Travels With Palin

Full Circle: Peru/Colombia (4x9)

: 02, 1997

Palin and his guide approach a Machiguenga village where the feast of St. John the Baptist is going on. Palin observes a men's and women's intervilage football matches. Then he samples a drink made from the yucca plant. Back on the Urubamba, Palin eventually makes it to the northern town of Iquitos. Here, there is a barrio that contains many shops. Palin visits one where a lady is making cigarettes. He then takes his first puff of a cigarette in a long while. After a little wait, Palin realizes a dream by catching a boat on to the Amazon River. Bogotá, Colombia, is as Palin put it, "trading one jungle for another." With a guide, he discovers why the Colombian capital is one of the most dangerous places on earth. He learns that most of the trouble stems from the drug trafficking in the country. He then travels down Bullet Street, arguably the most violent street in the city. Here, rocks are thrown at the car Palin and his guide are traveling in. He then offers to take him to lunch; however, his guide declines, stating that the restaurant he is going to is owned by the father of a notorious drug trafficker. Palin, however, continues, and is granted an interview (Spanish) of the restaurant owner, Don Fabio. Continuing north, he visits an emerald mine and some of the workers there. Then, it is on to Cartagena, where he hops on a party bus, celebrating the end of his nine weeks on the South American continent.