All language subtitles for Wilderness with Simon Reeve - 1x02 - Patagonia

We live on a crowded planet.

But there are still vast areas

where nature has the upper hand.

It looks like another planet.

I'm heading to the
last great wildernesses.

I'll try to cross four of
these rugged landscapes

Oh, my God!

On my toughest journeys yet.

I have to be honest, things
are not going brilliantly.

A bit of a medical situation.

Help is a long way away.

- Well done.
- Well done.

I want to meet the people for
whom the wilderness is home

Testicles for breakfast,
lunch and dinner!

To see how they
live alongside nature.

Whoa!

I can stay down there
for a minute or so.

He's still down there
now walking around.

And in this critical
time for our world

Huge carcasses of great trees.

Seek out the rare and majestic
creatures that still survive

My heart is racing.

In some of the most
hostile environments

Are you OK, Jonathan?
- Yeah, yeah.

- and the remotest
regions Bloody hell!

Of our wild planet.

Big cats roaming free.

This surely is the absolute
definition of a real wilderness.

I'm in Argentina, travelling
through Patagonia,

a region so vast it
covers the lower third

of the continent
of South America.

It's a land of myth and mystery,

of grasslands and forests
surrounding mountains and ice.

Nature is still in charge here,

in one of the wildest
places left on Earth.

Oh, my God.

I mean, it is breathtakingly
beautiful, isn't it?

Our plan is to head that way -

the end of the
valley and then up,

because up there,
beyond the mountains,

is a vast store of ice.

The South Patagonian Ice Field.

The ice field is the cold heart
at the centre of Patagonia.

It's a colossal critical
bank of frozen water.

I don't think we
know enough about it.

I hope to reach it, then track it
right down to its southern edge.

On the journey I'll try to meet
up with some of the rugged souls

who survive in wild Patagonia.

Across the huge grassland
steppe of Eastern Chile,

I'll search for pumas - the
mountain lions of South America.

Ultimately, I hope to
reach the Grey Glacier

in the south of the ice field.

The first challenge is getting to
the South Patagonian Ice Field,

high above us.

It's hard to reach.
- Yes, it's dangerous.

If you will see the blue
sky now, it's perfect,

but we have to see
what happens at the end

because we are going in that
direction and we have to see

what's happening with the clouds
coming from the Pacific Ocean.

- So, fingers crossed, we won't
get stopped by the weather.

Ceci Vedelago is
an Argentinian guide.

She has more than 20
years of experience climbing

the Andes Mountains that run north
to south down through Patagonia.

- You see there, the glacier?
- Yeah. - We're through that valley,

and we're going there to get
to the middle of the ice field.

We need three days to get there.

In some parts it will be a rocky
area - that will be a challenge.

In some parts we have to
cross the river - a challenge.

We cross crevasse -
that will be a challenge.

- You've used the word
"challenge" several times, Ceci.

- Yes, exactly, you're right.
- Flippin' 'eck.

Our journey to the ice field
will involve climbing, hiking

and freezing wading.

Oh, my God! - Oh, it's not that bad.
- Oh, yes, it is.

Oh, my God!

Along with Ceci and
me on the expedition,

there's a small TV crew and
climbers guiding us up to the ice field,

including mountain rescue experts
with advanced medical training

in case of emergencies.

It can be so
brutally cold up here.

The best time of the
year to be here, trekking,

is December to
March. It's now May.

There are no
resupply options here.

There is no mobile
phone service.

If one of us gets injured, a
rescue would be a bit tricky, in truth.

This is a remote and rarely visited
corner of the Andes Mountains.

Day one of our expedition is
a long trek with heavy packs.

Eventually, we reach a site
where we can camp for the night

as temperatures start
dropping towards minus ten.

So we've set up camp
and the priority now

is to get warm, get some
food inside us and get to bed.

I've got to switch boots
now from trekking boots

to class B2 mountaineering boots

becausewe're going up.

Ahead, I start to catch
glimpses of the mountains

which guard the great ice
field that sprawls beyond.

- Stay by yourself,
especially the first 15 minutes.

- We're following a
jagged, barren valley

carved by the force of
enormous ancient glaciers.

Their crushing ice crawling
and grinding down the mountains.

