Season 2, Episode 13

No Reservations

Not everything is located on a map. Tony visits communities found only by GPS, leading him off the beaten path. Tony explores a bit of Mexico's history, traveling down river just as the Aztecs did hundreds of years ago. At the end of an isolated canal, Tony stumbles upon Diego, living on the Island of the Dolls. It's a weirdly creepy wonderland of headless doll bodies, doll heads, and various body parts strewn throughout the trees. The dolls were hung years ago by Diego's uncle who lived there alone. He thought the dolls would protect him from the ghost of a dead girl who roamed his little island. These days, Diego makes his living by showing people around his strange yet happy home. Tony heads to Hawaii, home to the most active volcano on the planet - Kilauea. And Kilauea is home to Jack Thompson. When the rest of the volcano-side community left after the threat of lava flow, Jack remained behind, content with the solitude. During Tony's visit, Jack reveals that he is satisfied with the peace and quiet he has every day but that it's days like these, when he gets visitors, that make him really happy. He believes in destiny and wants to stay here 'til the end. Unfortunately for Jack, the end came too soon as he was forcibly removed from his home just a few weeks after Tony's visit, sparing him from the impending lava at the hand of 'Mother Pele,' the fire goddess. In Isla Grande, Panama, Tony visits US-appointed ex-dictator Noriega's home, normally closed to the public. Rumored to have been involved in Santeria, among the usual claims of torture and murder, Noriega ruled the country from 1983 to 1989, and then he was ousted by the very forces that appointed him. Tony eagerly waits as the rusted locks to the estate are opened, only to find a modest house succumbing to the ravages of humidity and time, prompting him to recall Arendt's writings on the "banality of evil."

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