All language subtitles for BBC.Equator.with.Simon.Reeve.3of3.Latin.America.720p.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

I've followed the Equator across
Africa and across Asia,

and now I've got just over
one month to follow the line

across Latin America.

Hopefully I'll make it
across the continent

in time to ride on a giant wave.

Now, the route is going to take me

across some of the most
dangerous parts of Colombia

and some of the most
beautiful parts of Brazil.

But right now, I get to witness
one of the great wildlife spectacles

on the planet,
here on the Galapagos.

The final leg of
my long trip around the Equator

took me across Latin America.

It's a continent
rich in natural resources

and home to the lungs of the planet,

but dogged
by drugs and civil war.

I began in the Pacific Ocean,
off the South American mainland,

at an island archipelago
straddling the Equator -

the Galapagos - where I witnessed
a spectacular display of wildlife...

..like nowhere else on Earth.

It was young Charles Darwin's
visit to the Galapagos in 1835

that ultimately transformed
our understanding of evolution

and put these islands on the map.

Today, I'm being guided around
by conservationist Paul,

who wanted to show me the sea lions,

some of the very few mammals
native to the islands.

Ah!

Fantastic!

That was absolutely extraordinary.

This is one of those
breathtaking sort of moments.

The seals are swimming
and dancing all around us

as we're under the water.

Scientists regard the Galapagos

as one of the most precious
habitats on Earth,

and the islands
are carefully preserved,

with a whopping 97% of them
declared national park

by the government of Ecuador.

I just had a wonderful moment then
where I was going down

and a sea lion was coming up,

and he looked quite
surprised to see me,

and it just kicked its tail and just
went whoosh, raced out of the way.

It's just... Extraordinary
creatures, they really are.

What a privilege.

The landscape here really is
completely otherworldly. It's stark.

Millions of years ago, these islands
emerged from the Pacific Ocean

as a result of volcanic activity.

Their isolation has helped
keep them unspoiled,

providing scientists
with a portal to the past.

A quarter of the shore fish,
half of the plants,

and almost all of the reptiles
are only found here.

The land iguanas are really
the highlight of this island.

You're tripping over them, almost.
Look at this huge beastie here.

They're all around us. They're all
around us, they're all on the move.

They don't seem particularly
concerned by our presence. No.

Fearless. Absence of predators,

absence of humans chasing them and
eating them. He's just so close.

You're a fearsome-looking creature.

We have a huge yellow one that's
on the move over here,

and we might have a bit of action.

Looks like he's going to chase
the other females.

Ooh!

He's stopped now
cos we've caught him at it!

They have a hemi-penis.

A hemi-penis? What is that? It's
almost like a little double penis,

so it doesn't get too awkward to
have to move things around too much,

you just have one on each side.

It doesn't mean they can have
two lady iguanas at once? No.

But it means if one of them
goes unserviceable,

they've got a back-up.
Quite nice.

He's not going to show us
his todger, is he?

No, he doesn't usually.

I'm almost relieved. I'm not sure
I want to have any envy

in that department. No, no.

Particularly not from an iguana!

How come no mammals
ever made it here?

Do you think they might have done,
and couldn't survive? Well, no.

The biggest limiting factor to life
in Galapagos is the journey across.

So if you're coming on floating
rafts on the ocean current,

the minimum time it takes to get
here is two weeks. Right.

Two weeks without food or water.

That's too long in the baking sun
for a mammal? Exactly.

A mammal cannot live for more than
three days without water.

But reptiles...
Whereas a reptile can.

And that is the limiting factor to
life, terrestrial life on Galapagos.

Argh!

That was one of the worst so far.

'No wonder land mammals had trouble
making it across the ocean.

'As we headed to the capital island,

'Santa Cruz, we were given a real
battering by the Equatorial waters.

'And my idea of a relaxing four-hour
boat trip was disappearing fast.

'One by one,
we all succumbed to seasickness,

'including my producer, Steve.'

HE GROANS

"Come to paradise," they said.

"Have fun," they said.

"See the animals."

Hang on - this is what YOU said!

Argh!

Visitor numbers to
the Galapagos National Park

have more than doubled during
the last decade,

now reaching 100,000 tourists
a year, and bringing in $200m.

But not all the 30,000 inhabitants

of the islands are benefiting
from this influx of cash.

Down at the harbour,

it's not only the pelicans who are
scraping together a living.

