All language subtitles for Expedition.Unknown.S17E06.en

[Josh] The Gold Rush.

[Peter]
That sparked a mass migration
from all over,

people trying to get
to California

and stake their claim
and get rich.

[Josh]
And to get there, people are
willing to risk everything.

[adventurous music playing]

This is a route that had
never been tamed before.

That's right.
Nobody had done this.

Enter shipping tycoon
Cornelius Vanderbilt.

♪♪

[Peter] Close to the top
of the rapids,

she's just overcome
by the force.

♪♪

[Josh] Why is this such
an important ship to find?

[Peter] It captures the American
spirit of adventure.

So we're gonna
retrace the route.

-Except for the sinking part?
-Well, hopefully.

[music intensifies]

Looks like we're
coming into rapids.

[Peter] Hang on!
It's goin' get bumpy!

Punch it!
Here we go!

Good, good, good!

Ha!
There it is!

Oh, my word!
That's a boiler!

Whoa!
Crocodile!

Oh, look at that crocodile!

♪♪

-This is tough going.
-[Peter] Whoa!

-Check it out!
-Oh my god

[dramatic music playing]

The year is 1848.

Gold is discovered
in California,

and suddenly tens of thousands
are desperate

to seek their fortunes
in the West.

There's just one problem.

Traveling over land
coast to coast is

a long and dangerous journey,
and there's no easy

shortcut on the water.

The Panama canal
doesn't yet exist.

But self-made shipping tycoon
Cornelius Vanderbilt

has a radical new business idea,
a steamship that would take

passengers from New York
to San Francisco,

but not by cutting
through Panama,

rather by going through
the nearer nation of Nicaragua.

If successful, the route would
reshape global trade

and alter the history
of the Americas.

For the crucial maiden voyage,
Vanderbilt handpicks

the steamship Orus,
one of the quickest

and most agile vessels
of its kind,

with two cutting edge
lever beam engines.

But midway through the voyage,

the 158 foot ship encounters
deadly rapids,

is battered by whitewater,
and smashes onto the rocks.

Attempts to free the ship
prove futile,

and the Orus is abandoned,
where she's consumed

by the river and the jungle,

eventually disappearing
from memory.

Now though, a team of explorers
is using newly

uncovered accounts to hunt
for the remains

of this history-making ship.

And I'm joining them
on a remote river expedition

through treacherous
crocodile filled waters

and dense snake
infested jungles.

So please keep your hands,
arms, feet, and legs

inside the boat at all times.

We're full steam ahead
in search of one of the most

important and largely forgotten
wrecks in history.

[theme music playing]

[Josh]
The past is all around us.

Oh, my god!
It goes on forever!

A world of mystery...

Come on!
Look at that!

Danger...

Hang on!

...and adventure.
It's just straight down!

I gotta get a new job.

I travel to the far corners
of the earth to uncover

where legends end.

We got it!
Yes!

And history begins.

Whoo-hoo!
Here we go!

I'm Josh Gates, and this is
"Expedition Unknown."

[tropical music playing]

This is the largest country
in Central America

and amazingly one I have
never set foot in.

That makes this country
number 115 for me.

But who's counting?

[whispers] I am.

Managua is a vibrant city
of over a million

proud and resilient people
in a country that caught

America's eye long before
anyone had heard

of the Iran-Contra affair.
Look it up.

The U.S. has long had
an interest in Nicaragua.

Our border is only
about a thousand miles away,

and it's this proximity
that lies

at the heart of our story.

Because before Panama had
a canal,

Nicaragua was eyed as a possible
path between the seas.

Why?

Lakes.

The biggest is Lake Nicaragua.

100 miles long
and 44 miles wide,

it covers nearly 15%
of the country.

Lake Nicaragua connects
with the Atlantic

via the San Juan River.

Seizing on this unique
geography, transportation mogul

Cornelius Vanderbilt
hopes to develop

an aquatic superhighway.

The Vanderbilt fortune,
which eventually produced

Vanderbilt University,
the largest home in America,

and Anderson Cooper,
started with Cornelius,

one of the most successful
and ruthless industrialists

of his era.

In 1848,
he outfits the steamship Orus

for the inaugural voyage,
a trip from which

she would never return.

All of Nicaragua's
biggest cities are built

near these lakes here
on the western side

of the country.

But I'm going
to the opposite coast,

to the east, where there's
almost no infrastructure.

So before I leave the capital,
I need to pick up

some supplies.

Also, I'm starving.

[Nicaraguan guitar music
playing]

[Josh] Welcome to Mercado
Carlos Roberto Huembes.

Here you can find
just about anything

you might possibly
want to wear,

shoot, or play.

Along with some dishes
that you may or may not

want to eat, such as
the local delicacy,

Pinol de Iguana.

It's a maize-based stew
made with a female iguana

and her eggs.

I mean,

it's not the worst iguana dish
I've ever had.

