Original subtitles

ANIMALS CALL

CHURCH BELL CHIMES

DOGS BARK, CAR HORN TOOTS

Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it.

Oh, my God, the boys are there. Come on, Mary.

Where is the market? There. Yes, Fred!

OK, let's go. This is anyone's, I think.

Oh, my God, we're really racing now. Look who's behind us. Who is it?

Jeff and Freddy.

Come on, Fred. I've got a wedgie, my mouth is dry...

There's not as much oxygen up here.

Where's the market?

Come on. Can you see it?

Fred, pace it, mate. Oh, shit.

Oh, my calves. Come on, Mar. I can't, I feel sick.

The Rio Parana, South America's second-longest river, and sitting

on the banks of its Argentinian delta is the city of Tigre.

Here, nestled among the 8,400-square-mile maze

of subtropical waterways, the fourth checkpoint...

KELLY:Isn't it weird to see everyone in Puffa jackets?!

SHE CHUCKLES We've been so hot for weeks!

..and the starting point for the penultimate leg

of the race to southern Chile.

But first, a chance for the teams to compare positions.

Congratulations, guys. Thank you.

How does it feel to come first? It felt great. I'm not going to lie.

What you've yet to experience is the pressure that being first comes.

Oh... Right? It's just a different mentality.

Having set the pace in earlier legs, Jeff and Freddy are almost 11 hours

behind, and for the first time, Scott and Sam are race leaders.

And with more than 4,500km still to run before the finish line,

budgets are coming under increasing pressure.

We were quick, but it cost us. The ferry was $200.

$200?! US dollars.

For a three-hour ferry.

We was going to get on the same ferry as Sam and Scott,

but I lost my passport.

The leg was really disappointing. It was a really tough one.

I left it on the bus. And we had to leave the job.

Beautiful wine country. It was amazing.

It was quite crushing, I was ready to just pack it in there and then.

So we had a GREAT time... Wow.

You just have to suck it up and try and bounce back.

I can assure you, it's time to race.

Morning. Hi. Hello. Good morning. Thank you.

Scott and Sam are first to learn their next destination.

"Your fifth checkpoint is Tilcara."

OK? Where IS that? Don't know.

Thank you. Bye. Thank you, bye.

Fast walking? Fast walk. Go!

The pressure's on to keep this up now for another two legs

so that we can win it.

To Tigre, please.

Hola.

Imagine just selling our house, getting one of these

and going off-grid. It's quite kind of romantic.

Imagine being the postman.

Why do you always think logistically?

Gracias. Gracias.

Hola. We're looking for a place called Tilcara?

Is it in Argentina?

Around here? Jujuy. So, near, erm, San Salvador...

..de Juru? Juju? Ju...ji.

1,800km away, in the Jujuy province,

Tilcara, one of the oldest inhabited towns in Argentina,

nestled in the dramatic Quebrada De Humahuaca,

known as the Rainbow Valley, in the far north of the country...

..a region defined by its diverse landscapes, colonial cities

and cultural influences

drawn from its European, Latin American and indigenous populations.

To reach the checkpoint, teams could head across central Argentina,

passing through the major city of Cordoba,

making use of its many transport options,

or travel directly north,

tracing the banks of the mighty

Parana river through lesser-explored rural Argentina, before cutting

deeper into the north-west corner.

I am keen to save money on this leg.

It's scaring me how little money we have.

We COULD go to Cordoba. Might be good transport links.

Most central route. It's well travelled, meaning

that you might have higher prices.

So I think we're going to go directly north.

Less travelled, lower prices.

We're seeing parts of Argentina that you wouldn't necessarily see

if you go on holiday, so it's a bit like when we did

the first leg, when we went inland and we didn't go across the coast,

cos we wanted to do something different. And it worked out well.

OK. We go up to Corrientes and across. Yeah. Come on, then.

I'm still worried that we did spend a lot on the ferry to get here,

that we just need to, maybe this leg, be a bit safe. Yes.

Hola. We need to get to...

Corrientes?

Si. Can we get on a train?

Gracias. Hola. Two tickets to Buenos Aires. Si.

I hope we've done the right thing. Gracias. Gracias.

You've got to go back to Buenos Aires.

And then we'll have all the options. Yeah.

Protecting their budget, they plan to head in the direction

of Corrientes. But first, unable to find direct transport north,

they head back on themselves to the most visited city in South America,

home to 30% of Argentina's population.

I think this is our station.

We can't just be complacent. We are in first place - let's keep it up.

I think Sam is way more competitive than me.

Right, let's find the bus station.

He's like, "We need to win, we need to win."

Even second - "Oh, you did well, you were second.

"That's not first, though, is it? You're still a runner-up."

So we just need to ask for the quickest.

If we've had a great experience, I'll take it,

as long as at the finish line we're first.

We need to get to Corrientes. Rapido.

What time does it get in?

Ah, OK.

Tomorrow morning. Oh... That's a long one.

No other quicker? The best of the best.

The best of the best? OK.

The couple settle in for a four-and-a-half-hour wait.

I'm annoyed, frustrated.

Every moment that passes, someone's catching up on us.

KELLY:So we're staying in Argentina.