Fishermen on the islands claim
it's difficult to make a living

because of fishing quotas
imposed by the government,

who say they are trying
to protect fish stocks.

It didn't look as if any of
these fishermen expected

to make their fortune playing cards,

so I thought it was safe enough
to take my chances among the sharks.

Can we play a game with you?
I've got 20.

LOUD CHATTER, LAUGHTER

I've got 20!

Come on, then. Sit here? Yeah. OK.

Are we playing for a lot of money?

LAUGHTER

There's no way
I'm going to win any money!

Protect the cards!

Which one do you think I should
put down? That two. OK.

This happens all the time.

He says you've got the wrong teacher.
HE LAUGHS

I'm a bit flummoxed by this game.

Is this the popular game,
Fleece the Tourist?

LAUGHTER

While conservationists
want to preserve the Galapagos,

these fishermen just
want to make a decent living.

A growing number are furious
about restrictions on their work,

and say the government cares more
for the wildlife than for humans.

In recent years,
the anger boiled over,

and fishermen besieged the
prestigious Darwin Research Centre,

holding scientists
and animals hostage.

Jose defends the protest.

TRANSLATION: All the problems
started because there are too many

conservationists in the park.

Have they stopped you working?

Not stopped as such, but we have

a growing problem with sea cucumber
fishing that gets worse every year.

Now we are only allowed to fish it
for two months of the year,

and that has caused many problems.

Also, we have been trying to
sell our local products,

mainly fish, internationally,

and we have got the buyers, but they
have been clamping down on that.

The angry fishermen confined

30 scientists and several rare
tortoises to the Darwin Centre

for four days and refused them
any food or supplies.

You were holding people there,

almost holding them hostage then,
and the tortoises as well?

It took place at the entrance
to the park.

A net barricade was put up
by the gate.

They didn't even try to leave.

They wouldn't have been able to do so
because of the people outside.

There were ten times more of them.

That war was not
started by fishermen.

They were the ones
who started that war.

The gang of disgruntled fishermen
came here to the Darwin Centre,

wielding machetes and knives,

and threatened to kill Lonesome
George, one of the best-known

residents of the Galapagos.

I've come to see Lonesome George,

who's really perhaps the
most famous of the tortoises here.

Oh, there he is! He's huge!

Hello, George.

George is an 80-year-old giant
saddleback Galapagos tortoise,

and the last of his kind.

Since 1972, the Darwin Centre has
been trying to save his sub-species

by encouraging him to mate.

But poor old Lonesome George
has always resisted.

What have you been doing
to try and find him a mate?

TRANSLATION:
So that he can reproduce,
a girl came from Switzerland

so that the tortoise can learn

to be friendly with people
because he was very timid.

You're talking about a human?
A human.

A human being? A human Swiss girl,
yeah, a scientist. A scientist.

And why did he need a friend?

He needed her to extract his sperm.

First of all, she started touching

him in sort of strategic areas
and trying to get him excited.

So, this scientist had to masturbate
this giant tortoise? Yes, she did.

Just so we're clear about that.

When the Swiss scientist
failed to produce the goods,

two female tortoises
were moved into George's pen.

But that was more than 14 years ago.

I'm just on my way to see one of
the ladies who George has rejected.

Oh, she's not fantastically
attractive from the back,

but from the front,
I'm reliably informed,

she's a bit of a looker
for a tortoise.

He's the last of his kind.

Aren't you?

It would be such a shame
if his particular sub-species

was to die out

along with him.

The Galapagos are so isolated,

it's an incredible 600 miles
across the Pacific Ocean,

along the Equator,

until you finally hit land again -
the west coast of Ecuador.

I think this is Karina,
who's going to be our guide

and who's going to take us
across Ecuador.

Karina!

DOG BARKS

I wanted to stick closely
to the Equator,

so we hired a four-by-four
to get us across Ecuador's

agricultural heartland.

The population here is a mix
of indigenous tribes,

descendants of African slaves
and of Spanish colonisers.

A full 70% of the 14 million people
live below the poverty line.

My foot is right down.

Straight through it.

ENGINE REVS

Go, go, go, go, go, go!

Go, go! Ow!

Sounds like the engine's
going to explode.

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

Go, go, go! Oh...

OK, we're stuck.

Oh, dear.

Oh, and it's so sticky.

KARINA LAUGHS

So, now we sort of know
how difficult it's going to be...

to travel along the Equator.

