i first came to k-town in the middle of the night to discover a strange and fabulous and delicious slice of america i had never known was there, but i'm trying to figure it out. this is a good place to both experience fantasy and reality. ♪ the air, explosives and food? you can't beat that. ♪ muy gracias.

you stand here in the street, and random strangers bring you delicious foods. great country. ♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ ♪ colombia, ordinarily and for all too many years, when this

country makes the news or appears in a film or television drama, it's not for its looks -- which are, i should say right up front, spectacular. it's not for its people who are, everyone i've ever met anyway, warm, proud, generous and fun. or for its food, which is truly great. i don't know what this is, but it's good. food in this country is excellent. ♪ i'm no stranger to this place. generally speaking, it's a particularly vibrant mix of spanish, european, afro-caribbean, and indigenous people. these are deep waters, my friends, that no news story or episode of "miami vice" has ever come close to navigating. it is and always has been a fiercely, fiercely proud country, and its people yearn to see international coverage of something other than cocaine and

violence, but that isn't a legacy that's easy to ignore. its decades of civil unrest have left vast swaths of colombia relatively unknown, even to its own citizens. to reach a place previously considered a no-go area, i'll fly out of an airport in villavicencio 45 miles southeast of the capital city of bogota. on first inspection, this is an airplane bone yard, where unwanted props from "romancing the stone" corrode artfully. but in reality, this sleepy hangar is an important gateway to the more impenetrable parts of the country. the remote settlements in the amazon basin are cut off from the country, with neither rail nor roads connecting them. there are only two ways in, either boat for several days down river, or aboard a jungle

bus, which is what locals call the world war ii era dc-3. i've flown worse. i've been brought here by pablo mora, a teacher at medellin university and a particular enthusiast for this classic of golden age of aviation. you've taken this flight before? >> yes, every chance i have. i fly one. it's a romantic thing. >> he sees the work that these hulking great airships and their pilots do, as daredevil humanitarian missions for the more remote colombians. >> they have an in-flight movie? >> no, nor first class either. >> what? >> no, no. >> the planes travel with their own mechanic to cobble together anything that might go wrong. and stuff can go wrong. the risk is we'll be able to land but not take off again, so this guy is our return ticket

out of the jungle. ♪ our captain is joaquin san clemente, something of a legend in these parts, and his co-pilot is captain costanza reyes. >> it's mystical. you know, and they develop this sensibility with the plane. there's no intel in sight here, there's no software. they have gps, but that's about it. it's beautiful, you know, they have to sense everything. they know when the sound of the plane is not right. it's just man and machine. >> the weather is the big unknown around here. it's changeable enough to ground planes in remote places if they hang around for too long.

we have to make one stop on the way to pick up more cargo. vital cargo, by the way. ♪ the land we're passing over is beautiful and lush, but the life for those below has been anything but. >> colombia seems to be trapped in a vicious circle. >> farc has used the territory as a haven for kidnapping. >> until recently most of the news coming out of this part of colombia was not good. it was a front line in the war on drugs, for lack of a better term, and colombia's long struggle with the farc, a marxist guerrilla force financed

by drug trafficking, kidnapping and covert assistance from venezuela. 50 years of very dirty war. the stakes not about drugs per se, but about the ability of ordinary colombians to live without fear. we land in the jungle outpost of milaflores in the southern province in the amazonian forest reserve. the heavy presence of army and special police is a result of its strategic location and recent history as a one-time center of coca production. farmers here would grow the stuff and make leaves into paste. traffickers would come and buy it. the farc had this area under its sphere of influence for years. nine years ago, the government moved to expel the farc, the traffickers and any paramilitaries, with apparently

much success. overnight, however, its population shrank by 85%. and what remains struggles to survive. so the people here, you're telling me either were born here or -- >> most of the people came from elsewhere. in the beginning in the 1950s and '60s they were -- they were escaping from the violence, from the political violence between the two parties in colombia. >> so if you were having problems in the city or wherever you were from, you came out here? >> yeah. >> so what did you do for a living out here? >> cattle and some agriculture, and after that the drug trade began and everything with the coca plantations. >> this climate is good for it?

