, all right?

And the raspberries are going to be in here for color, a little bit of flavor, then we're gonna add our sugar, right, only good sugars.

So you're gonna get all those tropical flavors from the pineapple and then we're going to muddle those out.

- What's that?

- So these are fresh mint leaves grown in our garden, and this is gonna add a little more color and a lot of herbaceousness to this cocktail.

So we're gonna add our ice, right?

And since gin is your dad's favorite cocktail we're going to give him a nice, healthy pour.

So this is homemade naturally flavored Kombucha.

- You have to explain to me what that is.

- So Kombucha is a naturally fermented beverage usually starts out with a brew of black or green tea, I let this naturally ferment and then we take that and we added to more tea and flavor, and then we let it brew, it's a process, right?

- Wait, didn't you say that was fermented.

- It is.

- So I'm not supposed to have it, right?

- Yes you can, so the way fermentation works, as far as alcohol, the longer it ferments, the more the alcohol content.

So when we test this, this was 0.01% alcohol.

So you're perfectly fine I'm gonna stir that.

Bring all those flavors together, there's a nice, healthy level of carbonation in here.

(slaps) - Take that!

- There you go, we call that waking the mint, right?

There's all these natural oils and flavors and aromas in the mint.

For instance, hold your hand out.

- You wanna take it?

- The back of your hand?

All right, now smell this.

Smell that?

All right.

(slaps) Smell that.

- Wow.

- You smell the difference?

And then we just going to finish our cocktail a few more.

Look at the colors on that.

- Yeah, looks great.

- And here we have it, we have the Flagler, we have the Flagler junior.

- All right.

- All right, cheers.

- Thank you.

- Here's to the new drink.

- What do we think?

It's quite wonderful.

- Wow.

- Is it worthy of Mr. Flagler himself?

(laughs) - It sure is.

Good drink, well watch out there dad.

- Okay.

- All right.

- Look, it's Elvis.

- He's not over there, he must be over there.

(upbeat music) We also stopped by the Armory Art Center to learn about Chinese brush painting.

Housed in a historic art deco building, in West Palm Beach.

the Armory Art Center offers instruction, exhibitions and lectures related to the visual arts.

They have classes in over a hundred subjects, including ceramics, drawing, jewelry, painting, printmaking and wood turning.

- You see the stroke, you see the brush move.

- Today's class was Chinese brush painting, It's taught by master artist Ying zhou, she calls her tools Zen brushes, because each brush is unique and creates a different line or image.

She says the secret of Chinese brush painting is to relax and allow your energy to be directed down through the length of the brush.

Got it, Nicholas had a class in Chinese brush painting when we were in China, so he decided to skip this class and go practice his chopstick skills at a nearby Chinese restaurant.

(audience claps) Great thing about this is if you speak Mandarin, you realize it says no parking.

- No parking (chuckles).

- So that's what I learned in the Palm Beaches of Florida, surf fishing, scuba diving, cooking and eating a lobster, taking photographs that inspire the protection of endangered animals and making a new drink.

Please join us next time when they teach us something new in the Swiss Alps, I'm Nicholas Wolf.

- And while Nicholas was learning all those new things, I was perfecting my relaxation skills in a quiet place.

- Camera rolling sound rolling and action Burt.

- Yeah, good luck that.

Anyway, that's Travels & Traditions from the Palm beaches of Florida.

I hope you'll join us next time right here on your local public broadcasting station, I'm Burt Wolf.

If you'd like to see this program again, or any of the hundreds of programs we've made for our public broadcasting stations, visit BurtWolf.com or the Burt Wolf YouTube channel.

One of the reasons I'm in Florida is I have an appointment with the NASA headquarters, a while back they discovered that the bald spot in the back of my head was opening up at the same rate as the hole in the ozone layer and now recently they found out that my hairline is receding at the same rate as the Arctic ice cap.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Travels and Traditions with Burt Wolf is brought to you by PeakNutritionLabs.com A team of international researchers working on the development nutritional suppliments for improving health and longevity.

PeakNutritionLabs.com And by Swiss International Airlines.

Flying to over 70 worldwide locations.

Truly Swiss made.

Swiss International Airlines.

And by the BMW European Delivery Program, a way to experience the roads BMW was made to drive.

BMW European Delivery Program.

(instrumental music)