There's the town.
I can see the town.

'We managed to free ourselves
from the mud,

'but that was the easy bit.'

Oh, no!

Argh!

There's no way we're going to
get across there.

Argh! What do you think?

It's very frustrating, cos we've
just driven a hell of a long way.

THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH

He does not recommend us to cross,

because if the car turns off,
the river will take us. Really? Yeah.

He has people that can push us.

Push us? Oh, that's very kind.

OK, I think we should
try and drive across, then.

These guys, the villagers, are
very kindly standing in the water.

They are going to guide
our car across,

which means I've gotta drive
through the river,

which I'm a little bit nervous
about, to be honest. OK!

OK! OK!

'I was hoping to make it across,
and stay dry.'

Oh...

I can feel the water.

Gracias!

Aye, aye, aye.

OK, we're having trouble now.

OK, OK. Ah, we're drifting.

SHOUTING

KARINA: Bravo!

Yes!

Gracias! Everybody who's wet
gets a beer, I think.

These guys deserve lots of beers.
OK.

Beers all around.

Hey!

Does anybody else need a beer?

Due to a major fault line that
cuts across the Equator,

Ecuador has one of the greatest
densities of volcanoes in the world.

Its Avenue Of The Volcanoes
is a stunning 325km-long valley.

Tucked away, right in the middle
of these volcanoes, lies Quito,

the world's second-highest
capital city.

1.8 million people, surrounded
by several active volcanoes.

Experts say they are expecting
a huge eruption,

but no-one seems
to be taking any notice.

We set off from Quito
to climb the volcano Pichincha,

the closest volcano to the city,
and the most threatening.

Pichincha has erupted
at least 25 times.

The worst eruption was in 1660,

when more than 25cm of ash and
volcanic rock covered the capital.

We'd arranged to meet Theo,

a volcanologist
on a mission to save Quito.

Hi, Simon. Theo. Hi, Theo.
Here's Simon. Hiya.

How are you? Nice to meet you.

You look as though you've got
properly togged up there.

We're regularly up here,
we know what to do.

In 1993, two volcanologists
were killed climbing Pichincha.

They were working at
the crater mouth

when Pichincha suddenly erupted,

hurling out steam and ash, killing
the two scientists instantly.

Theo was taking me
to the very same crater.

We just take it...

nice and slow.

Is there any connection between
the Equator, the actual line,

the Equatorial line,

and all these volcanoes?
I would say yes.

All those volcanoes which are
bordering us are the result

of this chain of volcanoes,

which were born
or formed at the Galapagos.

Now, those volcanoes, they move
toward the South America continent.

There is a connection.
You cannot deny this.

A person denying this
must be religious,

with no idea from science.

Is anybody listening to you
when you're warning about this?

People live there, they say,

"I always lived here. Nothing
happened the last 30 years.

"Oh, nothing big." They just want
to forget, to ignore the danger.

But I say, " No, this is stupid."

Craziness? Craziness, exactly.

The threat is there, it's out there.

'We climbed nearly 5km
into the clouds,

'more than halfway up Everest.'

HE PANTS

'The altitude left me
breathless and exhausted.'

We're on top of the world.

Oh, it's knackering up here.

You've got to be a mountain goat
to go up here.

Theo, promise me we're nearly there.

Theo, we've made it!

We can't see down into the crater.

The weather is absolutely terrible.

You've brought me
to the top of the world.

I'm absolutely shattered.

'The mouth of the crater, where the
two scientists had met their end,

'might seem a dangerous place
to stop for a picnic,

'but Theo had brought
some artichoke hearts.' Mmm!

Cheers!

I think it's time to go down.

We continued east towards Colombia,

intending to cross the border on the
Putumayo River, near the Equator.

But our travel plans were scuppered
by the Colombian authorities,

who forced us to make an annoying
detour north, away from the Equator,

to Ipiales, where there is a heavily
controlled immigration point.

The word "Colombia" is just
synonymous with assassinations

and death squads and murder

and cocaine and drugs and killings
and kidnapping of Westerners.

Welcome to Colombia.

Hi, Simon. Nice to meet you.

'My Colombian guide, Juan Pablo
met me in Puerto Asis,'

a jungle town on my route south,

as I tried to get
back onto the Equator.

Puerto Asis is the heart
of the multi-billion-pound

cocaine industry.