Above us, silent and brooding,
sits the South Patagonian Ice Field.

It's a vast geographical
feature of the planet,

helping to regulate the entire
ecosystem of the continent.

I'm really hoping
we can get up there

to get a sense of how the ice
field still fares in our warming world.

So, we need to get across this.

Lucas Jacobson is
our expedition leader.

He's securing a line to
get us across the gully.

A true mountain man,

Lucas has scaled some of
the highest peaks of the Andes.

- Hey, Simon, we have
the zipline here to cross.

Basically, you, Simon,
need to pull yourself.

- OK.

- We should have contact all the time.
- Right. - Perfect.

- I hate heights.

- OK?
- Yeah.

- Your hands behind
your head and pull it slowly.

- OK.

Oh, my God.

Thank you.

OK?

So this torrent of
water is all coming off

the ice field that is above us.

This mass of ice up there.

Above is the largest expanse of
ice in the Southern Hemisphere

outside Antarctica.

These melt waters sustain life
across the Patagonian wilderness

and beyond.

And now I can start to
see the ice field above.

Up there.

That is what we're
heading towards.

It's still a bit of a distance.

We think it'll still take at
least another full day's climb

to get up to the ice field, but
the weather is closing in on us.

The wind is

It's so powerful here.

Sometimes I take the
classic two steps forward

and get blown one step back.

- Simon, welcome to Patagonia!

Rain alternating with
sub-zero blasts of wind

makes the bare rock
surfaces icy and treacherous.

It's not long before we
have our first casualty.

It's our cameraman Piers.

- I just twisted my ankle.

- Piers, you all right?
- Yeah, yeah.

Just give me a minute.

- I'm quite worried about
Piers, our cameraman.

I don't know if he's
going to be able to go on.

We find a sheltered
area among boulders

where we can camp
and discuss options.

How is it feeling, mate?

- It feels a bit swollen.
- Right.

- The problem is, there's
still a lot more up to do

and the up is,
ermis the problem.

- To be honest, as you see
today, the rain, it's getting more

and more technical every
every metre we're moving.

If anyone needs to be rescued,

it involves, like, in
between 30 and 40 people.

- What, to evacuate a person?
- Yeah.

So, because you're still in a
condition to walk by yourself,

I decide that tomorrow is
a good day for you to return

to the last camp and start to
make your return all the way back.

- All right, mate. Well, it's crap,
but it's better you go out safely.

- Yeah. I'll have to show
Chris how to use a camera!

- Look, we've got
the badger out.

We'll get some audio, at least!

Fingers crossed.

The glaciers here very
kindly left a whole load of

stones lying around
as they retreated.

Hopefully now, I will not
be taking off in the night.

I'm just blowing up my mattress.

You need an
inflatable mattress here

because you've got to get your
body off the cold stony ground.

I have to be honest, things
are not going brilliantly.

We've had an injury and we've just
heard that there's a storm coming.

And the storm might mean that
we will not make it to the ice field.

We're going to have to see what
the weather is like in the morning

and we'll make a decision
on whether we go up

or whether we go down.

For hour after hour, we're
lashed by a Patagonian storm.

The wind is really
going for it now.

It's a little bit
scary, to be honest.

I'm not entirely convinced
this tent is going to hold.

Clear skies.

A huge relief.

But another, bigger
storm is forecast.

So if we're going to make it to
the ice field, we need to go now.

We're up at first light to make the
final and most challenging ascent.

- We're very close to
the Patagonian Ice Field.

With a blue sky,
some cloud is passing.

Perfect timing.

- As we climb up the valley, we
map out various routes ahead.

But several are blocked
by thick ice and rock falls.

It means we need to
take another way up.

- One possible route is going
on the right, into that gully there,

but we can't figure it out now. There's a lot of ice.
- OK.

- So, the other Plan
B route is up here

with some fixing ropes.
- Ropes? - Yeah, ropes. - OK.

We've got to get up.

My full rucksack
weighs more than 20kg.

Tricky on a narrow ledge.

Bloody hell!

So we're nearly up at
the snow and ice line now.

Nearly.

Here we go. Look.

This little channel, to me,
feels like we're crossing

from the land of
rock to the land of ice.

As if to prove a point.