Fantastic! I'm glad that we get to stay a bit longer.

Kelly and Jeremy are second to leave the checkpoint.

So, we are here, and we've got to get up here to Tilcara.

So, Cordoba, it seems to be in the middle. Yeah. Direct.

Big city, more connection. Yeah, so you want to kind of go there. OK.

"Two winemakers' assistants are required in...Cordoba.

"Well-paid work, overnight stay, dinner included."

And I'm sure we'll get a couple of glasses of wine thrown in!

OK. I feel like we had a really good experience on the previous leg.

We can slow down a bit. Yep. I think a vineyard would be

really beautiful. We need some time for us each leg,

because otherwise it's too much. Yeah.

I want to be competitive, I want to win, of course,

but I want to enjoy myself with my wife, see, like,

a new culture. This is amazing.

My family has a vineyard too, so I'm quite curious

to do this with another family but in Argentina.

This kind of race is something you do one time in your life.

The old woman was good with her feet, you know, doing this to the...

Oh, yeah, the grapes. The grapes, yeah.

You don't want to be stepping on any grapes with your athlete's foot,

Jeremy. We got a plan? I think so.

Taking a route through central Argentina,

Kelly and Jeremy have their sights set on the Cordoba wine region.

I think we've got to go to Buenos Aires

and then we're going to get a bus.

Where we going? There. That's miles away.

Vamos! Vamos! Third to depart...

Adios, Tigre.

..Kola and Mary Ellen, determined to put their previous

mishaps behind them.

I just want us to have a better leg.

Last leg was really, really tough,

and we didn't actually get to experience much. We've only got

two more legs, so we're just going to have the best time.

"Gaucho apprentices wanted.

"Gauchos are rich in Argentinian history."

So...going up to the ranch, which is far north - one, we're covering

a lot of distance, two, we get to be around animals.

The job is well paid, we get free accommodation.

Yeah, let's do that. We need money, desperately need money.

OK, Esquina it is. Hopefully, we can get there by tomorrow.

OK, can you promise me this leg you're going to embrace

a little bit more of nature? I'm more of a city boy, I like

the hum of a city. Yeah, but, come on, that's exactly what we need.

Hoping to make the most

of rural Argentina, the cousins plan

to head into gaucho country

for a much-needed budget boost.

We have not got time to lose. We want to leave here tonight,

we don't want to pay for accommodation. Gagging to get back

in the race now. How are we going to get out of here?

Are there night buses from this station?

Do you know if there's any buses tonight to Esquina?

No. OK. Oh... There's no direct buses to Esquina. It's impossible.

I think tomorrow.

Oh, stay the night here?

HE GROANS

So, I don't know here. Can you help, see if there's cheap accommodation?

Mary? I'm going to go enquire about other stuff, cos I just feel like

there might be onward travel like that to be done.

Hola? Sorry, do you know how to get to Esquina?

Can you check?

Even hostel, maybe Airbnb?

El Talar, transport from El Talar.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, wicked. Thank you! What are you checking, Kola?

There's buses tonight from El Talar. Really? Yeah!

Kola, that says Talar.

All right, Mary, let's get it, then.

Do you go Talar?

Muchas gracias. Gracias. Muchas gracias.

Is he on a speed limit here or what?

The final team to leave the checkpoint...

We are in a race.

..Jeff and Freddy, almost 11 hours behind the race leaders.

Don't want to be in a hotel tonight. I've just come out of one.

If we can get on a night bus tonight out of here to Cordoba, we're happy.

Yeah, but you're, like, speedwalking, like, not normal

speedwalking... We're under pressure today.

If we have to stay in a hotel, will you be pissed off? Yeah.

But approaching midnight,

transport options out of Tigre are fading fast.

Dad, that's the train. That is a train right there.

Run in there and I'll shout you if I see a bus coming.

So maybe this train does go to somewhere we need.

Map.

Co...Cordoba. That's where... Ooh!

That's the place, isn't it?

Dad! Fred, what have you found? I love making him run.

Dad, this is interesting, cos it says long distance,

so there's trains that go for long distances. Oh, mate!

Oh, are you serious?

It was just open.

Closed. I was just in there.

Oh, this could be bad.

Making a move. This is good!

Arriving at El Talar...

Hola. Esquina?

Stress, stress!

..Kola and Mary Ellen make their escape on the last

bus of the day to Esquina.

Did I ever think we were going to leave today? In all honesty, no.

I thought we would end up sleeping on the benches.

Kola really stepped up in trying to get us to Talar.

He really kind of was proactive in asking for help.

I was prepared to possibly stay in Tigre.

El Talar is the best bus garage for Cordoba? Yes.

And you think buses leave at this time?

Uh-oh.

Thank you, really appreciate...

Fred, come on, let's get up there so we can get a ticket.

Bus going. Quick.

Shit.

Can you feel that? That motion?

That is a bus moving towards Cordoba on night one.

Is that or is that not exactly what we wanted to do?

Yeah. No, it is.

Freddy always sleeps for about 18 hours on every bus.

HE CHUCKLES

All teams have travelled

through the night.

As Jeff and Freddy approach

busy transport hub Cordoba...

Look at all the options.