>> yeah, it's very good. since 1999, there were no police or army force here, so it was just occupied by the farc. and then by the farmers who tried to -- but that's when the real violence began. >> so really the problems in this country pre-existed the drug trade? >> what we say here is the drug trade just made everything more. there's no judge here. there's few institutions here. >> right. >> basically you know the state is here just because the army is here. so i think you're going to meet the major. anthony, this is the major. >> julio cesar gonzalez is the current mayor of milaflores, which has seen much better and much worse days. >> how many people live in this town? >> there's around 1,500 to 2,000 in the municipality. the farc were here for 20 years, and they were the central authority here.

>> you're running a farm growing plantains and not much else. not even particularly well, not particularly happy with the government, somebody comes along and offers you a nice machine gun and a cool scarf, especially if you're 15, 16 years old. >> yeah. >> that's a pretty attractive option. >> of course, it is. >> even if they say you'll probably be dead by 25. >> it is, and they offer you a salary. >> what is the future of this town? [ speaking foreign language ] >> they're providing free education, and there's a lot of potential in biodiversity and ecotourism as well. >> what a lot of people say, without the customer, there's no cocaine trade and there's no violence, right? so if the united states and europe stopped buying cocaine? >> that's so impossible that i can't think about it if the situation where the demand is not going to be there.

>> but demand in the states is down 40%. >> as long as there's a market, there will be people ready to do it. >> the united states spends how many billions of dollars a year, paying for guns and uniforms, training, et cetera. where should they be spending it? >> i would say the health is very important, but more important is to end the war on drugs. it just doesn't work. >> here's my problem. if crack didn't exist, i would have no -- i would absolutely agree with you, but as a former coke addict and as a former crackhead, that is a problem. >> the thing is that people think if you think that drugs should be legalized, you're saying that they're good. no, we're not saying that. we're just getting rid of one problem. the problem that the major has here. >> you're freeing up a lot of money you could divert? i'm with you, i agree. >> yes, we have two problems. one did -- one is drug addiction and the other is drug trafficking. we can get rid of one. we're not going to get rid of the other. we have to deal with it forever.

>> it's a beautiful country, the people here are -- from what i've even sbn nice, even the bad guys, charming. >> that is true. >> the food is delicious. the problem is the united states will never legalize drugs. it will never happen. complicated issues. >> yeah, yeah. >> so the good people of this town could thank us for bringing in their fresh supply of coca. >> yeah. yeah. >> cerveza, coca. gentlemen, it was really our pleasure. ♪ ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. >> i never thought... >> never thought in a million years... >> ...it would happen to me. >> i was always careful. >> identity theft was never on my radar. >> identity theft can happen to anyone. >> you are vulnerable. >> if you're using one of these, your information is even more vulnerable. >> i thought my credit card company would protect me. >> i was wrong. >> it's a common misperception:

people think that credit card companies with their credit card fraud protection protect you from all identity theft. the truth is they don't. credit card fraud protection only protects your individual credit card accounts, not your identity. >> announcer: every time you pull out your wallet, you give thieves a chance to steal your identity. simply buying groceries, eating out or even just shopping online can make you a victim. and identity theft can cost you more than you realize. your bank accounts could be drained, you could lose your ability to get credit, you could even lose your home. >> the identity theft really turned my whole life upside down. >> i didn't know where to start or what to do or how to take care of all this. >> you need to take precautions to make sure that your identity is safe. >> that's why you need lifelock. lifelock offers the most comprehensive identity theft protection available, monitoring billions of data points to help stop identity thieves before they strike. and with lifelock 24/7 proactive protection, you're alerted by text, phone or email as soon as

they detect suspicious activity in their network-- before it's too late. >> you have to be proactive to protect yourself from crime. and that's especially true of identity theft. that's why i'm a member of lifelock. >> announcer: absolutely no one can protect you better than lifelock. [♪...] order now and get this document shredder, a $29 value, free. protect yourself now with lifelock. [click click, ♪...] çñ

bogota, the country's capital and an almost two-mile-high city with new lofty food ambitions, where previously, a restaurant scene didn't really exist. now, young restaurateurs such as musician turned chef tomas rueda are beginning to make a name for themselves in colombia.

>> this is one of the biggest markets in bogota. i love this place. it's very beautiful. the colors. my mom comes here to buy flowers, my grandma also. >> did i mention that this city is over 8,000 feet up? hence the altitude sickness i'm feeling. not good. tomas comes here a few times a week for an early breakfast, which i'm hoping will make me feel better. paloquemao market has been in running in one form or another since the 1940s. this place is huge. >> you want some juice? >> yeah. what do you have? >> i love the orange juice with a carrot. >> it's probably the healthiest thing i've had in awhile.