After several gruelling days,

finally we've reached the edge
of the South Patagonian Ice Field.

It's an enormous wall

of snow and ice.

To get up onto the ice
field to see its true scale,

we now need to climb up a 40
degree slope of sheet ice for miles.

One slip could send us sliding down
hundreds of feet onto jagged rocks.

That could easily be fatal,

so we're wearing sharp
crampons on our feet to give grip.

- OK?
- That's good. Yeah, that's good.

And we're roped together
to save us from a slide

and from falling into
a bottomless crevasse

that can suddenly
appear under your feet.

- We haven't really got
much time for rest stops

because a storm is coming

and we've got to
get off the ice field.

We don't want to be
stuck up here for too long.

So we've got to move
as quickly as we can, but

Argh!

I've just put my foot into the
edge of just a little crevasse.

I can't see the
bottom. Ooh-ha-ha!

For hours, we trek upwards.

I'm properly shattered.

I'm starting to feel like
we'll never reach the top -

the ice field plateau.

Then, eventually,
suddenly, the ice levels out.

We've made it.

This

is the South
Patagonia Ice Field.

Oh, my goodness.

- Yesterday, it was
raining, and now look here.

A blue sky, the sun, we
can see all the summits,

all the mountains, right in
the middle to the ice field.

- The mountains here are
the middle of the ice field?

- Correct, yeah. - Yeah.
- That's unbelievable.

Still you have more ice field in the back.
- Wow.

You have no idea
how big it is up here.

It's enormous. It's
on a scale that I just

I couldn't comprehend.

Stretching more than
200 miles north to south,

billions of tonnes
of frozen water.

The South Patagonia Ice Field
covers more than 5,000 square miles.

In some parts the
ice is a mile deep.

Silence.

On a very busy planet

this is a proper wild

wilderness part of the world.

- It's unique, this place.

- For me, being here, makes me,
like, in real contact with the land,

with the natural areas.

- I feel I feel
emotional being here.

What an absolutely
staggering part of the planet.

Look at this.

So, thank you, guys.

- Well done.
- Well done.

- Getting onto the ice
field, seeing the scale of it,

feels like a real achievement.

From here, I'm
going to head south,

exploring more of the
wilderness in Patagonia,

trying to get a sense of how
this whole region is coping

as our world heats up.

This is one of the least explored
mountain areas of the world.

It's one of the least known
ice fields on the planet.

But it is vast.

And the store of
fresh water here

is vital not just to Patagonia

but to the whole
of South America,

and the impact of
this vast store of ice

is felt by the climate
across the region

and helps to regulate the
climate of the world, no less.

Of course it does.

Every little aspect of the
planet helps to keep it in balance

and this here
plays a crucial role.

If this wasn't here, if this was
the colour of the rocks around

it would absorb more of
the sun's energy and heat

and that would further drive
planetary climate change

and global warming.

We need this ice
field. All of us do.

It matters to everyone.

With the weather about to turn
and a powerful storm on the way,

we start the long trek
down from the ice field.

I want to head south through
the foothills of the Andes

to try and meet some of the
people who live on the edge

of this frozen wilderness and
perhaps understand it best.

Trekking down the
ice wall into the valley

pulls and strains a
whole new set of muscles.

But our packs are lighter,
nobody snaps an ankle,

and after two days we find
ourselves off the ice and hiking through

some of Patagonia's
mind-boggling range of landscapes.

Soon, we're in bleak and
windswept forests and grasslands.

It's romantically rugged.

Miles to the south, we pick
up our four-wheel drives.

It takes a tough and hardy soul
to survive out here year round.

But Argentina's
gauchos farm this area

and we're heading to a
remote gaucho outpost.

Lucas is taking me to
meet some gauchos -

the legendary cowboys
of South America.

They live much of
their lives on horseback.

Probably wise, considering
the state of the roads.

Great stuff. Well done.

A little bit stuck.

Being in the wilderness,
travelling in the wilderness, is tricky.

We're not here alone.
We've got another

Some of our team
are in a vehicle behind.

We're going to have to bring that
up and try and pull this one out.

The sun is going down,
we're still about four miles

from our destination, which is not
ideal because we keep getting stuck.

We really need to
make it there tonight.