In preparation
for a remote river journey,

I also score a hammock,
a good machete,

and I find you can never have
too many hats.

Well, it looks like it's time
for a little adventure.

To join the team retracing
the Orus's ill-fated journey,

I've got to get
to the starting line

on Nicaragua's eastern coast.

But with no regular air service
heading that way,

I charter a plane
from Managua across... well,

the entire country,

187 miles of it.

I would describe the arrivals
lounge as uncrowded.

OK, well, welcome
to the Caribbean side

of Nicaragua.

♪♪

[Josh] This is the untamed
Mosquito Coast,

a place both beautiful
and notoriously wild.

Today, it looks
like nobody's here.

However, I'm far from alone.

Vanderbilt's crew
wasn't the first to try

to tame this place.

And just inside the tree line
are other travelers

who met their fate here.

These overgrown graves are
etched with clues

hinting at a tumultuous past.

There are Spaniards buried
here, but also tombstones

to American sailors,
Englishmen, Scotsmen,

even Freemasons.

In 1522, Conquistadors claimed
Nicaragua for Spain,

but the Spanish were unable
to maintain their hold

on the isolated Caribbean coast,
which became a haven

for pirates
and the British settlers,

who established
a momentarily thriving outpost

known as Greytown.

But today, only forgotten
tombstones remain.

Not too far away, though,
is life.

The successor to Greytown,
the remote village

of San Juan de Nicaragua,
perched on the humid edge

of civilization with no roads
in or out.

I head to the dock
to meet expedition leader

and fellow Explorers Club
member, Peter Tattersfield.

-Hey, Peter.
-Hey, Josh.

-Good to see you, man.
-Great to see ya!

Let me introduce you
to my business partner,

Miguel Fernandez.
-Miguel, pleasure.

Great to meet you, Josh.

Peter is a technical diver
who's been working

in marine archeology
for more than 30 years,

where he not only hunts
for historic wrecks,

but finds them.

And I know that
a few years ago,

you were part of a major
discovery of another lost ship.

Yes, the SS Independence.

I received a grant
from the Explorers Club,

and working in collaboration
with INAH,

the Institute of National
Anthropology and History,

we were able to locate
the remains

of the SS Independence
off the coast of Baja in Mexico.

Incredible. Awesome.

OK, let's talk
about this mission.

I have to say,
like a lot of people,

I had never heard of the Orus.

This idea of bringing ships
through Nicaragua,

I knew nothing about this.

So where does this
whole story start?

It all starts in 1848
in Sutter's Mill, California,

with the discovery of gold.

That sparked a mass migration
from all over,

people trying to get
to California

and stake their claim
and get rich.

[Josh] But the road
to Gold Rush riches ain't easy.

Aspiring 49ers have
three nightmarish itineraries

to choose from.
Take your pick.

♪♪

[Josh] Option one,
travel across the country

3,000 miles in a bumpy
wagon train

for four to six months,
with the exciting possibilities

of contracting
cholera or smallpox,

native skirmishes,
or freezing to death

in the mountains.

Not for you?

OK, well, option two is
by sea,

a nice little 17,000 mile jaunt
around the tip of South America,

assuming your ship doesn't wreck
and you survive being

on a floating petri dish
for six to eight months.

Or three,

a boat to Panama
and then a generally horrible

55-mile trek through
unforgiving jungle

before taking another boat
up the west coast.

Sure, it's the fastest option,
but it does come

with the super-fun bonus
of exposure

to deadly tropical diseases
like yellow fever and typhoid.

There's got to be a better way.

Enter self-made shipping
tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt.

[Josh] Though he is perhaps
most remembered

for building an overland
railroad empire,

he comes from more
aquatic roots.

Born into
a working-class family

on New York's Staten Island,
Vanderbilt amasses his fortune

through ferry
and steamboat operations,

earning the nickname,
"The Commodore."

He then ushers in the golden age
of steamboat travel

and becomes an obscenely
rich man by staying

one step ahead
of his competitors.

Now, Cornelius Vanderbilt
hears that the Panama route is

charging $600 per person
to move people across

up to California.

And so he figures that by using
the Nicaragua route,

he can shorten the trip
by 700 miles,

he can charge half, and still
make a bundle of money.

And this whole trip
through Nicaragua

will take people how long?
-About 30 days.

I mean, compared to eight
months and having to walk

over the Rockies, like,
that sounds like a great deal.

-It's a no-brainer.
-[Josh] Right.

[adventurous music playing]

[Josh] Vanderbilt plans
a five-leg journey

to complete his Nicaragua route.

First, passengers will travel
from New York here to Greytown

on large ocean-going steamships.

Then a river steamship
will complete the daring

120-mile run up the fast
and shallow San Juan River.

Then a third ship to cross
Lake Nicaragua,

followed by a 12-mile
stagecoach ride to the Pacific,

where a final ocean steamer
takes them to San Francisco.