>> good for the high altitude. >> yeah. >> this is better? >> i'm feeling better every hour. >> yeah. >> the first hour is killing me. >> but you have a better face. >> i didn't think i was going to make it out of the airport. >> most of the mornings, early in the mornings, 5:00 to 6:00 in the morning, i climb the mountain. >> why? >> fresh air. >> okay. >> you have to come with me. >> hell no! ain't happening. >> you want to taste some arepa? arepa is made with corn. ola. [ speaking foreign language ] it's fantastic, i love it. >> tucked away in a back corner of the fish market is a place that serves breakfast to the market's workers and shoppers. we're talking beef short ribs simmered in an oily broth with potatoes, salt and scallions.

tomas swears by this stuff, a traditional breakfast soup from the andean region. >> okay. gracias. >> would you like chile? >> i do. >> gracias. [ speaking foreign language ] >> now we're talking. >> this is perfect. when you have a good party last night. >> i was just going to say, this is hangover food. >> perfect. >> i know hangover food well, and this is good. there's a nice hunk of meat in there. >> yeah. >> good broth. >> yes. >> the stock is good. what's this dish called? >> beef stock. calde de -- >> rib broth. >> yeah, it's a rib with potatoes, of course. everything with potatoes. [ speaking foreign language ] >> very good spanish.

>> i don't speak spanish. i speak a little mexican. ♪ ♪ bogota. back in the '90s, a very dangerous and violent place to be. today, not so much. today in my repeated experiences here, kind of awesome. the candelaria is a recently renovated old city where i meet up with hecker abad, distinguished author and one of the most distinguished writers and one of the most supremely

talented writers in latin america. his recent work is about his father, called "oblivion," who was killed for his outspoken attempts to change things for the better. so, first of all, where are we? >> puerta falsa. this is a place where many bogotans come to eat something in the middle of the morning or in the middle of the afternoon. >> the ta ma lees here are made with chicken and pork belly combined with vegetables, rice and masa, wrapped in a banana leaf, and slow cooked for hours. this place has been serving chocolate completo to the politicians of the nearby plaza bolivar for a couple hundred years. >> here are the tamales. >> it's beautiful. slug it is a thing of beauty, isn't it? >> let's see if it is like my mother's. >> oh, well, that's a high standard. >> i suppose it is not. >> i was just in milaflores yesterday. what economy there was, was entirely drug-based economy. now that the drugs are gone, there is no economy. it's a ghost town, a military

and people sitting there staring at the space waiting for the beer to arrive, best i can understand. tell me something hopeful. >> i think we are becoming more and more conscious that this past decades of violence have been absolutely useless, and that we have to change many, many, many things. >> um-hmm. >> and so -- i think -- it's not as good as my mother's. i'm sorry. >> well, it never is. if you removed cocaine from the equation, if you remove the drug trade as a an financial engine, you would still have serious divisions over ideology here. is that improving? >> things are changing in a good direction, but very slowly, i think. you know, ten years ago in medellin, they killed 7,500

people every year. and three years ago, this number came to 700 people killed in medellin in the year. so the situation changed. >> right. >> i have only questions, i have no answers. i'm so sorry. if i were the president, i really i -- i don't know what -- >> you wouldn't know what to do? >> no, i wouldn't. >> to suggest that a nation should expand its social services, do its best to lift people out of poverty, to provide medical care for everyone, as you well know, that may be, in the minds of many, as the savior of the country. are those as potentially dangerous ideas as they used to be? >> well, 25 years ago my father was killed just because he was asking for these basic things like clean water, a glass of

milk, and an arepa for every child. that was -- we still don't have that, and we need that. now we in colombia, maybe we are trying. i think there are some people here even in the government who are working for that. ♪