This is as far as we
can go on four wheels.

We have to do the
last section on foot.

- Simon, we are almost there.

- There it is!

God, it's a tiny little thing.

- Hey, buddy.
- Look at this place.

Thank you, mate.

Taibo lives out here alone
in the wild for months on end,

with only his dogs for company,

looking after herds
of sheep and cattle.

His friend, Juani, another local
gaucho, is staying for a few nights.

Wow.

Well, this place is
very very special.

Several bottles of wine.

- Taibo sleeps here and he
spends most of the summer here.

- How long have you
been a gaucho, Taibo?

So that's in your bones.

We'll be staying with Taibo
and Juani for two nights.

We'll all fit into a
single basic room.

OK.

It's cosy.
- It's cosy, eh?

- Yeah, there is space
for all of us, I think.

So, we've got somewhere to
stay, we've got somewhere to sleep,

we've got some
food to eat, hopefully.

- Oh, we're fine. We'll survive.

- What a life this is, eh?

Yeah, there were some
gauchos until pretty recently,

they would spend something like
a year in a lonely outpost like this

and not see another human being.

There is something
remarkable about that existence.

Something that's
still quite appealing.

Intimidating but appealing,
out here in the wilderness.

Oh!

I slept OK. Well,
not too bad, anyway.

But ironically, after worrying
about everybody else snoring,

apparently it was
me snoring for Britain.

Yes, a few too many
glasses of the red wine, I fear.

Taibo is already up,
cooking breakfast.

This far south and with winter
approaching, days are short.

Taibo spends most of his time
working outside in the elements.

He has to endure Patagonia's
brutal winds and temperatures

that range from minus 20 in winter
to more than 25 degrees in summer.

A hearty breakfast is essential.

Mm! That is an
exceptional breakfast.

- Basically, there's
beef for breakfast,

lunch, dinner

The same. - Repeat.
- Repeat, yeah.

Or lunch can be

You know, in Argentina, we eat
also Do you know cottage pie?

- Cottage pie? - Yeah. - Yeah.
- It's very popular in Argentina. - Mm-hm.

I wasn't expecting you
to say that, but, yeah.

Mm-hm.

I love that.

Yes. Are you a particular
fan of mashed potato?

- Mashed potato with meat.

- Cut off from the
rest of the planet,

Taibo stays out here with few of
the benefits of the modern world

and less of the headaches.

His tools are his sheepdog, a
lasso, and of course a sturdy horse.

- This is going to be your
horse. Valencio. Super calm.

For everybody.
- I appreciate that.

Gauchos are legendary riders.
Me, definitely not so much.

And they have their
own riding style here.

- There you go. You
pull your hand left.

Exactly.
- OK.

- That's left. Right,
the other way.

- And to stop? - Just pull back.
- Just pull back. - And then release.

- The gauchos, the
landscape, the wilderness.

Gauchos have lived
like this for generations.

Ranchers first came
here in the 19th century.

Over the years, they've encroached
ever further into the wilderness.

- Brr-brr-brro!

You move them from the left.
- OK. - Yeah?

- Their sheep and
cattle graze the land.

Sometimes overgraze it.

And the fences they put up do
cause problems for the wildlife here.

But their way of life is still at
the mercy of the environment

and the landscape.

- Very good.

- The climate of Patagonia is
governed by the Andes Mountains

and the enormous ice
field that sits above us.

My God.

It looks like another
planet. Look at the colour.

Taibo has lived out here
on and off for his whole life.

I wondered if he'd seen
changes in that time.

I know Patagonia
is one of the wettest

and windiest places in the world

but how has the how has the
weather changed here over the years?

I mean, for me, that's that's a
scary thing that you're saying.

You're talking about dramatic
changes in a short period

of time that you are personally
seeing with your own eyes.

- Ya!

- Taibo knows
these wild mountains.

He's not a scientist monitoring
from afar, he's a witness.

A canary in a coalmine
alerting us to profound change

in this wilderness.

The ice field is shrinking,
rainfall has dropped,

there's drought,
forest fires increase.

This is the climatic upheaval
we know is made more likely

and extreme by our
global climate crisis.

I'm getting a little bit sore

in places that you don't need
to know anything more about.

Juani wasn't born to
the gaucho lifestyle.