So Vanderbilt gets a contract
with the Nicaraguan government

to transport people
across the country,

there's just one hiccup.
-OK, what's that?

There's no steamship
that has ever navigated

the 120 miles
of the San Juan River

up to Lake Nicaragua.

OK, that is a minor hiccup.

To conquer the untamed waters
of the San Juan River,

Vanderbilt needs a special ship.

He believes he's found one
in the Orus.

Designed in 1842
by master engineer

James P. Allaire,

158 feet long
and weighing in at 247 tons,

Allaire brags that the Orus
could stop, start,

forward and back quicker
and more certainly

than any boat in New York.

This was due in part
to her cutting-edge

twin-engine configuration
and massive coal-fired boiler.

So she sounds
like an incredibly able ship

to take on this river.
-She had a shallow draft,

she was very maneuverable,

really kind of ideal
for the San Juan.

-And what happens?
-[Peter] On her first attempt

up the river, she gets about
two-thirds of the way up,

and disaster strikes.

While attempting to run

one set of swift
and shallow rapids,

the Orus grounds out
on jagged rocks,

becoming hopelessly trapped.

The crew desperately tries
to free her, but in the end,

they're forced to abandon ship.

In time, the wreck fades
from memory and is swept away

by the rushing water.

Why is this such
an important ship to find?

The Orus, it's gonna take
us back to that era of 1850,

the Gold Rush era.

It captures the American
spirit of adventure.

And you think you can find it?

I know we're gonna find her.

I love the confidence.
All right, so what's our plan?

So we're gonna retrace
the Orus's route.

-Except for the sinking part?
-Well, hopefully.

Right.
Is this us?

-[Miguel] This is us.
-We're ready to roll.

-Let's go!
-[Josh] OK.

We load the boat with supplies
and proudly hoist

Explorers Club flag number 124,
which has been on expeditions

to the rough seas
of the Cape of Good Hope

and traveled by dog sled
across Alaska's Bering Strait.

Now it's tackling the mysteries
of the San Juan River

and the wild jungles
on either side.

To guide us
through the dangerous

and doomed route of the Orus,
we're joined

by seasoned captain
Julio Murillo

and pilot Geovanny Butos.

All right, here we go!

Into the unknown.
Next stop?

The Orus.

Let's do it!
Here we go, guys!

Let's do it

♪♪

[Josh] We leave behind
the village and our last view

of the tropical waters
of the Caribbean,

as we steam up
the mouth of the river

into a watery labyrinth.

The San Juan discharges
a staggering 40 million

cubic gallons of water a day.

All that H2O flows East
through narrow channels

jammed with rocks.

This is a world
of unpredictable currents

and shifting shoals hidden
just below the surface

that could shred our hull
like Swiss cheese.

This river has
such diversity, Josh.

We got crocodiles and caimans,
freshwater bull sharks

up by the lake.
-Freshwater bull sharks, OK.

And on land, don't think
on land it's much safer.

You gotta deal with jaguars
and all kinds of snakes.

This guy hits a rock
and we lose that prop,

then what do we do?

-Grab your life preserver.
-We're swimming to Greytown.

I mean, that's not even a joke.

There's no roads.
Nobody's coming for you.

[Peter] No one's coming for you.

[exciting music playing]

Whoa!
Crocodile!

Oh, look at that!
Crocodile!

Slow down, slow down,
slow down!

Look at that thing!

[cinematic music playing]

Crocodile!
Look at that thing!

That wasn't a little caiman.
That was a proper crocodile.

Wow!

These waters are teeming
with American crocodiles,

which can reach
up to 14 feet in length.

I'm happy to be inside our boat
with explorers

Peter Tattersfield
and Miguel Fernandez

on an expedition up Nicaragua's
wild San Juan River

in search of
Cornelius Vanderbilt's

lost steamship, the Orus.

OK, so let's talk about this.

So we just left Greytown
on the Caribbean side,

so that's here.
-[Peter] Yep.

And how far did the Orus have
to travel on this journey?

Well, the length of this river
is 120 miles.

And how far did the Orus get?

We figured she made it
about two-thirds of the way up,

up into an area with some
known rapids, a lot of hazards.

It gets to those rapids,
and then she makes an attempt.

She gives it a shot,
and she starts heading up.

Close to the top of the rapid,
she's just overcome

by the force.
-Right.

And she's pushed back,
and she ends up wrecking

onto the rocks themselves.
-So what do they do?

Well, they try all they can
to get her released.

They use ropes to pull.
They use levers.

They're pushing,
they got men in the water,

and nothing seems to work.

Eventually, they abandon her.
She's beyond repair.

So what?
This ship just gets

left wrecked in the middle
of the river?

Yeah, we have travelers accounts
that see her

throughout the years sitting
in the middle of the river.