♪ bogota is the largest city in colombia and the economic heart of the country. about a fifth of the population lives here. many of them very well, but some not so well. it's a city with a marked north/south divide. chef tomas rueda's restaurants sit side by side in the macarena neighborhood where the city center meets the north. ♪ >> the lunch tomas is serving us here at tabula is defined by high quality fundamentals than by high concept theories. if there's a theme here, it's that ingredients this good, meticulously prepared, are the

essence of great eating. it's a beautiful space. so how's the restaurant business in bogota? >> it's a very good business. a lot of people with money, they don't know how to cook. >> nobody cooks at home. maybe their cook does. they eat out a lot? >> yeah, it's a new part of our culture. everybody wants to go to restaurants. >> so 10 years ago, 15 years ago, what, traditional casual food? >> yeah. >> a few fine dining, you know, white tablecloths, serving french, continental or italian? but this is new. >> it's a new business, a new world. there's two great bodies of colombia food, the mixture of the culture, yeah. >> right. >> black people, indian people, white people. that mixture is beautiful. the other one is all of this region of the mountains, the valleys, the rain forests, the sea, we are like a big farm, a

beautiful farm to send all these products to the world. i believe more in a beautiful carrot than a great recipe, yeah? >> right. >> this one is the crab salad. >> right. >> this one is handmade pasta. >> thin sheets of handmade pasta are filled with ladna cheese, and finished with a chorizo sauce. >> you used to be in a band. you used to be a musician? >> yeah, i'm still. >> still? so happened, man? how did you go from music to restaurants? >> rock 'n' roll don't give me money. >> this is good. >> really good. >> business is good. generally speaking, the only worse idea that i think i'll try to make a living making music, is i think i'll make a living by opening a restaurant. i see why that's so popular. good stuff. >> thank you, tony.

>> tomas' take on osso bucco uses beef shank instead of veal which is braised over vegetables and broth in a wood-fired oven. >> whoa, it's huge. yes. oh, yeah. >> you don't need a knife, only with the spoon. >> you're right. >> do you cure this first in salt? >> no. >> dry it? salt it? >> no. >> just fresh? >> yes. >> delicious. you would never get this off your menu. you'll have to keep this on your menu forever, right. >> >> forever. the best part.

>> mama didn't raise no fool. ♪ >> santiago de cali or just cali as everybody calls it in these parts is a city in the southwest of colombia known for its proximity to the pacific coast and its semi tropical temperatures. but i'm not really here for the climate. i'm here for tejo. ♪ it involves alcohol and explosives. colombian mario gallino, ex-pat will holland and their band mates, are to be my guide for this ancient and traditional colombian sport. how do you play this game?

i guess that's how it's done. what do you call this object? >> el tejo. >> hence the name. >> exactly. tejo. >> i should be good at this. i've been throwing pots into the dish sink from across the room for years. >> you win more points if you get it in the middle without hitting anything. >> oh. but that doesn't sound like any fun. >> everyone has a different style it seems. you've got to do like one step and then another and then swing. >> i don't think that style is going to work for me. after some early success, it turns out we all pretty much suck at this. not enough beer. that's my problem. time to bring in some outside muscle.

>> we're going to mix in now the experts. [ speaking foreign language ] >> who am i with? i'm over here with these guys. whoa. [ speaking foreign language ] >> is he on my team? >> holy crap, two in a row? this is dismaying. no, one of those guys had to be on my team, right? >> the guy in the white striped shirt. his name is el pollo viejo, which is -- >> the old chicken. >> the old chick condition, yeah. >> i need a poultry name. he's calling himself the old chicken. i should be the enormous cock! the chicken dude is killing it.

yeah, he's -- every time. ♪ >> must beat the chicken. that's what i'm talking about. but i wanted something to blow up. tejo is hungry work, but the kitchen here is up to the challenge, making a colombian piccata. this is a huge selection of fried pork, pork rib, steak, casava, potatoes and deep-fried plantain. i smell food. oh, thank you. oh, that's good. a beer, explosives and food? can't beat that. yes. nice.

♪ yes! ♪ i wake up in the morning with no back pain. i can adjust it if i need to...if my back's a little more sore. and by the time i get up in the morning, i feel great! if you have back pain, toss and turn at night or wake up tired with no energy, the sleep number bed could be your solution. the sleep number bed's secret is it's air chambers which provide ideal support and put you in control of the firmness. and the bed is perfect for couples because each side adjusts independently to their unique sleep number. here's what clinical research has found: 93% of participants experienced back-pain relief 90% reported reduced aches and pains 87% fell asleep faster and enjoyed more deep sleep.

for study summaries, call this number now. we'll include a free dvd and brochure about the sleep number bed including prices, and models plus a free $50 savings card. and how about this? steel springs can cause uncomfortable pressure points. but the sleep number bed contours to your body. imagine how good you'll feel when your muscles relax and you fall into a deep sleep! i'm not just a back surgeon, i'm also a back patient. i sleep on the sleep number bed myself and i highly recommend it to all of my patients. need another reason to call? the sleep number bed costs about the same as an innerspring but lasts twice as long. so if you want to sleep better or find relief for your bad back, call now. call the number on your screen for your free information kit with dvd, brochure and price list. call right now and you'll also receive a $50 savings card just for inquiring about the sleep number bed. ask about our risk-free 100-night in-home trial.

call now for your free information kit and a free $50 savings card. call now!