He actually grew up in a town.

But he's chosen
this way of life,

living out on the raw
edge of the wilderness.

There aren't many
younger men here like him.

- Gauchos, I think,
they have this passion,

but it's really hard for other
people to do what these guys do.

Where you have to work to
take the cattle from the mountain

Not the top.

But all the cattle down. - Mm.
- That is a mountains crew.

Now, the problem, this generation,
people of my age and younger,

they're not staying
on the farms any more.

They prefer to stay in the city.

- And there is a risk
that the gaucho - Yeah.

- the way of life might
wither and die out?

- Erm, yeah.

- The gaucho life is a solitary one,
but obviously, there are upsides.

It's quite delicate.
- Yeah?

- The texture is like a hard
boiled but perfectly cooked egg.

And it's a very
light meaty taste.

- Testicles are great.

When you're doing all
the work with the cattle

You know, the castration.
- Yeah.

- Right after that, you put
all the testicles in the bucket

and the following days
they are eating testicles.

- Testicles for breakfast,
lunch and dinner.

Go on, all in, then.
A bit of intestines.

This is This is very good.

Does anyone just want
to go and talk to the dog?

- It could be a puma.

A fox, a puma.

- Hold on, did you just
say it could be a puma?

- Probably.
- Probably?!

Is that one of the biggest
threats to a gaucho's flock or herd?

- Of course, when they are about
one year old, one year and a half,

they are still a prey of a puma.
- Right, a foal. OK.

- Yeah. So you have to
really take care of them.

Keep them in the corral
every night before evening.

Two years ago, a puma
took down two foals.

One night we
forgot them outside.

One night. And they were gone.
- And the puma took them both? - Yeah.

- Charles Darwin wrote
about gauchos in the 1830s

and he said they were very
courteous, very hospitable,

full of modesty when talking
about themselves or their country,

but also daring and brave.

I think there is still a great
romance about the gaucho

and coming here, I
think I can see why.

What an epic landscape
and world in which to operate.

We're up early the next morning.

It's time to leave.

So, farewell to new
friends Juani and Taibo.

Taibo, big hug, man.

God bless you.

Thank you. Stay safe.

To explore more of this
beautiful wilderness area,

we're going to try and track
along the Andes Mountains

and cross the border
from Argentina into Chile.

We're about to arrive at a
very remote border crossing.

I'm tracking around the edge
of the South Patagonia Ice Field,

towards the mighty glacier which
flows down from its southern tip.

This stage of my journey
is taking me across

the vast Patagonian Steppe -

thousands and thousands
of square miles of grassland

in the foothills of the Andes.

Across the border, the
landscape of eastern Chile

is majestic and imposing.

It's here that I'm hoping to
catch a glimpse of the big cats

of this wilderness.

I'm going in search of pumas.

Oh, man, it is spectacular here.

It's so vast, though. You
could hide an army out here.

I need a guide who knows
and loves this wild area.

We've found just the guy -
his name is Vicente Montero.

- This is the right place
to enjoy wilderness, man.

- Like many young men,
Vicente wanted meaning in life

when he came here
to the wilderness.

- I'm from Santiago,
the capital of Chile.

A big city. You know, like,
9 million people living there.

And I was raised to
stay there, you know,

and be someone according
to my own family's preferences.

- And then you find here.

- I quit everything and
came here to starve to death,

according to them. You know, like - To your family?
- Yeah.

I found, like, a purpose.

Or I really felt alive every
single moment you're up here.

I mean, look at
your surroundings.

- Look at that view. That
is absolutely gobsmacking.

- The amount of fauna
you can see here, it's

it's unbelievable.

There are flamingos,
there's skunks, foxes.

The condor here is three
metres, 45 centimetres wide.

In the rest of Chile, they
are only three metres.

- Vicente has spent more than a
decade in Patagonia's mountains

and grasslands studying
and helping to protect

the extraordinary
wildlife that lives here.

- Right there.

- Oh, yes!

So, these are
guanacos, is that right?

- Guanacos, yeah.

- And are they Are
they related to llamas?

- Yes, it's the ancestral animal
that colonise all the Andes.

A guanaco, after 4,000
years of domestication,

then it borns a
llama, which is like

a lazy guanaco with
long hair, you know.