One of them, Samuel Clemens.

-Mark Twain.
-[Peter] Mark Twain.

Twain describes the remnants
of a wreck at the foot

of some rapids that is overtaken
by vines and vegetation.

Wow!
So she just becomes

another hazard on the San Juan.

[Peter] Yeah.

[Josh] Over decades,
witnesses describe

the overgrown wreck
transforming into a kind

of artificial island.

And travelers' accounts
of this wreckage just cease?

They start to fade away,
and the route gets used

less and less, and then
the Panama Canal comes along.

Right, and the Orus is
all but forgotten.

-Pretty much.
-Pretty much.

[Josh] Had she completed
her voyage in 1850

and Vanderbilt's travel route
become a success,

the world might have
a Nicaragua Canal,

and the Orus would be remembered
as a pioneering vessel.

Instead, today, not even
a single photograph

of the ship survives.

Now, we do know that she's
a wooden hull, right?

-[Miguel] Yep.
-And what are the pieces

that are most likely to survive?

I would say the machinery,
the boiler for sure,

and if there are parts
of the engine.

And those boilers are
big, right?

Those boilers are big,
and they would have been bolted

to an iron slab.
-[Josh] OK.

To very large timbers,
which could definitely have

survived as well.
If we're lucky,

we might find
some of those elements.

[Josh] The boiler was
the beating heart of the Orus.

A coal-burning furnace
generated steam which drove

two lever beam engines,
pushing paddle wheels mounted

on either side of the vessel.

While much of the wood has
likely rotted away,

the heavy metal components
of the power plant

may have survived.

The question is,
is she still visible?

-[Miguel] That's right.
-She might be submerged.

Right, she might be
under the waterline.

[Miguel] Absolutely.
At this point.

OK.
Wow!

On paper, this sounds easy.

How hard could it be to find
a giant steamship

in the middle of a river?
It's gotta be simple, right?

But once you come out here,
you realize it's not so simple.

[Peter] No.

[Josh] And the Orus is
far from alone.

In the decades
after the ill-fated trip,

dozens of other steamers were
lost on the San Juan.

Identifying the remains
of the Orus may be a challenge.

That is, if we can
even reach her.

Josh, this is our first set
of real rapids.

Wow, and they are deceptive
because they don't look

that bad, just these little
white caps.

-[Peter] Yeah.
-But we're barely moving.

Yeah.

-You can feel the pull.
-[Josh] Totally.

[Peter] You can definitely
feel the pull.

-It's moving a lot of water.
-Yeah.

[Josh] We run the first set
of rapids,

but the churning waters are not
the only danger

lurking just beneath us.

-Julio, how deep is it here?
-More or less three feet.

-Three feet?
-Three feet.

Oh, three feet.

Imagine the Orus coming
through here with only

three feet of draft.
-[Peter] Yeah.

Ooh!

And there it is, right there.

You can feel the motor
hitting the sandbank.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, shallow!
Shallow!

Stop, stop, stop!
We cut the engine.

The last thing we want to do is
damage the propeller

and strand ourselves
far from civilization.

And we're grounded out.

OK, we gotta push off
of it, yeah?

We make like amateur gondoliers
and use a pole to work our way

free from the sandbar.

[dynamic music playing]

-We're coming off it?
-[Peter] Yeah.

[Julio] Yeah.

[Josh] Yep, that's deeper.

All right, we're
off the sandbar.

Can you punch it?

[engine revving]

Punch it.

[speaking in Spanish]

[Josh] Here we go.
Good, good, good.

Okay, we're off it.

Whoo!

We escape the shallows
and thankfully avoid

any damage to the boat.

Mile after mile,
hour after hour,

we wind through
the endless jungle,

deeper into
the "Heart of Darkness"

that swallowed the Orus,
and into more churning rapids.

So what's the strategy?
To the right?

-[Julio] To the right.
-[Josh] Yeah, a la derecha?

-[Julio] We go to the right.
-[Josh] OK, here we go.

Okay, we're coming through.

Still water ahead.

After navigating the rapids,
Julio says he has

something to show us.

The water level is too high
right now, but when the river

is low, he has seen rusty metal
debris breaking the surface.

We are far up the river,
so could this be all

that's left of the Orus?

Julio, how far underwater
do you think?

It could be a few feets,

maybe three or four feets.

Oh, there's a little bit
of swirling there.

-You see that?
-[Julio speaking in Spanish]

[Josh] Look at that.
Right there, right there!

-You see that?
-[Peter] Yep.

-[Josh] The swirl?
-[Peter] Yep.

Can you reach the bottom
there or no?

-[Julio] No.
-There's something there.

It's not close to the surface.

So, this is normally where
we would pull out the sonar.

We're using a slightly
more manual technique today.

[Miguel]
There's something here.

Oh.

-Something there?
-Touch.

-[Julio speaking in Spanish]
-Yep.