Government forces have militarised
the town in an attempt

to recapture this entire region

from the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia - FARC -

left-wing guerrilla rebels

who have been at war
with the state since the 1960s.

How safe is it in the town
where we are now, for foreigners?

Yeah, I mean the town is a little
bit difficult for everybody.

Difficult? What does that mean?!

Very, very dangerous.

'Getting back onto the Equator

'would take us through one of the
most dangerous regions of Colombia,

'where the army regularly
battles with FARC guerrillas.'

HE SPEAKS IN SPANISH

To secure safe passage south,

we needed the help of
the local Army commander,

Lieutenant Colonel Quintero,
a man whose battles with FARC

have left him with a hefty
price on his head.

What we didn't expect was
that the colonel would insist

on personally escorting us,
along with his armed bodyguards.

I'd just hitched a ride with
one of the FARC's most-wanted men.

I know you've got a bounty
on your head.

Do you know how much money
FARC is offering for you,

and what are the chances of you
getting attacked?

TRANSLATION: FARC have offered a
lot of money, but they can't stop me.

We die the day we're meant to.

Despite assurances from the colonel
that the army was now in control,

dozens of soldiers had been
killed in recent battles,

and FARC were
still launching attacks,

in this case,
bombing the town's oil supply.

OK, it's formed this sort of lake
of just oily water.

Why do you think
they attacked the pipeline?

TRANSLATION: They want to punish
the civilian population

because they support the state,

the government, the army.

They always attack
the civilian population.

We are here to protect
defenceless civilians.

God, I mean it just looks like
we're part of the bloody army,

doesn't it, now? This is
exactly what we didn't want.

We wanted to keep away
from the military if we could.

We're now connected
with the military,

and that makes us
a much more inviting target.

Behind the camera, there's about
15 soldiers following us.

We need to get out of here.
Let's go.

'We decided it'd be safer
to leave the colonel

'and his bodyguards behind,
and continue south on our own.

'This stretch of the road
sees regular FARC activity,

'and I didn't want to be
caught up in any crossfire.'

We only got a few
hundred metres outside town

and we've just been pulled over by a
few of the Colombian army soldiers.

I heard the word "gringo" there.

The FARC is very eager
to kidnap gringos,

or to see if they can get some...

I hate that word "kidnap"!
I hate that word.

This is what life is like here,
for the people who live here.

Constant checkpoint, conflict,

two sides battling
against each other.

For the locals,

they just want to get on with
their lives and pass through.

Later that day, we reached the
unnervingly quiet town of Teteye,

which had been attacked
and captured several times

by one side, and then the other.

The population has dwindled
to a few dozen.

This is the president of the town.

He's just come and found us,
he's come straight from his fields.

Why has everybody left?

TRANSLATION: They were afraid,

because sometimes there is
conflict between the two sides.

They came here and cautioned them...

..then killed them.

Shot them in the head.

And who did this?

TRANSLATION: It was the army.

The army came here and started
to ask, "Where are the guerrillas?"

But people don't have anything
to do with the guerrillas,

so they don't give the army
any information.

'Colonel Quintero had insisted
the army was protecting civilians,

'but if what the president
of this town says is true,

'it's clear the people of Colombia
suffer, whoever's in charge.

'In the decades of fighting between
the army, right-wing paramilitaries

'and the FARC,
tens of thousands have died

'and millions have been
forced to leave their homes.'

We travelled deeper
into south-east Colombia,

finally joining the Putumayo river,
and heading towards the Equator,

now just a few kilometres ahead.

This is beautiful!

'Entering La Paya National Park,

'we hitched a ride
with head gamekeeper Carlos.

'Hundreds of bird species
thrive here at the western edge

'of the Amazon Basin.'

The Equatorial line cuts
right through your park,

but we're in southern Colombia,

which doesn't really
attract many tourists.

Do you get many visitors, many
foreigners or tourists coming here?

TRANSLATION: In Colombia, as in the
rest of the world, when people hear

the name Putumayo, they reject it.

They are scared of coming here.

But the conflict is not as bad here
as it is elsewhere in the region.

14, 11, eight, five, two, one -
we've just crossed the Equator.

We've just crossed! Congratulations!

This is the centre of the world.

Amazing!

I think we should try
and land and set up camp.

Looks like there's no food. What?

Looks like there's no food.

'It seems we'd inadvertently omitted

'to bring some rather essential
items of our jungle inventory.'

We really haven't got any food.

'Namely, our dinner.