A completely
domesticated animal.

- You're being very
rude about the llamas, but

- Yeah, I like the wild version.

Their main defence
mechanism, they sit with the wind

so they can smell everything
that the wind brings,

and they look the other way.

So, if it's visible, they
will make an alarm,

and what they can't see, on
a bad day, they will smell it.

- So they've got both their bases covered?
- Absolutely.

- Wherever guanacos are grazing,

it's possible predators
could be nearby.

Pumas.

So, it's thought that there might
be 50 to 100 pumas in this area.

They are South
America's most iconic

but also elusive big cat.

Vicente has tracked and
studied pumas for years.

If anyone can
find them, it's him.

But pumas are pretty adept
at blending into the landscape.

For hours, I just spot
what Vicente calls PSRs -

puma shaped rocks.

So, the rain is just starting.

We're going to try and find shelter
and then head out again tomorrow.

So, we're out before dawn

and Vicente is using a
thermal spotting scope

which picks out heat
signatures in the landscape,

so he can spot warm-blooded
creatures moving across the hills.

- But it only works
before the sun comes out.

After that, the sun
starts heating every rock,

and then I have, like, living things everywhere.
- Yeah.

- So we only have a few
minutes. We should get on top

- All right, mate.
- To keep scanning. - Let's go. - OK.

One of the sentinels
is facing that way.

- Oh, yes!

- So, in this hill, in
front - Like a sentry.

- Always. It's the way they keep alive.
- Mm.

- A little bit lucky.

There is something over there.

I guess I see the
back of a puma.

Don't get excited yet.

- Why not? It's exciting.
It's an exciting thing to do.

- Cos we're, like, 1km
away, so let me be sure.

- So, what? You use the
spotting scope to identify the heat

the binocular to check
and the camera to confirm?

- Exactly.

Ah-ha.

There it is. Now let's go and check.
- OK. - We can move.

Right there.

- Oh, my God.

That looks like a lot of body
of puma for one single puma.

- I think there are two.
There are two pumas.

- I think I just saw
a puma put its arm

put its leg over the other one.

- Oh, now I see
the head of the cub.

It's a tiny cub of, like,
four or five month old.

Count how many there are.

- Well, I can see two.

- Come on, move a little - Hang on, hang on.
- Higher up.

Count the ears.

How many pairs of
ears do you count?

- Oh, my God. There
are three pumas.

- Three pumas.
- Three together.

- Now, she already heard
us, she already saw us,

and she's still comfortable.

- This is completely
astonishing.

Three wild pumas.

Pumas are found almost the
entire length of the Americas.

So they're found from Alaska,
right down to here in southern Chile.

But they're found in a
greater concentration

around here in Patagonia
than anywhere else.

It's on the move. The
cat is on the move.

Wild big cats roaming free.

This surely is the absolute
definition of a real wilderness.

Pumas are also known
as a mountain lion.

They're the apex predator
supporting the entire ecosystem.

We've just found this
carcass. Is it a guanaco?

- It is, and you can see
all the grass around it,

how tall and
different from the rest.

- It's very green here.

- All the nutrients go
back into the ground

and that is the latest process,
because before they feed

hundreds of different species,
and I'm not being exaggerated, like.

The puma do the kill,
eat as much as possible,

you know, but then they
leave the carcass behind

and the next animal
that comes is the condor.

If there is, for example,
a fox also eating the rest,

the condor comes
here, spread their wings,

the fox moves away and then
the condor eats whatever they can.

After the condor
comes the armadillo.

After the armadillo,
also the skunk.

People usually don't associate
the skunk as a carnivore, but they do,

and they take every
tiny piece of fat or meat

that is left behind.
- Wow.

- Then come all the scavengers.

So the puma is absolutely
central to the ecosystem.

- Much of the Patagonian
wilderness here

is a protected area
called Torres del Paine.

It's been a huge
conservation success.

Just a few decades ago it
was rare to see pumas here.

Now there's thought to be
several hundred in the region.

- There, there, there. There it is.
- Just here.

- There, there, there, there.

- He's got it all as a
cat and a carnivore.

- That's why it's the king, man.

It's the king of Patagonia.

Nobody messes with him.