-There's something right here.
-We got something.

That's a structure.

Yep, that's it, right there!
This is it!

[Josh] Bam!
Look at that!

-[Peter] Look at that!
-[Josh] You literally staked it.

Dude, nice work!
OK, now what?

-Get your wetsuit on.
-Really?

Really.

OK, let's do it.

We gear up to do something
that may be best described

as really stupid,
a zero-visibility dive

in a crocodile-infested river
with swiftly moving current.

Sure.
Why not?

To keep us from getting
washed downstream,

our lifeline is a rope anchored
into the submerged structure.

Read you loud and clear.

Is it a wreck?

[dramatic music playing]

Guys, is it metal or wood?

[dramatic music intensifies]

[dramatic music playing]

10-4.

[Josh] We follow the safety line
back into the sunlight.

Oh!
Man, that sucks.

Thank you for getting me
back on the line.

I had one hand on it
near the surface and lost it,

and immediately you just
start heading downriver.

Well, that's why I cut
my fingertips off, Josh,

'cause I want to know
where that line is.

Yeah, no, it's like
it slipped away from me,

and then suddenly
it's like you're gone.

Look, the visibility down there
is diabolical,

but it's enough
that the takeaway is clear.

That is not the Orus.

Thinking about where we are,
we just passed a set of rapids,

so we're above a set of rapids,
and the Orus needs to be below.

Yeah, right,
the location doesn't quite fit.

-That's right.
-[Josh] But whatever
that ship is,

it's substantial.

Yeah, it is.
It's a good-sized wreck.

You know, there was a ship
that sank a few years later,

1854, the Ometepe, which was
one of the big steamers

that went across the lake.

OK, so maybe that's
the Ometepe?

Yeah, it struck a rock and they
say it sank in 24 feet of water.

-How deep were you guys?
-[Josh] That's about
where we were.

Has the wreckage of the Ometepe
been charted?

Uh, not that I'm aware of.

We may have just put eyes
on a significant historical

shipwreck that's uncharted.

Amazingly, this may be one
of Vanderbilt's other ships.

The Ometepe ferried traffic
across Lake Nicaragua

after the wreck of the Orus.

The loss was another major blow
for his transit line

and plans to build a canal.

Fully booked with 250
passengers when she hit a rock,

it's fortunate that everyone
was able to evacuate.

Lost to the depths
for more than 170 years,

we may have just put her
back on the map.

-But the Orus still awaits.
-[Peter] Let's go find her.

Let's do it, yeah.

Let's get off this water
before a crocodile rips my leg.

-Come on.
-[Peter laughs]

[Josh] Back on the water,
the hours tick by

as we scan the banks
for shipwrecks.

We continue to fight
the heavy current,

taxing the outboard
and burning through fuel fast.

Fortunately, Peter has
a plan to gas up.

Hey, Josh, we got a little
town coming up here pretty soon

that we're gonna pull into.
-They got a town out here?

-Yeah, a river town.
-A river town?

No roads in, no roads out.
It's called El Castillo.

And there she is, right there!

[heroic music playing]

Is that a fortress up there?

Yeah, a fortress built
by the Spaniards

back in the 16th century
to ward off pirates.

Pirates?

-Pirates.
-Of course.

[Peter]
Josh, welcome to El Castillo.

Happy to be here.
Dry land.

Gracias.

While Captain Julio refuels,
we walk through a town

largely cut off
from the outside world.

[guitar music playing]

[Josh]
El Castillo looks like a lost
set from the Jungle Cruise.

Luckily, the coffee is strong
and the traffic is light.

In short, not much has changed
since steamship passengers

dreaming of California gold
walked these streets.

How cute is this town.

You never know what you're gonna
find on the river.

And in the hills above,
a derelict fortress is

a ghostly reminder
of El Castillo's colonial past.

[adventurous music continues]

[Josh] Whew!

-Look at that view!
-[Peter] Wow!

-That is something.
-[Josh] Amazing.

[Josh] Built in 1673, it was
strategically positioned

to protect the Spanish
colonial capital in Grenada

from invaders.

A century later,
a young Horatio Nelson captured

the fort for the British.

And in 1850, the town became
a major stop

on Vanderbilt's developing
trade route.

After the Orus disaster,
this was the toughest

set of rapids
for the future steamships

navigating the river.

It was so tough, Josh,
that they would

disembark downstream.

They built a rail system
to haul the passengers

and cargo around this castle,
down to this point

at the foot of the castle,
and they'd load their cargo

and passengers
onto another steamship

that would take them
westward back.

So they totally gave up
on the idea of even

getting a steamship
through this section.

[Peter]
They really did.

[Josh] With the sun setting,
we set up hammocks in town

to get some much needed rest.

[Josh sighs]

-All right, boys, good night.
-[Peter] Good night.

[Miguel] All right.
Good day, fellas.