'Apart from a bit of rice,
which wouldn't feed us all.'

Everybody on our team
is now going to pitch in

to try and find us some food,

because otherwise our stomachs are
going to be rumbling all night.

'Like all good cameramen,
ours had come well prepared.'

What's that you've got?

Rum. It's good.

BOAT CLANKS

Yes.

Ah, jinks!

OK, OK.

What is that?

A tarantula!

Ahhhh... Let's get serious, though.
Don't get so close to it!

It's not going to jump to your face.

That's a small one, but
there must be mummy round here.

Did Simon come back?

These are desperate times.
Every man for himself.

Tsk, tsk.

You shouldn't make any noise,
there's an alligator there.

I'm starting to find
the Colombian jungle

a slightly dangerous place to be.

We have to be quiet because
there's an alligator in front of us.

THUMP ON BOAT

MORE THUMPS

Life on the Equator, who would have
thought it could be such fun(?)

There's only one way to deal
with this situation.

It's the only option.

'It was looking as if we'd have
to resort to a liquid diet,

'Well, our Colombian fisherman
friend did.'

There is a fish. The man has a fish.

Look at the teeth on it.

That is not going to
feed eight people.

Can you go out and
catch another 20 of them?

Oh, wow, is this for us?

'Carlos cooked us a jungle feast
with our rice, and the few fish.

'We weren't to know this would be
our last hot meal for a few days,

'as the next morning we were
going in search of a remote tribe

'who we'd been told had a sacred
monument to the centre of the world.

'All I had to do now
was negotiate my hammock.'

Oh, please hold.

Ah.

Aaah!

Goodnight, everybody.

I'll have breakfast at nine, please.

'We chartered a small plane
from a nearby jungle airstrip,

'and headed to one of the remotest
parts of the Colombian Amazon.'

Just crossed the Equator,

we're now going to head east
directly along it.

Beneath us now is an awful lot
of jungle but not many villages.

But there is one at a place called
Pacoa which we're heading to now

where they have a monument
signifying that they're at

the centre of the world.

That was perfect!

'The tribe at Piedra Ni live 15 days
by boat from the nearest town.

'And hadn't had a foreign
visitor for more than 20 years.'

Hola. Buenos.

I'm not sure they see many
foreign film crews here,

or if they see any
foreigners at all.

Look at this.

'We stumbled into the main hall,
clearly the heart of the community.

'The children certainly
seemed pleased to see us.'

What is this? Show the camera this.

'But the village shaman wasn't
very happy about our arrival.'

We were told to stop filming.
You need to get permission first

from the village elders
who are just behind me,

so we've just had a very long
meeting and, quite frankly, very

tense negotiations and discussions

with really most of the village.

Everybody's had a say, it's been
democracy in action, really.

But ultimately they've agreed
that we can film.

We're going to go through some
sort of initiation ceremony,

and then we'll be allowed hopefully
to visit their sacred memorial

to the centre of the world.

PANPIPE IS PLAYED

This really is an
extraordinary sight.

LAUGHTER

What is the purpose of the ceremony?

TRANSLATION:
It is performed on very special
occasions, seasons of the year.

Because of the rain, the weather,

because of these things,
we perform the ceremony.

What I really love
is how inclusive it is.

That's how they try and keep
their culture alive.

By getting the young and
the teenagers involved now.

They'll know these dances hopefully
for the rest of their lives.

Early next morning, some of the
elders from this 160-strong tribe

took us to their sacred place.

TRANSLATION: It's just over there.

We'll soon be looking at it.

So we're nearly there?

TRANSLATION:
All these places here are sacred.

It's hard to know what to expect,

because obviously for us it's been
built up into something huge

and hugely significant
and imbued with huge meaning.

And certainly for the people
who live here it does seem

to be the real focus of their lives.

After we've travelled
such a long way,

it's very exciting
to finally see it.

To the people around here,
this is absolutely the very essence

of what it means to live here
and to be part of their tribe.

TRANSLATION: He is saying that the
first figure represents the God.

It is the sun
that is illuminating us now.

Because it is the one that holds the
life of all the indigenous people.

It's extraordinary to think

that tribes around here have
worshipped this and venerated it

as being the centre
of the world for many decades,

and now modern science
is able to confirm for them

that it really does lie at
the actual centre of the planet.

How long it's going to take?

They want to know, because they
don't want to spend too much time.