- This wilderness is a long way
from heavy industry and huge cities,

but the impact of
humanity is still felt here.

Climate change and
drought in Patagonia

is thought to be pushing guanacos
further out of the mountains

in search of grazing.

Pumas follow the guanacos
and that's bringing them

into conflict with ranchers who farm
sheep at the edge of the wilderness.

- They always will
prefer the guanaco,

but occasionally they do
have a tasty lamb available

that's left the
safety of the herd

and, well, the puma
is an opportunist,

as most of apex
predators, you know,

so if they see an
opportunity, they hunt it.

So, what does the ranchers do?

They kill pumas even
though they're protected.

The economic losses
for them are so high

that they choose to ignore the
law and still kill many pumas.

- Even here, pumas
still face threats,

and they won't be immune
from the great planetary changes

facing this wilderness.

The next years and
decades will be crucial

for ensuring their future.

Condors.

This is the final
part of my journey.

I've made it down
close to the southern end

of the South
Patagonian Ice Field.

I'm heading towards a glacier
which flows slowly down from the ice -

the spectacular Grey Glacier.

Vicente, what a place this is.

- Beautiful. We were very lucky.

You can see how
spectacular it is.

- Up there, at the top,

is the ice field from
which this glacier flows.

It's been several weeks
since I began my journey

up to the ice field.

I'm hoping that if I can
reach the Grey Glacier,

I'll be able to understand
how our changing climate

is impacting on this
world of ice and rock.

- How are you doing?
- Doing OK, mate.

It's a bit of a trek,

but eventually we make it
up onto the top of the glacier.

Four miles wide,
it's one of 53 glaciers

that creep down from the
great South Patagonian Ice Field

eventually turning into
rivers that flow to the ocean,

giving life to
everything on their route

across the south
of the Americas.

This landscape is astonishing.

The glacier here
positively glows with light.

It's almost as if it's lit from
within. Like it's luminous.

And it's disconcertingly noisy.

Of course, there's the howling
wind, but there's also creaks

and cracks and moans and
groans coming from the glacier.

It feels alive.

I've got my feet
well apart here.

I've got my crampons in the ice.

The wind will not
take me this time.

- You can't fight the wind,
you play with the wind.

You can play against it.

- The glacier is so
brutishly huge, so epic,

that it can appear
eternal, unchanging.

But Vicente is another
person who has witnessed

a rapid transformation
of this landscape.

- When I first came here in
2005, you can barely see, erm,

the beginning of this
big nunatak - this island.

And this is only in a
few years, you know.

- A nunatak?
- Nunatak. It means island of rock inside the glacier.

- Just 20 years ago, this rocky
island was mostly buried in the ice.

Every year, the glacier
is retreating 100 metres.

I've been seeing the impact
our changing climate is having

on Patagonia, but the melting of
our ice fields here, in Greenland,

Europe, Asia and elsewhere,
is a slow-burn global disaster.

The rate at which glaciers
are melting has nearly doubled

over the past 20 years.

That further
destabilises the climate,

making our weather
systems more unpredictable.

It's astonishing to think that when
scientists flew over the ice field

in an area near
here not so long ago,

the altitude at which
their plane was flying

would have put them inside
the ice just in the 1980s.

That is how much the
ice has melted away.

It's not too late to preserve
our last great wildernesses.

These raw, wild
areas need protecting.

They're worth fighting for.

They're vital for ensuring
we have a healthy planet

and they're important
for us as humans as well.

They feed our souls.

What do you see when you look
out here? what does it mean to you?

- I think it's the
wild side of nature.

We forget we belong
into the wilderness,

we belong into the ice
glacier, forests and everything.

- There is that sense
that people have forgotten

they are living creatures
on an astonishing planet.

We've forgotten that
these wildernesses exist

and we need a
bit of it in our lives.

We need that sense that
nature is raw and powerful

and wonderful!

Next time, in the region they
call the Amazon of the seas

I meet the spear fishermen
of the Coral Triangle.

He is an astonishing
human being.

It's a voyage to a truly
remote corner of our oceans.

So, we've got a
bit of a problem.

Oh, So it's far.

When I say it's far, it's far.

- Not another boat,
nor another ship.

Help is a long way away.