..Kelly and Jeremy are already there...

Villa Giardino?

..catching a connection to the wine region.

We've absolutely smashed it.

940km northeast...

I feel tired. This bus is what you might call a bone rattler.

..having taken the road less travelled...

Did you sleep well? No. No.

..Scott and Sam are arriving

in the small town of Empedrado.

Wow.

I feel we're the only tourists that have ever been here.

So happy we made such a good start. Definitely in the more rural

part of Argentina now. It's pretty stunning.

270km south, Kola and Mary Ellen

have arrived in Esquina.

HORN TOOTS

Come on, you lazy cows.

I'm coming, I'm coming! MARY ELLEN LAUGHS

Lush, fertile marshes and lagoons on the Parana river bank

breathe life into the ranches nearby, where the traditional

way of life of the Argentinian gaucho is alive and strong.

Have you got many horses? Many horses? Like...80 horses.

I'm so excited! You know how to ride?

No, but when in Argentina, huh?

OK, well, I'm not looking forward to horse riding.

That's dangerous. I've never done it before.

Claus is a third-generation descendant of livestock breeders

that have been working their land since 1920.

Oh, God, this looks like heaven.

It's something out of the movies, honestly.

We'll work hard today, yeah?

Yes! You will be tired at the end of the day.

Now we prepare the food for the pigs.

In exchange for a night's bed and board, the cousins are mucking in.

More, more, more. Both hands. They are hungry!

Hey!

Thank you. Come on, both, por favor. Shall I come inside?

Come on, Kola. No, but we have to go inside, yeah?

Go on, Kola. Come on.

I know Kola's scared when he gets a little bit quiet.

And it's just cos he hasn't done it before,

so he doesn't know what to expect, you know, going into the unknown,

and that is a place he fears.

Oh, that's perfect.

Oh, my God, they're so greedy.

Thank you, guys. Now we go and work with the sheeps.

OK. You have to come with the sheeps and go inside this little corral.

OK. And then you have to catch it. Catch a sheep? Catch a sheep. OK.

HE SHOUTS

Catch one. Very strong, huh? And bring it here.

Come on. Come on. Very good.

Honey, we're just trying to give you a nice little bit of feathering,

some layers. Yes, that's correct.

Kola, you do it. I'll hold the legs.

SNIPPING

Sh, sh, sh, sh. This is hard, man.

It's actually really satisfying.

It's been a while since we've done things other than partying.

Yeah, this is completely different, a million miles from my normal life.

God, how can you cut with confidence?

Sheep can be, you know, kicky.

I've seen a change in Kola.

I feel so proud of you for not being as scared as I thought you'd be.

Yeah, you've done so well. It was great.

I was actually prepared to laugh at you a little bit. But, no.

Maybe it's the Irish in us -

we were always meant to be connected to agriculture.

The objective for this leg is to make up ground,

cos it's the penultimate leg. Yeah.

The strategy is to find a job that gives accommodation

and then spend another night on a bus to the checkpoint.

When we've done that, we've done really well.

Jeff and Freddy are pushing ahead towards

the town of San Jose de Las Salinas.

I thought we was going to start sort of ascending

to a bit of height, but we haven't yet. It's very countryside.

I like to be in the city.

We used to live in the countryside. Did you not like it?

Where we live now is all right. I feel like when I'm older,

I'd like to live right in the middle of central London.

I love you living with me, but I think that you living with me

is counterproductive. What are you learning off of me? A lot.

Hmm... Anything you're going to learn from me, you've learnt...

..which, by the way, I'm not sure I've seen loads of evidence.

I think everything else for you is out there. Like, that's where

all the lessons are for you now.

We're going in different directions, you and I. You want to be

in the middle of something, I want to be out of it.

I want nice walks, peace and quiet.

I'll be moving to the countryside again, or the seaside.

I could do seaside...

It wouldn't be busy seaside, though. ..if it's got a pier.

Yeah, I don't want a pier.

Oh, look at the views! Oh, my God,

it reminds me of Italy so much.

So, it's similar to this. It's like dreaming. It's lovely.

Just 70km ahead,

Kelly and Jeremy have arrived to work in Villa Giardino.

One of Argentina's smaller and lesser-known wine regions,

Cordoba has seen a recent renaissance...

Welcome to Nebula. Thank you.

..with high-altitude plantations attracting a new generation

of winemakers, like Sean.

So all of this is yours? Yes. We inherited the land with my sisters.

Jeremy, this would be your dream in Italy, to create

something like this, wouldn't it? It's good inspiration.

I'm really proud of being Italian.

My family come from the small town, the name is Arpino,

and my family's there since more than 20 generation.

I feel I've got so much energy when I'm in a place like this. Yeah.

We replanted some of the plants and now we have to tutor them,

tie a little bit of string to the plant

so then it can climb up the string.

I think this is going to be work I'm going to enjoy.

Yeah, I did this when I was young, with my grandparents.

I consider myself as a country boy.

I love to open the door of my home, breathe.

Can you imagine? My grandad was telling me about HIS grandparents

in Arpino. Yeah. It's mad when we go to the graveyard there...

Oh, my God! ..and it's like Jeremy's related to everybody.

