The General in His Labyrinth

When the party arrives in Turbaco, the General is exhausted, and he struggles to hide his "insatiable decline" (134) while refusing medical assistance. As he recuperates, he is told that he has "no more than a quarter of his travel funds left" (136). He writes to friends and associates so that they can guarantee loans to fund his passage to Europe, assuring them that a long-running case concerning a mine in Venezuela will be settled "very soon" (137), and he will be awarded more than enough to cover his expenses. His sickness becomes worse while he waits for responses, to the point that he noticeably loses weight. Three friends—Juan Garda del Rio, Juan de Francisco Martin, and Juan de Dios Amador—visit him and try to buoy his mood. They discuss the "state of the nation" (139); Santander's return seems imminent, and the breakup of Gran Colombia seems inevitable. The three friends still believe that the General is the right man to lead the country. The General curses the insurrections, which seem never ending, even cursing "the one we made against the Spanish" (142). This admission makes his friends realize that he will not live long.