♪ if bogota is colombia's financial heart, cali is the shaking hips. people here like their music. ♪ my tejo buddies mario and will are the founders of a collective called on the tropica. their idea was to reinterpret the tropical music heritage of colombia. what often sounds like salsa in style is actually cumbia. ♪ if there's one type of music that can be classified as distinctly colombian, this is it.

♪ cumbia draws on the mix of the african, an indigenous european mix. of the country, so will and mario create the something a long way from the pop music that's a staple here. they brought together musicians who had been famous in the scenes in the '50s and '60s, and matched them up with younger counterparts. as if the impressive amount of fried meat we ate at the tejo courts wasn't enough, we go for dinner at one of the band's favorite spots. >> the recording we made for three weeks in medellin, had four musicians, so sort of a big ensemble, and there were musicians from, i think the youngest was 25 and maybe the oldest was 82. >> old school and new school mix? is that oversimplify indication? >> the idea so we can meet not only doing music, but also

exchanging lots of information about how music was made, how music was recorded, what was the spirit of the music. >> so that's the idea, it's to get back to the roots. >> first up, the cali version of ceviche. cooked shrimp slathered in mayonnaise, ketchup, and worcestershire sauce, essentially a '70s shimp cocktail. native here in the pacific coast, it's a staple used in everything from tamales to stews. so it's rice and like coveragea. >> the mollusk. >> it's not a clam. >> it's like a rock mull lusk pretty much. >> mmm, it's delicious. wow. ♪ >> so this is like palau, very pacific pago rojo, red snapper.

>> mm-hmm. >> steamed shrimp. >> very cool. >> and some nice green tomatoes. >> you always find them everywhere. >> it's. >> plantain. >> with all of this food, you have to accompany it with ceviche. >> yeah, i'm learning that. >> it's the best way. >> homemade. >> i'm learning that. >> it's the best way to handle this. >> cane sugar. >> like homemade fire water. >> what are your favorite places in colombia? >> colombia is like five countries in one. when you come to colombia, you definitely have to go to some pacifico experience, either cali or go straight to the coast. you have to have a caribbean are or atlantic experience. you have definitely to have a mountain experience like medellin or bow go ta, and the other would be to go to the amazon, like the jungle. >> i'm planning a vacation. should i come to colombia?

should i come to cali? >> most definitely. you will find great music, great partying, great food, beautiful views, beautiful nature around. >> yeah, yeah, look, the country is beautiful, we know this. okay? but most americans, they're afraid to come. is colombia any more dangerous for a tourist than rio or puerto rico? >> south central? >> i mean, my impression is no. when you go to rio, you don't wear a big watch. you don't wear an expensive suit. you don't behave like an idiot, and life is going to be good. >> maybe i've been lucky, but i've never been mugged or kidnapped or robbed. most people will tell you we had an amazing time. we heard some great music, met some beautiful girls or guys. we drank some great drinks, hung out and we went to the beach and it was great and we want to come back, you know? >> i mean, there's a lot of heart here.

people feel very, very deeply about things. it's the most welcoming country in latin america that i've been. >> salud, salud, salud. to your. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®.

for full strength sun protection. u

♪ i leave the subtropics for more extreme climates. riohacha is a city 600 miles northeast of cali on columbia's caribbean sea. it borders venezuela in the east. it's home to the natives called the wayuu. the wayuu are a tough tribe who's never taken sides with either the government ork the farc, or the pair rare militaries. as a result, they remain independent politically and live pretty much by their own code. i'm meeting juan pablo majorca,

a chef from bow go they'll comes to had this spot on a regular basis. >> this it is not columbia. it's a very different part of columbia. >> it's rugged terrain, there's not that much water, so that's part of why account span yards, they weren't able to be colonize it. >> you've been coming here for some time. >> i became interested, because i began dealing with fresh fish, fresh lobster, fresh shrimp and for goat meat for me to take back to bogota. >> is it good? >> it's very good. >> goats are important to the wayuu, they're used for food, for bartering, and even as dowry payments. rancho owners come to the old market in riohacha to sell, slaughter, and cook goat in the mornings. today we're having frichi. >> frichi is a traditional fish