Is that where you're going to bury me? Yeah. In one of those tombs?

Oh, you can choose. Can I?

I feel like Italians are so obsessed with death.

I've never really thought about where I was going to be buried

until I met you, and I was like,

"Oh, I guess I'll be here, then, won't I?"

There's a lot of uncertainty about our future

and where we're going to end up. And, obviously, being

a woman of 44 with no children, you're a bit of an anomaly,

you're at a crossroads in your life - are you just going to be

this career woman? Are you going to be a family woman? Are you just

going to be a wife? And I'm not sure I just want to do

what everyone else does.

This is so nice. I could be out here all day doing this.

This isn't even work for me.

Doesn't that remind you of the Abruzzo mountains in Italy?

Yeah. I love Italy.

I want to move to Italy. I know, babes.

In Empedrado...

This is like a quiet little town, isn't it?

We've decided to go a route that most people don't go.

I mean, there's definitely no tourists.

Well, we were the only ones who got off the bus.

We're off to meet a man called Gonzalo to work cleaning some cars.

I think we're just going to be walking up and down here

for four hours. Are you fuming? Mm-hm.

I can tell.

Sam today is tired. Yeah, just walking down someone's street.

He's a little bit miserable and he's finding it tough.

We've been doing this for a few weeks now

and it can slightly grind you down.

Is that him? No, it's just a man walking a dog. OK.

Hang on, there it is.

Hola!

Scott and Sam have a shift at a car garage

on the banks of the Parana river - a boost to their budget

but also a much-needed boost for Sam, with a joyride

around the golden cliffs and sweeping sand dunes

that stretch along the river bank.

Come on. Is this your dog? Jack. Hi, Jack.

Their driver, Gonzalo, is a former pro rally racer.

I am driver of motorcycle in race, and car.

But no racing now. No professional. But, yeah, I miss you, race.

You still like to race? Yeah. I like...mucho, mucho.

Are you excited for the dunes? No. I'm scared.

I think Gonzalo will go fast. It'll be fun.

Ticks all boxes for me, it's fast-paced and exciting.

Nothing to be scared of, is there? No. Sure?

"Wash me"! Ah!

Who put that on your car? No!

Good to see in Argentina they still use the same jokes as us.

It is funny, innit, Sam? Hysterical.

I feel that he is a bit burnt out by this whole thing today.

But Sam loves speed and adrenaline,

so I reckon it will boost him, and I think he needs it.

Maybe wash my doggie.

THEY LAUGH

Excellent. Are you ready for the boogie?

Yes! This is what I want to do.

I feel a bit sick now. I might have to go to the loo before I go.

This is not my comfort zone.

Yeah? Yeah. OK.

SCOTT CRIES OUT

GONZALO LAUGHS

BLEEP! No! Slow! Slow.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

I think me and Sam work well because we do compromise as a couple.

Argh!

This is a small price to pay just to see him smile again

on a day where there hasn't been that much of that.

Ohhh! Oh, shit!

I enjoyed that. That's picked me up today.

What are you doing?

I don't know. SAM LAUGHS

To be fair, that was a lot smoother than some of the bus journeys

we've had this trip. True!

Oh, so soft.

Hey! Good boy. You're so beautiful.

Having spent the morning working on Claus's ranch...

All right, mate.

..Kola and Mary Ellen are getting acquainted with the horses.

Around the neck first with the rein.

This is territory that I've never been in.

Me and horses don't really have a relationship.

But that's going to change today. I hope horses like pink.

It's just so grounding to be around animals.

I feel like, if you're sad, just come and pet a horse.

Aie! OK.

Turn round with the neck. It's different from an English turn.

This is a more country style, a more western style. Yep.

Kolo, how are you? You OK? Yeah.

On this race, I hope to see a different side to Kola...

Are you loving this? Yeah. So calming, isn't it? Yeah.

..a more sensitive side to him, where he does process his feelings

and talks about them a little bit more.

My first time riding a horse.

So, like, peaceful. And I thought it would be, like, quite stressful.

I feel like I'm getting the hang of it, you know?

The past few years, it hasn't been an easy ride for him.

I want him to really process and go through it all,

and I don't think he's done that.

It's not a bad life, is it?

Cheers, thank you. That was... that was great, man. Yeah?

Cheers. That was really nice. It's, like, really soothing.

This is one of the best experiences that I've had in a long time.

I don't really stop and put my life in perspective,

and I hardly ever just stop and just think and look up, you know?

But being here makes you feel, "I am not the main character of life."

You know, the life goes on whether you're here or not,

and there's something beautiful about that.

Last year wasn't the best year for me. I lost my dad.

It was a long road.

He had dementia for, like...

..three years.

Yeah, erm, it took everything from him.

It was extremely stressful,

going to set and then coming back to look after my dad.

I think out of all of our family members,

I was the last one that he remembered.

And then...

..nothing.

Heartbreaking.

You almost grieve for them while they're still alive,

when their personality is almost all but gone. So when he actually

finally passed was a sense of... selfishly, a little bit of relief,

because I didn't have to see him the way he was in his final days.

I like to believe he's...

