Michael Palin in Venezuela
Duration: 3 x 45'
Play Trailer Play Screener Contact Sales Collection: Michael PalinThis latest epic journey, sees Michael Palin travel to the often troubled, but little explored Venezuela, a huge and once oil rich country that has been called the most dangerous in South America.
Under authoritarian rule, financially in meltdown and facing massive social challenges from this economic collapse. But it is also one of the most beautiful places in the world where visitors are few and awe inspiring regions remain unexplored.
When Michael arrives, Venezuela is still reeling from the controversial re-election of Nicolás Maduro as President, a man whose style is often more showbiz or self-styled superhero than presidential. Economic turmoil has led eight million people to flee the country in the last ten years. But Venezuela also has the longest Caribbean coast, the world’s tallest waterfall and the Andes mountains; it should be on every traveller’s wish list. From Caracas to the Amazon rainforest and the Caribbean Sea, Michael embarks on a thrilling, if sometimes risky, adventure into a dystopian Paradise.
Episode 1:
Michael lands in Caracas, which has been called the most deadly city in the world. Despite security concerns, he decides to visit Petare, the biggest and arguably the most dangerous slum in South America. Entry to the area is risky, but the extraordinary sight of thousands of homes built one on top of the other for its half a million residents is unique. With little official law enforcement, Petare is not an easy place to live and those who have fled in the last decade have often made heartbreaking decisions. In a tenement Michael meets a woman who is looking after her three year old nephew, a boy who has not seen his Mother in years.
But Michael also discovers there is a still a wealthy elite in Caracas when he visits the stunning mountain top Humboldt Hotel, a fantasy of opulence and style, before a Valentine’s night dinner in downtown Caracas with Valentina Quintero – one of the country’s most celebrated entertainers and writers. He also catches President Maduro’s weekly tv show with dancers and relentless optimism.
Michael then flies to the Amazon rainforest, and on board the plane finds a baffling superhero comic featuring President Maduro himself – in his cartoon guise as ‘Super Bigote” or Super Moustache.
On arriving at Canaima lagoon and it’s amazing waterfalls, Michael at 81 years old, decides to walk inside the deluge and behind the waterfall itself.
Having lunch with a family from the indigenous Pemon people, including a somewhat crunchy palm tree worm, Michael discovers how illegal gold mining is becoming a huge environmental problem in Venezuela and decides to visit one for himself, to see the destruction it causes.
At the end of this episode, Michael travels by Helicopter to see the ancient Tepuis rock formations and Angel Falls, the world’s tallest waterfall. Wanting to get a closer look, the helicopter manages to land in the middle of Angel Falls itself on a tiny precipice and Michael gets a unique view of this one-kilometre-high huge column of water falling above him. Venezuela is indeed a beautiful country but there is a darker side, and as he looks ahead to the next stage of his journey, Michael feels distinctly uneasy.
Episode 2:
Michael starts the second leg of his epic journey into Venezuela by flying to a stunningly beautiful cluster of coral islands in the Caribbean Sea called Los Roques. Meeting local, Germán Olavarría, Michael is taken on a journey across the stunning archipelago with azure seas. It’s a hidden paradise and Michael sees first hand how Venezuela's unstable political situation has devastated the area’s tourism industry and kept the country’s beauty a secret. Most countries now tell their citizens not to travel to Venezuela as it’s so high risk, so Michael is baffled when he sees the construction of new hotels on the main island...so who is coming here?
Back on the mainland, Michael embarks on a 1000-mile road trip into the heart of Venezuela. His first stop is a huge rum distillery in Aragua state, the home of the notorious Tren D’Aragua gang. Alberto Vollmer, the owner of Santa Teresa rum has a unique way of tackling the gang culture, as a coachload of prisoners (many of them murderers) from a nearby jail arrive, to play a game of…rugby! Named 'Project Alcatraz’ the hard knocks of rugby seems to be bonding these killers, and giving them new hope.
The next day, Michael arrives in Sabaneta, the hometown of Hugo Chavez, the radical socialist President of Venezuela, who died in 2013. Arriving in the town square, Michael tries to get permission to film a statue of Chavez, but then a group of heavily armed officers from SEBIN, the country’s feared intelligence service arrive. The crew and Michael are detained and things get very serious. Detained for seven hours with their passports confiscated, Michael and the team are finally released, but he fears they will now be monitored for the rest of the journey.
The next morning, Michael wakes up in Los Llanos, the agricultural heartland of Venezuela. The park ranger Armando Machado and Michael have a challenging job - releasing a wild 10 foot-long Anaconda back into the wild, before a highly tense encounter with an endangered Venezuelan crocodile.
Driving high into the Andes on a terrifying road that just about hugs the mountain, Michael arrives in the colonial town of Merida. There, local activists, bravely talking in secret explain the challenges of living in a country where civil liberties are constantly being eroded.
Finally, Michael embarks on a journey up the tallest cable car in the world, towards the Pico Bolivar, which rises almost three miles above sea level. The views are spectacular and it’s time to look forward to the final leg of this epic journey.
Episode 3:
Michael starts the final leg of his epic adventure across Venezuela, as he enters Zulia state. Next to the border with Colombia, it is on the UK Foreign Office no visit ‘red zone’ list and one of the most dangerous parts of the country, with a history of violence, gang warfare and a recent mass exodus of people - leaving areas like ghost cities.
Michael then embarks on a three-hour boat journey across Lake Maracaibo to a remote fishing village called Ologa. It is the best place to see the famous Catatumbo lightning, but as soon as he arrives Michael discovers the village has been invaded by thousands of toxic moths and he has to leave immediately. He ends up spending the night in a hammock, on a rickety concrete viewing platform on the lake. He finally sees the lightning, alone, from afar, but only when he gets up to use the loo at 3am, after a feast of fresh crab and a few beers!
The next day, Michael returns to Maracaibo city, once the centre of Venezuela’s oil production and city of hope. But while Maracaibo used to be the richest place in Venezuela, much of it is now boarded up, thanks to the collapse of the country’s economy. Away from the forbidding streets, exploring Maracaibo's historic centre, Michael finds a livelier side to the city and meets María Peinado. Venezuela is obsessed with a unique idea of feminine beauty which means beauty contests are big business. María was a finalist in the much coveted ‘Miss Venezuela’ pageant, but literally fell at the last hurdle. Being an indigenous woman of the region they explore what ethnic identity means in South America.
But Michael has also heard that Venezuela produces the best chocolate in the world and risks a violently bumpy boat journey to the Caribbean coastal town of Chuao. Here Venezuela feels just like the Caribbean and cacao trees and a secret recipe produce the chocolate he’s heard so much about, and it doesn’t disappoint. Later, deep into the night, Chuao really comes to life as the Carnival hits town.
The series ends as Michael returns to the capital Caracas for a government sponsored Carnival parade - there’s guns and soldiers alongside the partying. An endless stream of morotorised floats pass by, and organised chaos begins. And it gives Michael the chance to reflect on Venezuela, a country so beautiful and a people with such spirit. Even with all the challenges of an authoritarian state, Venezuela remains one of the great unseen wonders of the world.
For Channel 5