[Josh] Great day.

Hey, none of you guys
snore, right?

[Josh] Uh, no.

-[crickets chirping]
-[loud snoring]

[Josh] Early the next morning,
we're back on the hunt

for the Orus.

With El Castillo
in the rear view,

every trace of civilization
vanishes.

We're alone on the river,
surrounded by wild rainforest,

with nothing but green
in every direction.

♪♪

[Josh] According
to contemporary sources,

the wreck was overtaken
by the jungle and transformed

into a small island
somewhere in this area,

about two-thirds of the way
to Lake Nicaragua.

We're in the right spot.

The Orus should be close,
so we keep our eyes peeled.

[engine revving]

[Josh] It is so overgrown that
it's kind of hard to imagine

seeing anything, unless it is
just right on the water's edge.

The course of this river
has changed a lot

over the last 200 years.

Today, what's in the jungle
200 years ago might have been

on the edge of the bank.
-[Josh] Totally.

-Hey, guys.
-There!

Right there.
Look at that!

Right in there.
That's metal for sure.

You see that?

Can we come around?

[dramatic music intensifies]

-That is metal for sure.
-[Miguel] Yep.

[Josh] What the hell is that?

Let's see if we can find
some place to come ashore.

[Miguel speaking in Spanish]

[Josh] We beach the boat
in a clearing.

We'll have to bushwhack
through the dense vegetation

to investigate the rusty
metal debris.

♪♪

OK, now we gonna
worry about what?

Snakes?

I think they're only about
five different types

of venomous snakes
here in Nicaragua.

Why did I even ask
this question?

[Peter]
Come on, we're having fun.

Keep your eyes open.

[Josh] Good lord.

[exciting music playing]

The thick jungle slows
our progress to a crawl.

One machete chop at a time,
we clear a path.

Anything?

[Peter] Nothing yet, but it's
thick up here.

It should be on our left
by the water, yeah?

[Peter]
Yeah, I think I see something.
Hang on.

-Hey, guys, get over here!
-[Josh] You got it?

-[Peter] Over here!
-Where is it?

[Peter] Right over here.

Ha ha!
There it is!

Oh, my word.
That's a boiler.

[Josh] That is absolutely
a ship's boiler,

literally in the middle
of the jungle!

I'm with explorers
Peter Tattersfield

and Miguel Fernandez, searching
for the steamship Orus.

So, we got something here
like a hatch.

-[Miguel] Yeah.
-[Josh] And I think this is
connected.

[Miguel] I think this is
actually the boiler

underneath us here.
/Right, so this is the boiler.

This is actually part
of the chimney

and there's a smaller chimney
that goes up higher.

Right, so this is like
the smokestack up here.

-Exactly.
-Unbelievable!

So the million-dollar question,
are we standing

on top of the Orus?

-I don't think so, Josh.
-[Josh] You don't?

[Peter] I don't think so.

Number one, we don't
have an island.

We have vegetation,
but there's no island impact

with this wreck.
Whatever this ship is,

I think she came to rest here,

and the bulk of her is
two feet beneath us.

There is one other big issue
with this, too.

-Yeah, rapids.
-Exactly.

There's no rapids here at all.

We're not at the foot
of rapids.

We're not above rapids.
This is calm water out here.

[Peter] Yeah.

[Josh]
We also know that the Orus was
powered by two steam engines,

but here we don't see
any remains

beyond the boiler and chimney.
-[Peter] Probably not the Orus.

But a steamship in the jungle.

That's not something you see
every day.

-But on Rio San Juan, it is.
-[Josh] Right.

This era during the Gold Rush
had a tremendous amount

of traffic up and down
this river.

All right, so we'll document it
as best we can and then

head back to the river.
-Sounds good.

-[Peter] Let's do it.
-[Josh] Let's do it.

♪♪

[Josh] Having come across
another lost wreck,

we measure the dimensions
of the boiler

and record GPS coordinates.

Hopefully, future archival
research will uncover

a name and reveal the story
of this mystery vessel.

[adventurous music continues]

[Josh] Back on the boat,
we continue working our way

upriver for several more hours.

Hey, guys, we're coming up
to a really, really dangerous

part of the river.

All the accounts that we have
with these rapids,

this is where we have
the greatest chance

of finding the Orus.

Keep your eyes open,
but brace yourselves

for a bumpy ride.
-All right.

Everybody hang on to something.
Here we go.

♪♪

[Josh]
Vanderbilt's lost steamship
may have crashed on the rocks

in this rapid.

We need to be careful,
or we'll meet the same fate.

Yeah, hang on.
It's gonna get bumpy.

[Miguel] Hold on.

[Josh] Whoo!

Good Lord!

Fighting this current is
no joke.

These are some strong rapids.

I mean, we are basically
at a standstill here.

Like an aquatic treadmill,
the surging waters have us

running in place.