For some reason, the villagers were
unhappy about the amount of time

we were spending
looking at the monument.

Why don't you
like looking at the monument?

TRANSLATION: This is the sun,
and that is why we cannot look up.

Just as we can't look directly at the
sun, we can't look directly at that,

as we'll lose our sight.

I don't know quite how their
monument to the centre of the world

came to be on the Equator,
but it had been a privilege

to have spent time with the tribe
and witnessed their ceremonies.

Ciao.

We crossed into Brazil through
the back door, on the Uaupes River,

just north of the Equator.

There's a Brazilian military
checkpoint over there

that we need to stop at. They're
not pleased at the fact that

we're crossing the river
at this point,

because there's
no immigration point here.

So whether they're going to let us
go, we're not entirely sure.

Fingers crossed again.

Our somewhat cavalier attitude
to border controls

was making our Brazilian guide
Augusto a little uneasy.

Can you stop filming now?

Why? Military.

Cos what?

Military.

We've landed in Brazil.

So this is the commander
coming down now to see us.

Passport number?
No, your father name.

They're going to let us go and I
think we're going to be all right.

They're not cross or angry.

"You're crossing here?
Nobody crosses here!"

Can we stop now?

Very slow, very slow.

Stop, stop.

Equator! Zero, zero, we've just
crossed from one to the other.

We're crossing an imaginary line but
it's still quite exciting in a way.

We're going from one side
of the planet to the other.

Oh!

Hey, Simon - come on.

Many piranha, alligator, anaconda...

..big monster.

What sort of big monsters?

The only big monster there is you!

Come on, Simon, swim. Hold on,
he's got some valuables.

I've got my passport in my pocket,
for crying out loud!

It does feel quite special,
swimming on the Equator,

even though something
did just brush my ankle,

and I've already been warned
about snakes and piranhas.

We're swimming on the Equator,

along the Equator.

East is this way.

Come on!

The Uaupes River runs directly
along the Equator for 200km,

before joining the River Negro,
deep in the Amazon rainforest.

35,000 Indians from 23 different
tribes populate the riverbanks

along the Uaupes and Negro rivers,

and they could do with some serious
help to protect and preserve

their fast-disappearing way of life.

This is the first community of
people we've seen actually living

on the Equator. It's now 12.17.

Feel a bit cheeky just
turning up in their village.

The community here is very quiet.

I wonder if there's anybody in.

Unfortunately for us, there
doesn't seem to be anybody here.

'Finally, a young woman
appeared from one of the houses.

'She seemed to have
been left behind.

'Thankfully, she didn't
mind a few prying questions.'

Sorry to be so cheeky but
can I ask, are you married?

Do you have children?

HE TRANSLATES

She has one son and
she gave birth one week ago.

One week ago!

Ah, congratulations!

That's incredible!

So she's 17 years old.

So she's not married.

Do you think it will be hard for you
to live as a single mother out here?

TRANSLATION: I think it is difficult,

because he doesn't have his
father here, he's in Sao Gabriel.

It is difficult as a mother -

you don't have the means
to support your child.

Are many of the adults in the
village working in Sao Gabriel?

TRANSLATION:
From here there are nine.

TRANSLATION:
From here there are nine.

Nearly half of the village's men

had been drawn up the river
to the jungle town of Sao Gabriel,

in search of work.

And this looks like Sao Gabriel.

The bars are open and
going strong. Yeah.

10.30am.

'Along the Uaupes and Negro rivers,

'and throughout the
indigenous communities,

'alcohol is banned by federal law,

'but visitors to Sao Gabriel
can enjoy all the usual benefits

'of 24-hour drinking.'

Here's to travelling.

'After several days travelling down
river through the rainforest,

a cold beer was a welcome sight.

'And I wasn't the only person
who thought so.'

Are you waiting for a boat?

TRANSLATION: My boat is about to
leave, but I don't want to go yet.

I want another drink.

Are they waiting for you?

I'm already drunk.

You're already drunk? Yeah.

You're even more of
a lightweight than me!

You've had about that much.

I couldn't have one, actually.
You're falling off the table.

Yes, I'm a bit "oooh"!

'Before the advent
of 24-hour drinking,

'indigenous communities drank
heavily, but only once or twice

'a year at special ceremonies.

'I met Domingo,
the president of FOIRN,

'which campaigns for
the indigenous community.

'He fears this constant availability
of alcohol has spelt disaster

'for the indigenous tribes.'