..he's at peace now, that he's not alone, he's not in the dark

any more, because that's what the disease does to you,

puts you in the dark.

I do miss him, but, like, you know, this opportunity came about

and it was a chance to...

..to disconnect and, in a sense, heal a little bit.

There's something so calming about being on that horse.

It took everything away. For a split second, it was just me

chilling, riding a horse, and that's what mattered.

Freddy? Two minutes.

After 20 hours on the road,

Jeff and Freddy have reached San Jose De Las Salinas.

We've found ourselves in some places, haven't we?

Hola. Bienvenidos! Me llamo Jeff. Hi, I am Adriana.

Adriana runs a hotel near the Salinas Grandes salt flats,

where they've secured a free bed for the night

in return for a housekeeping shift.

We have to tuck it in and we have to do that nice corner effect.

So grabbing the corners...

Yeah. Like a Christmas present.

I've never even wrapped a Christmas present!

Do you box your bed corners back home? No, I don't.

I do make it as soon as I get up, though.

What do they say? Clean bedroom, clean mind.

That's why I ain't had the cleanest of minds, then.

I make a good house... No, housewife ain't the word.

A good house-son. Like, I am... A new definition, a house-son.

Have you ever heard of a house-son?

You're a great house-son. I'm quite helpful. Yeah. When I want to be.

What's that bump in the middle of the bed?

Oh, that's just the mattress.

DULL THUMP Oh, no!

Yeah, it is the mattress.

Good at putting washes on for everyone. Mm.

Yeah. So this is Fred's argument as to why...

But I just don't fold it... ..he should stay living at home

for an extended period.

I feel like actually I'm not doing you any good by giving you

a free ride.

It's not a free ride, I'm paying rent now.

You pay a bit of rent, it doesn't even cover the electric!

But it's...it's definitely a start on the ladder

towards having responsibilities.

What it's more about is that I realise, Fred, that the longer

I make things really easy for you, the less inclined you are

to go and actually take full responsibility for your own life.

Yep, all right. Shall we make the bed as well...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. ..while have this conversation?

Otherwise we're not really getting anywhere.

No, we'll still be chatting.

No, I feel like you've shut that convo down.

Well, I haven't shut it down.

We need to...we need to work as well as talk.

Always a difficult discussion, but I guess I brought it up

because he's holding himself back.

I find that really upsetting because you want him to unleash

all of the wonderful stuff that's inside him.

I can't be the solution for him,

but what I can do is stop making everything so easy for him.

Finito! Yes!

You are not being asked to leave and you are welcome to stay with me

for... For, like, another two years.

Yeah, I'd say a maximum of two years, yeah.

All right, that's fair. That's...that's enough time.

We go now to a very special place, OK?

The Salinas Grandes salt flats,

a white desert stretching out over 200,000 hectares.

OK. Gracias!

The waters here create a translucent sea over the vast salt plains,

giving the effect of an eternal horizon.

The people here says the sun dances in sky.

That sounds incredible.

Is this salt as well, then?

Put it in your mouth.

It is. It's salt.

Just salt.

Probably a bit of dirt an' all. Look at that.

Is the sun dancing, do you think? Do you think it's moving around?

I think it's pretty stationary.

My focus has obviously been on Freddy and his brother

for so long, but they're both of an age where at some point

they'll move out and then we'll all be in a very different phase

of life.

How do you feel, Dad?

This is probably the best thing that we could have done this whole trip.

I know who I am as a dad

because I've been playing that role for 20-odd years,

and it doesn't always leave much space for you to be anything else.

And it's maybe not until you take that hat off

because they've moved out that you then start to really look at,

right, well, who am I and how I go about the next phase of my life?

I kind of see this trip as the start of that process.

This is like perfection for me.

I would have travelled ten times as far and sat on ten times

as many coaches to have got here to have watched that.

Oh, wow.

I'm not sure about the coaches,

but I'm very glad that I got to see this with you. Mm.

In Villa Giardino...

This looks lovely.

Is this your wine? Is this from your vineyard?

..Kelly and Jeremy are enjoying the hospitality of Sean and his family.

And where do you live now?

London. London?

I just went to London when I met my wife.

She say, "Stay in London". So...

You enjoy living in Italy more than like France, for example?

Yeah. Yeah, I think I love where I come from.

By blood and genetic, I just want to, I love it.

I think Jeremy and I have wondered a lot about where our home is.

This is very Italian.

This is really Italian, yeah.

So when we're sitting here now I'm like,

"Oh, my God it's so similar," isn't it?

It's mad. I do feel like this whole experience has made Jeremy

and I re-evaluate what's important to us.

Home is where we are together, ultimately.

We could live anywhere in the world,

so if Jeremy wants to spend a few years in Italy and, I don't know,

renovate an old farm building and grow some olives,

I'm down for that!

Whilst Kelly and Jeremy take advantage of a free bed

for the night, 1,000km away...

Looking forward to a sleep, to be honest,

and then we will tackle tomorrow, tomorrow.

With no buses out, Scott and Sam are stranded in Empedrado.

Ola. Do you have a room for two people?

That's a lot of money.

And that's your cheapest room?

Cheapest. Hmm, it's a lot, isn't it?

The only room available will wipe out today's earnings.