-Come on!
-[Miguel] Come on, baby.

[Josh] It almost feels like
we're going backwards in this.

You can absolutely see
how a ship the size of the Orus

could get destroyed in here.

We clear the first leg
of the rapids and find

an unusual channel forking off
near the river's edge.

This is not the back
of the river.

This is an island.

[Peter]
This is an island for sure.

[Josh] This is reminiscent
of what passersby

like Mark Twain noted
a century ago.

A small island which built up
around the Orus.

It's certainly worth
investigating.

Can we sneak in here,
you think?

Let's see if we can get out
of the main current here.

♪♪

Beauty, amazing, we're in.

OK, we're on the inside
of whatever this island is now.

Right in the rapids,
and we got an island.

Absolutely!

So let's see if we can
come ashore.

Right here.

Everybody hang on!

As I set foot on dry land,
we are once again enveloped

by thick wilderness.

Wow!
Look at this place.

-Hey, Peter.
-[Peter] Yeah.

-Gonna need that.
-[Peter] Oh, yeah.

So let's see where this goes.

[Peter] We got some work
ahead of us, though.

Yeah, this looks overgrown.

Keep an eye out for anything
metal, any kind of objects.

[Josh] That's right.
OK.

We bushwhack our way toward
the far edge of the island,

searching for traces
of anything man-made.

[Peter] It is thick up here.

♪♪

This is tough going.

Inch by inch, we hack our way
to the opposite shore.

Looks like it opens up.

-[Peter] Whoa!
-[Josh] What you got?

-[Peter] Check it out!
-Oh, my god!

-[Miguel] Oh, boy.
-[Josh] Holy [bleep]!

Look at that!

That is an entire
boiler system.

-[Miguel] This is a steamship.
-That's from a steamship?

Yes, for sure.

Try clear this out, so I can
get a good look at the boiler.

[Josh] Oh, my God!
Look at this!

But is it the pioneering Orus,
or just a boiler

from a later lost steamer?

Good?

Look at this beast!

OK, so let's talk
about this thing.

I mean, this is insane.

If I'm not mistaken, this is
a cylindrical style boiler.

It was first developed
in the 1840s, which is

right the time
when the Orus was built.

So this is
definitely potential.

-This fits the bill.
-Absolutely.

[Peter] And not only that,
we're right by a set of rapids.

[Miguel] Guys, there's
even more up there.

Oh, there's more
in front of it.

I think there's
some machinery.

-[Josh] Oh, there's more.
-[Peter] Yeah, look at this.

[Josh] Look at this.
There's a lot more here.

This looks like part
of an engine.

[Miguel] These are definitely
engine parts.

And remember
what I told you guys?

The Orus had
a twin beam engine.

That's right.
And look at that.

Look at these parallel pieces.

This is almost a smoking gun.
We know from designer

James P. Allaire's records
that the Orus had

two lever-beam engines
driving paddle wheels mounted

on either side of the hull.

You should be able to see
furnace openings on the bottom

of the boiler.
Can you see anything?

Oh, there is!
look at that!

That's the opening
to the furnace.

[Miguel] It is.

[Josh] What's in there?
Can you see in there?

[Miguel] I can.

Check it out.

[Josh] What's in there?

-You got something?
-[Miguel] I do.

-[Josh] What the hell is that?
-[Peter] What do you got?

[excited] Oh, my.

♪♪

[Josh] Welcome to charming
downtown Managua,

Nicaragua's cultural center
and the heart of its capital.

It's funny.
I thought it would be bigger.

Weird.

This scale model is
an exact replica

of the city's main drag
before a devastating earthquake

flattened it in 1972.

Now visitors can tower
over "Mini"-agua

and remember the city that was
frozen forever in time.

I just raided the mini bar.

♪♪

'Cause it's a small hotel,
Mini -- doesn't matter.

You get it.

[exciting music playing]

Check that out.

-[Josh] Is that coal?
-[Peter] Look at that.

-Is that coal from the furnace?
-[Miguel] It sure is.

[Josh] We've just found
a lump of coal,

yet somehow it feels
like Christmas.

That's because our expedition
up the San Juan River

in Nicaragua may have hit
pay dirt.

[Miguel] I got another piece.

-That's coal.
-That is definitely coal,

and that is old coal.

And remember, the Orus was
burning coal.

Right.
So another piece of evidence.

-They're stacking up.
-They are stacking up.

Everything we're seeing matches
descriptions of the Orus.

We've got an 1840s era
coal-fired boiler wrecked

near a rapid and embedded
in an island.

Check, check, and check.

Oh!

I got metal!
Oh!

Look at this!
Look at this!

-[Peter] Whoa!
-[Josh] This is an anchor.

-[Peter] That is an anchor.
-[Miguel] Definitely.

I mean, that is
for sure an anchor.

The main part of the anchor
here, you can see,

is completely buried.

