Author(s): Michael Palin

Travel

Brazil is one of the four new global super powers. Half a continent in size and a potent mix of races, religions and cultures, of unexplored wildernesses and bustling modern cities, it is also one of the few countries Michael Palin has never fully travelled. In a new series for BBC1 - his first for five years - he explores in his inimitable way this vast and disparate nation. From the Venezuelan border and the forests of the Lost World, he follows Teddy Roosevelt's disastrous expedition of 1914. Journeys by river, by plane, by train and by road allow him to reach a kaleidoscopic mix of peoples: the indigenous hunter-gatherers of the interior, the descendents of African slaves with their vibrant culture, the large community of German descent who celebrate their patrimony at the biggest beer festival outside Munich, and the wealthy guachas of the Pantanal. His journey ends at the border with Uruguay and the spectacular Iguacu Falls.