What do you want to do?

I just want to see what the other options are.

We'll be annoyed if there's another hotel down the road

that's half the price.

I just don't know what other options we're going to find,

cos we've never been here before in our lives.

I just think we're tired now,

and we don't know what to do with ourselves.

Like, we can't make a decision, so let's just get some sleep.

Yeah. Yeah, OK.

Hi, it's us again!

Can we have that room, please? Thank you.

It's more than we want to spend.

I'm just shattered.

I think this is the tiredest I've ever been.

When you're in first place, you're always constantly worried,

any decision that you make, that could mean someone's

catching up with you. I'm trying not to let it consume me too much.

Maybe today I've let it consume me a bit more because I'm tired

and I'm overthinking things.

Right, shall we get some sleep? Get the light off, then.

# On the road again! #

Departing gaucho country...

Adios!

..Kola and Mary Ellen bag a free lift from their host

to the nearest town.

This is the last leg,

we want to get as close to the top as we can for the very last run.

They still have to travel over 1,200km

to reach the checkpoint...

Thank you. Yes. Come on, Kola.

..via the nearest big city, Corrientes.

Hoping for number-one spot, just got to keep an eye on the prize.

We need to go to Corrientes.

Heading the same way, Scott and Sam

have a 270km head start.

Could you please call us a taxi?

Oh.

We are in a small town, Sam.

No-one's taken a taxi for ten years. No.

I didn't think it would be this hard to get out of here.

To the west...

Let's go! We are now racing to checkpoint.

..two teams are looking to get on the move.

Come on, then, let's go and get a drama.

To reach the checkpoint, they can

either go back on themselves

to Cordoba,

the country's second-biggest city,

or find alternative transport going north.

Do you think I'll be able to get a bus from here to Tilcara?

No. You must go back to Cordoba. From Cordoba, you can go everywhere.

Do you think that there is someone here that I can pay...

Maybe.

..to drive? We only have two legs to go but we have not spent

lots of money, so we can take a taxi to get, to be quicker.

Maybe we can get a taxi.

Thank you so much.

To travel four hours back down south where we've already been,

to then take ourselves up north, now is when we should start using

the extra budget that we feel like we've got, to our advantage.

Driver tells us he can bring you to Frias.

Yeah, where is Frias?

I don't know if you see...

I think it's on the way, or here.

Yeah, forwards. I like that.

With Jeff's discovery of Frias,

a small town 170km north

and closer to the checkpoint,

father and son have a decision to make.

Need to get your opinion on stuff, right?

We can go back to Cordoba, which feels like a safe option.

We'll be on an overnight bus.

But what he actually recommends is taking us to a place called Frias.

It's not on the map,

but it's on this road. That way, we're moving towards the checkpoint.

You're pointing at the corner of that road there.

What will be there?

I don't know, she wasn't able to necessarily point me exactly.

But... It's risky.

..we would get from that road on to there and then round to there.

Cos we know there's good links from Cordoba.

There's always going to be an element of a risk,

it's not something I'm particularly good at, but we've come in fourth

and we are racing, after all. Yeah, let's do it.

Yes, Freddy! On to Frias!

We need to get to a main bus terminal, book a ticket,

and just go.

180km south, Kelly and Jeremy choose the opposite approach.

Quanto tempo para Cordoba?

We are actually north of Cordoba right now,

which means we are closer to checkpoint. OK.

However, we think if we go back to Cordoba,

there'll be a much better bus connection.

This is our bus, this one? Babe, come on.

Even though we're going to forfeit two hours, it's worth a gamble.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Bus station with no buses!

Let's go find the bus!

JEFF SIGHS

I don't even want to say it.

Yeah, it's not looking good.

Look, this could be really disappointing.

Hola.

Buenos. Beuno.

OK, Frias, Tilcara.

Not direct?

Tucuman. Oh, it's just taking us to Tucuman.

Oh, we're not getting far, then.

With no direct buses available to Tilcara,

their only option today is a bus to the city of Tucuman,

just four hours north.

Erm, right, Fred, I've put us in this little corner,

so apologies for that.

Dad, we're a team.

You ain't let me down.

Oh, this is one of the most useless feelings I've had this whole trip.

So look, let's just compare the two, right?

Cordoba, 800 bus companies, all open all hours...

Here... Frias, two companies.

Safe, I kept saying, you know, I've always been safe,

and I would have gone to Cordoba nine times out of ten.

Freddy, I will not stop until we get our onward travel sorted out.

Er, Tilcara?

Having gone in the opposite

direction to Jeff and Freddy,

Kelly and Jeremy are hoping to find

the earliest bus leaving today.

Que hora?

Eight o'clock.

Oh, my God, babe. I hate to wait.

Babe, it's another six hours waiting around a bus station. Let's book it.

Despite a six-hour wait,

their overnight bus will take them

to San Salvador De Jujuy,

the nearest big city to Tilcara -

just 85km from the checkpoint.

Is it the bed option?

You can have, you can have a bed and I'll take one of the...

Why don't we just both have a bed?

You have a bed, I'll pay you a bed, and I'll go upstairs.

No. I'm not doing that.

No, it's fine, you can have it.