TRANSLATION: Their biggest dream
is to be in this city, with a job,

and a good standard of living.
But when they arrive here they don't

find the dream that they had when
they were in their communities.

That doesn't exist.

So the indigenous people
end up destroying themselves.

So many indigenous families are
destroying themselves with alcohol.

Little by little,
the culture is forgotten.

Life here
in Sao Gabriel has no dignity.

When you encourage
the indigenous people to leave

their ancestral homes

where they've lived for generations,
and come to a town like this...

HE SLURS HIS WORDS

..and when you promise them or offer
them jobs and education and health

care and then when they come here

and they find that there's
very few jobs... You OK?

Ah? ..Very little health care and
the education is quite expensive,

it's hardly a wonder
they get depressed.

Although, he's not very depressed,
he's quite happily drunk.

And then you throw 24-hour
drinking into the mix,

they're going to turn to the bottle.

As you have, haven't you?
You've turned to the bottle.

Nao falo Portuguese.

I don't speak Portuguese at all.

Leaving Sao Gabriel, we flew
east across the Amazon rainforest.

On the Equator, the forest
remains largely untouched,

due to its remoteness,

but farmers and loggers are
slowly encroaching from the south.

Finally, we approached
Brazil's east coast,

where the many tributaries
of the mighty Amazon

lead to the Atlantic Ocean.

'The final leg of my Equatorial
adventure took me towards

'the mouth of the Araguari river.'

On this river, when the
moon and tides are aligned,

a natural phenomenon occurs pushing
a massive wave back up the river.

The Pororoca is the
longest wave in the world.

A wave which will be attempted
to be surfed, by the daring,

the foolhardy...

and me.

I'm very interested
and excited about this landing

because I've never surfed.

Why is the Pororoca here
on the Amazon Basin,

on the Equator, so special?

TRANSLATION:
Surfers come from all over the world.

On the sea, a wave will
last a maximum of 15 seconds.

With the Pororoca wave,
you can surf for about 30 minutes.

That's why it's considered
the longest wave in the world.

So there are risks involved in
surfing the Pororoca, then?

The risks are that the boat
could roll over or the surfer

could hit something with the board.

There is the chance of all
kinds of animals coming along.

The biggest danger would
be the arraias.

Their poison is so powerful that
it gives you many hours of pain,

and can even make
your whole leg paralysed.

'It was more than a little unnerving
watching an experienced surfer

'like Ejiman prepare for the worst.'

Ejiman, are you excited
about surfing the wave?

Hold tight.

There's quite enough waves already!

He says that it's possible
to see on the horizon...

..a volume of water coming.

Well, I can't see it.

I think I can.

There was a slight
change on the horizon.

OK, maybe now it's not
quite so slight.

Bloody hell!

This has to be the most incredible
natural phenomenon I've ever seen,

this boiling, seething
mass of water.

It really feels like we're being
chased by wild horses,

clawing their way down the river
or up the river.

You're not going to get us!

OK, it's going to kick now.

I'm clinging on for dear life.

But this is what we're
going to have to do.

He seems to have vanished
into the wave.

I'm sure he's OK because he's one of
those lunatics who always survives.

Stand, mate! Go on, stand up.

He's up, he's up!

He's done it!

What a dude.

Oh, now he's off, he's off, argh!

I'm going to rescue him over there.
We've got to rescue both of them.

I'm about to jump in the wave

to try and rescue Stanley.

Aggh!

Aaaah!

That was absolutely amazing.

Stanley!

You lunatic!

Well done! Now it's our turn.

Personally I haven't
got a clue what to do. Hold tight.

What's the Brazilian for
"man overboard" and "drowning"?

We didn't do very well.

In fact, we were pretty
hopeless, weren't we?

We felt its force.

'My journey around the entire
planet was finally at an end.

'25,000 miles, eight countries,
wars, floods, and killer diseases.

'Quite frankly, I was exhausted.

'But the Equator had one
final, unexpected thrill

'left in store for us.'

We forgot the Pororoca
happens twice a day!

And it's happening now
in the night-time. Whoa!

Stanley's gone overboard.

Stanley's mattress. His
mattress has gone overboard.

Aagh! Just stood
on some glass.

What did he say? I don't know.
Do you speak Portuguese?

The chef was in the shower.

LAUGHTER

Didn't anybody think
to tell us?!

Next time, tell us as well!