So the flukes, all that
must be all the way

underneath this mass.

Again, this is more evidence
that this ship, whatever it is,

when it wrecked here,
it formed a kind of island.

There's gotta be more
around here, Josh.

Let's keep on looking.

[Josh] To fully investigate
the debris field,

we put on wetsuits and brave
the crocodile-infested waters

to see what's hiding
beneath the surface.

All right, let's talk
about the plan here.

What are we looking
for underwater?

So, these pieces of machinery
should be bolted

to an iron plate,
and that iron plate

would have been bolted
to a keelson.

That's a really big,
thick piece of timber

that ran the length of the hull.
-That's right.

Orus has to be wooden hulls,
so that configuration is

indicative of the Orus.
-[Miguel] Absolutely.

And in fact, this is
a wood-hulled ship, right?

So, there should be timber
all through here.

It's gotta be, yeah.

OK, let's see if we can see
anything underwater here.

-Here we go.
-[Peter] Let's go.

We only have a few inches
of visibility,

so we use our hands
to grope in the murk.

♪♪

Peter!

-Yeah?
-[Josh] I'm feeling wood

all over the place down here,
aren't you?

I'm feeling wood,
but I'm feeling an iron

or steel plank right here
beneath me.

-[Josh] Where is that?
-Right here.

-Give me your hand.
-[Josh] Uh-huh.

Feel this.

-Whoa.
-[Peter] That is metal.

-[Josh] That's metal.
-[Miguel] What do you guys have?

There's like a metal plank
that runs right underneath

this equipment.
-[Miguel] Is it flat?

-[Peter] It's flat.
-[Josh] Yes, completely flat.

And can you get any sense
of how thick it is?

-I'd say an inch and a half.
-[Miguel] Oh, man.

And there's also what feels
like there might be like

decking here.
Hold on a second.

-[Miguel] Wood?
-[Josh] Yes.

Ha! Look at this.
That's a piece of timber.

[Miguel] That's a great piece
of timber.

-Look at that.
-For sure.

-Look at these parts here.
-Right?

This looks like it might have
been drilled out here.

This is not like an old branch.
This is a piece of timber.

You can see that's planed.

Yeah, look at this drill hole
right there.

There was a screw in there
at one point.

That's amazing.

Two-lever beam engines affixed
to a metal plate

sitting on a wood-hulled ship.

This is a dead match
for the information we have

on the Orus.

All the pieces of the puzzle
are sliding into place.

All right, let's take stock
of things here,

starting with where we're at.

Where we're at feels right,
doesn't it?

It feels like we're
in the right place, Josh.

-A, we're in the rapids.
-Like literally in the rapids.

-Right in the center.
-B, an island.

[Josh] That's right.
We've got a wreck

that has an island
forming around it.

-Right.
-So, I mean, already

that is incredibly promising.

We've got a boiler that was
overgrown by the jungle.

And then we've got
the wreck itself.

I mean, we've got
a cylindrical style boiler

that fits into the era.
-[Josh] Yep.

We know that it had
a double-beam engine.

And we've got
parallel parts here.

-Look at this.
-[Josh] That are about
the right size.

They're about the right size.

And underneath that,
it's all bolted down to iron.

And we've got wooden timbers
and beams underneath that.

And it appears to be
a wooden hull.

OK.
So?

Josh, Miguel,
we're sitting on the Orus.

-This feels right.
-It sure does.

-Absolutely incredible!
-[Peter] Yeah.

And you know what is so wild
about this?

This isn't some artifact
that had to be dug up.

It had to be re-remembered.

It's like a forgotten piece
of history just trapped

in this river.
-She's been waiting for us.

She's been waiting for us.
How about that?

-[Peter] Yep.
-Awesome, awesome job.

-Guys, incredible.
-[Miguel] Really exciting.

Look at that, the Orus.

Dude, unbelievable.
Amazing job.

-Should we dry off?
-[Miguel] Let's go.

Let's get out of here.

[triumphant music playing]

We clean off the vegetation
to photograph and measure

the boiler and engine.

All of the evidence indicates
that this is the Orus,

the first passenger steamer

to take on
the mighty San Juan River.

A lost chapter in Nicaragua's
history has been found.

♪♪

[Josh]
Back in the Gold Rush heyday,
when tens of thousands

of prospectors were
traveling West,

Vanderbilt saw opportunity
and dollar signs,

but his vision claimed
the Orus, the Ometepe,

and dozens of other steamships.

In 1855, a rail line was
completed across Panama,

and in 1869,
the Transcontinental Railroad

bridged the United States.

In 1906, the opening
of the Panama Canal was

the final nail in the coffin.

But history has a way
of repeating itself.

Nicaragua is, once again,
looking for partners to build

a new ocean-to-ocean canal.

But investors beware!

The San Juan River has a way
of carving its own path

and deciding the destinies
of those who try to tame it.

♪♪