But isn't...? So for £15, you don't want a bed?

Cos we need some money for next week.

No, I'll come up with you, then. You can have a bed.

No, Jeremy, I'm not going to keep doing this. OK.

It's not fair. OK.

Because you're making me look like I'm a diva all the time and I'm not.

It's just, it's such a small amount of money, Jeremy.

And at the end of the race you're going to have all this money

left over, and we've suffered the whole time.

I'm not going to keep doing this. OK. We change for the bed.

We upgraded.

How could you go 13 hours upstairs and I'm downstairs?

Wouldn't you miss me?

Yeah, but... Yeah.

With time to kill...

What do you want to do? I don't want six hours in a bus station.

..they head into Cordoba.

It's good to explore.

It's so pretty! It's nice to see a place like this.

Yeah. You see so much European influence, don't you?

Named after the Spanish city, Cordoba was founded in the late

16th century,

developed by the Jesuit missionaries from colonial Spain.

Oh, wow.

In the centre, Cordoba Cathedral, the oldest in Argentina.

This really is a beautiful chancel, this.

It's far better than waiting three hours in the bus station!

Built originally in the 1500s, the building suffered

a collapse 150 years later and was redesigned

by an Italian architect in the shape of a Latin cross.

Jeremy and I didn't get married in an Italian church.

We decided to get married in the garden of a castle in Arpino,

but it was like the biggest thunderstorm you'd ever seen,

and I screamed, I went, "Jeremy, I'm coming!"

Sh!

He said the rain was cleansing me because I was marrying

a Catholic Italian and I was too dirty and I needed to be cleansed!

You was too dirty... Had to clean everything!

Sh! Stop telling me to shush. Give us a kiss.

No, we're in a church.

Do you feel cleansed?

I think the others have taken a different route entirely.

You just don't know.

To the east, two teams are

en route to Corrientes.

Ready for another long bus?

This must be it.

Gracias.

We are looking for a bus to Tilcara?

No direct bus? No.

No direct, OK. I think we should just go to Salta.

The closest they can get

to the checkpoint is Salta,

a city 200km shy of Tilcara.

It's not cheap, this bus lark in Argentina.

Gracias, thank you so much.

Aw, she was nice.

They are way much more money than I was expecting.

We thought the less-travelled route in Argentina would mean

that it's less expensive.

It's four hours away from now,

we will lose a lot of time in those four hours.

Oh, oh, oh.

What? Just saw Kola and Mary.

Hello. You look nice. And you. You OK?

World's most expensive bus.

It's so expensive! See you in a minute, yeah?

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

It's never nice when you see another team,

because you know then you're not in first any more.

How are you feeling about that?

A bit gutted, there was probably about 12 hours between us,

Kola and Mary.

That is really reassuring, to be honest,

considering they came first the last leg.

Well, obviously we're on the same bus as Kola and Mary.

But then it's what happens when we get there and also when we get off.

MARY:Er, sorry, got here first, all right? Move out my way!

I think it's going to be very close.

800km west...

Right, Fred, I'm going in. All right, all the best.

Do it for us.

..on their short bus ride to Tucuman,

Jeff is determined to keep them moving by finding an overnight bus

towards the checkpoint.

Hola. I need to buy a ticket for the bus, omnibus.

Oh, no, no, no, no. I'm not asking for money.

Erm, no.

No. Erm, I need a ticket.

My mum teach English.

Wow! Yes, I phone her up.

JEFF CHUCKLES

Hola, mi madre! Que tal?

I'm hoping to book a ticket,

can you tell him this?

Please.

San Salvador.

Are you able to buy the tickets and I can give you the money there?

Gracias.

You have, you make a grande, grande difference!

Hey! Yes, Fred!

Yes, Fred!

Oh! That is such a relief.

Where's it going to?

Er, to the checkpoint, tonight. Tilcara?

Right, erm, well, not to Tilcara actually. To San Salvador.

But this now becomes the better outcome than Cordoba.

I believe in us, we're a good team.

Yeah, you watched the bags really well tonight, Fred!

That was a horrible bus.

Oh, I thought it was the best bus I've been on. Really?!

After travelling over 13 hours

through the night,

two teams arrive in Salta.

With 200km still to go before they reach the checkpoint...

I'm worried that a taxi's too expensive,

and we haven't got the money. We're losing money all the time.

..both teams plot their final dash.

What do you want to do?

Enquire about taxi or enquire about bus?

I'd love a taxi.

But I don't think we're going to get that two-hour journey

with the money we have.

I'm going to go and enquire about a taxi.

I'll go and see how much a taxi will be.

Hola. Speak English? Speak English?

Tilcara? 50 dollars?

Tilcara? Omnibus...

Cuanto tiempo? 10:30?

OK, I don't need to ask. Half 10. What's he saying? $50.

Yeah, but...

They're still there!

Are they in a taxi?

Tilcara? Si.

$100.

Can you do it for 50, and 30,000 Argentinian money?

Si?

I mean, the bus is not now till 10.30, so that's two and a half

hours' wait, so it's another gamble that we've got to take.

Taxi!

We're on our way.

We've made the decision.

First to arrive in the province

of the checkpoint...