from the wayuu. it consists of the heart, the intestines and the offal. >> of the goat. >> so it's really fresh because they slaughter them back here. this is where the wayuu women cook it. so this is really fresh and traditional. >> this is breakfast. >> this is breakfast for them. >> the fricchi. >> and a little bit of everything in there. >> yes. we have heart. we have a little bit of meat, of ribs. >> now it's interesting, because this one is for breakfast, and it's almost done where they are slaughtered. they have to eat this fresh. >> fresh, this is delicious. if not fresh, this would not be so good. >> no. >> this is where i say something that takes us seamlessly from a discussion about fresh meat to me hauling my aging carcass on to an atv, sugar bear style. ♪

tribal members of the wayuu have dual citizenship and can cross the border into venezuela to live or trade there whenever they need to. luckily for us, it means that cheap gas is easy to come by in these parts. there are no stations as such. you just keep an eye out for the cans. >> most of this gasoline is from venezuela. it's extremely cheap. it's like 50 cents a gallon. the government subsidizes a lot of it. they're able to buy venezuelan gasoline and sell legally venezuelan gasoline in colombia. >> having taken on as much gas as can be mouth-siphoned into one sitting, we're off again.

let me set the scene. it's hot out here, desert hot. we plan to ride three hours along the coast to our lunch spot, and i ate salty goat innards for breakfast, and i refuse to wear a helmet or sunblock. we avoid wild donkeys and goats, and get lost more than a few times. so a little heatstroke leads to a lot of horsing around. and we decide to open these puppies up. erior uva uvb protecn helps prevent early skin aging and skin cancer, all with the cleanest feel. it's the best for your skin. neutrogena® ultra sheer.

it's the best for your skin.

a momentary concussion is seldom a good thing, waking up in colombia on a beach almost always is. ♪ having abandoned the epic ride, we're back where we started in the guijira at the blue sea restaurant. how come you're all clean? >> i changed. >> you brought a change of clothes? >> yes. >> i'm hurting now. i'm feeling every minute, every hour, every month and year of my age. >> so you're ready? >> yes. i trust it will make me feel all better. >> much better.

it's a good end to a fun day. >> you can't ask for better scenery. it's beautiful here. >> a beer. >> i need the anesthetic qualities of the local fire water. that's probably a really good idea. >> that's going to be a good start for the night. >> a good start. i'm done. oh, man. that dog has the right idea. see, i'd be very happy if that was me right now. just like laying down in the sand with my chin out like that. man, it's so beautiful here. who comes here? >> basically tourists from colombia and backpackers that are making their way up to the north. >> right. but i mean, we saw one tourist all day. and it's nice, really it's completely off the grid. >> this used to be a fisherman village. >> there are definitely worse places to eat seafood than beachside in a fishing village,

and the strength of this stew lies in the variety of fish available. >> basically it's like a fish chowder, made with shrimp, clams, right, a small kind of clam, lobster, fish. >> yeah. >> and conch. >> i need a bath. very clear sky for the caribbean. >> oh, yeah. oh, man. >> always accompanied by lemon and coconut rice and plantain and some hot sauce in there. ♪ >> some good food, a few shots, the sounds of waves in the background, and a nice sunset. these are things in my experience that will set most things right. thank you to guajira. >> to guajira and columbia. >> salud. >> cheers.

>> we had good fun. >> we had good fun. >> cheers. >> i always find colombia encouraging. they face problems more extreme and seemingly more intractable than many of us can imagine, and yet every time i come here it gets better. don't get me wrong. problems, serious problems, remain, which is particularly heartbreaking in a country so beautiful, so generous, so proud, so eager to love and be loved back. i come back to my own country from colombia, and i think if they can fix that, if they can make things better, then surely there's nothing we can't do.

for now, however, i'll settle for fixing my headache. that hurt. deadly flash floods, torrential downpours, parts of texas under water. people trying to clean up the mess this morning. a history of abuse. the woman that rutgers said could clean up the university's athletic department after a coach was caught abusing his players, she's now accused of doing the same thing herself. and caught on camera. a california man beaten to death by police. what sparked this violent attack? good morning, everyone, welcome to "early start," i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's memorial day. >> we're going to start with