Dad, it says Tilcara on here, look.

..Jeff and Freddy have found a quick connection to Tilcara.

Dad, there's a bus right behind us,

that could be another team.

Let me see if anyone gets off with a backpack.

Just arriving in San Salvador Del Jujuy...

It's annoying, we've just missed a bus by one minute.

Yeah.

I feel excited, I can smell the book!

..rather than waiting for the next bus,

Kelly and Jeremy splash out to stay in the running.

All teams start their ascent on the same road

through Quebrada De Humahuaca.

The views up here are just something else.

This feels like unlike anything we've seen before on this trip.

We drove through some mountains in Brazil,

but they were nowhere near as tall.

Love a mountain range, Fred.

Stretching 155km, once a major trade route

for the Inca Empire in the 15th and 16th century...

I feel like I'm in Star Wars or something!

..characterised by its landscapes of multicoloured canyons,

towering rock formations and arid, ochre-hued desert terrain...

This is some of the most stunning scenery we've seen, I think.

..2,500m above sea level, the fifth checkpoint,

the tiny mountain town of Tilcara.

Is this Tilcara?

Gosh, it is gorgeous.

This reminds me of the Wild Wild West.

After traversing almost half the length of Argentina,

all teams are neck and neck.

This is anyone's, I think.

SHE SQUEALS Oh, hi!

Sam's got in there, they've just got out of a car.

Better run as quick as you can, Kola! Ready, son?

Let's do it. OK, let's go.

Oh, my God, we're really racing now.

Mary and Kola are here as well.

BEEPING

Go to the market and find the trinity of busts.

Await there for further instructions.

Open market, market, market, maybe this way?

Oh, my God, the boys are there! Come on, Mary.

Ask these people.

Hola, market? Do you know where the trinity of busts is?

It's this way, cos everyone else has gone this way, so let's go.

Go on, mate, just behind you!

Bust, what's that?

A bust is like a head, it's like a head of something.

Look who's behind us. Who is it? Jeff and Freddy.

Come on, Mary.

Water, I need a water.

I find it hard to breathe. It's the altitude.

Not as much oxygen up here.

Don't know where to go.

Freddy, were you looking for the mercado?

No, I'm looking for the trinity of busts.

Right, tell me so we can ask people.

Hola, trinity of busts? Trinity?

I don't think it's down there.

Go to the market.

There is like a market right in front of us.

Market's just here. OK. Mary, the market's just here.

Hola, excusez, sorry. Statues?

Trinity? No?

Is that the market? That's a butcher's.

Trio of busts. One, two, three busts.

BEEPING

Go right behind the church.

And then find Las Marias Hotel.

Church? Church?

God? Church?

Hola. The church?

Trinity of busts? No?

No-one's ever heard of it.

Is there a church? Church!

He knows, cos they're all the way up there.

And you see them blue bags? That's where we're heading.

Yeah. Shit.

Quick, quick, quick.

Fred, pace it, mate. What is he doing?

Turn right behind the church.

Oh, my calves!

Can you see it?

Come on, Mar. Come on, Mar.

Fred, little burst, if you want it.

Wait, I've got a wedgie, my mouth is dry.

Ah, Kola!

Come on, Mar. I know it's hard, I know it's hard.

I can't. Come on.

Push it, push it! Oh, my God, there it is!

We're here. Come on, Fred!

Come on!

Good morning. Welcome to Las Marias Hotel Boutique.

First, baby! Finally.

Number one. Finally!

Yeah, it's a good feeling.

Oh, I'm proud of you.

We done it! We did it.

Whooo!

Ah, ha-ha! Well done, them.

Wow, seven minutes in it.

Yeah, feel good. Kind of feel like we're first,

because the gap is just so short.

We were 11 hours behind. We've clawed back a lot of time,

it's great that we're in the mix going into the last leg.

Las Marias? Si.

Si? Las Marias.

Oh!

Third!

It doesn't surprise me. 15 minutes in it,

that's us trying to find the busts. Yeah!

It's here, babe.

Made it.

Oh, my God. OK, here we go.

Yeah. Oh, my God. I knew it. I knew it.

Oh, dear!

So we are all the same. Yeah.

I don't like fourth,

but I when saw the time I thought, "OK, well, it's not too bad."

40 minutes is nothing, I think we're feeling

quite motivated, aren't we?

It's literally like we're starting the race from scratch now.

At the fifth and final checkpoint of the race,

with 2,750km still to run until they reach the finish line,

just 39 minutes separates all four teams.

Anyone can win this.

So we need to plot it right.

One mistake when it's this tight can cost you the whole thing.

We've just got to hope that we don't have any of those in the last leg.

This is it. The last push.

The race is anyone's. We're going to win.

I'm manifesting writing my name in that book first.

Oh, 100%.

This is the biggest decision we'll have to make.

Go! Let's make it all count.

It would really be something to cross the line first.

Dad, we've just missed our bus! How could we mess this up?

Oh, my God.

This is the worst thing that's happened on the race so far.

Ahhh!

Can we come with you?

We want to win so bad.

Stop, stop, stop.

There can be no slip-ups, no wrong turns.

Cos every moment counts.