This jungle looks intense.
It just quite possibly
could be the biggest
challenge yet.
This area looks
completely different
than my challenges
in columbia.
It's pretty exciting but it's
also scary at the same time.
ecuador's limoncocha,
a humid
impenetrable rain forest
surrounding a vast
piranha-invested lagoon.
Battered by 132 inches
of rain a year,
the forest is transformed into
an oppressive and murky swamp.
And during the wet season,
the sun is visible for only
two days a month.
the amazon rainforest in
the wet season
is a recipe for disaster
if we're not prepared.
I have always been in
the rain forests in
the drier seasons.
But in the wet season,
we have potential to have
huge storms.
for all-stars
fernando and dani,
this will be their
toughest challenge yet.
Twenty-one days in
a rain-soaked jungle
with one of the most
concentrated collection
of predators in the world,
both big and small.
Blood sucking leeches,
swarms of mosquitoes,
made even worse by the rains,
armies of b*llet ants,
as well as predatory
black caiman
and jaguars,
adept swimmers that are
known to hunt on
the river's edge.
This will be my third time
doing this survival challenge.
It's been
a pretty remarkable run.
Any chance to test myself,
I just can't pass up.
over here!
Hurry!
my first 21-day
challenge was in malaysia,
and it was quite a shock
to my system.
I made it through.
I was successful,
but it was like
a punch in the face.
and my 40-day xl survival
challenge was also incredibly,
incredibly difficult.
There was water everywhere,
lot of struggle.
lot of personality clashes.
It's good to see you girls.
Why is it so good to see us?
Okay, this is a nice welcome.
And to be back here for
a third time,
is truly a gift.
I'm kind of at a different
point in my life right now.
I have four young children,
an amazing wife.
So I'm just busy taking kids
to soccer practice
and gymnastics
and doing homework.
There are some concerns I have
that I may have lost my edge.
One of the big reasons
why I'm back for a third time
is to prove to myself
that I still got it.
as a fire fighter, there
can be some pretty extreme
moments and some pretty
high-stress environments.
There is the fire
coming behind us.
but make no mistake.
Nothing is quite like doing
a survival challenge.
But I'm pumped,
I'm enthusiastic
and I'm ready to go.
Let's see if I still got it.
fernando's survival experience
and firefighting skills
leave him well-equipped
for difficult surroundings.
But his life of domesticity
may have dulled his edge.
He begins with
a primitive survival rating,
or psr, of 8.2.
I'm feeling definitely nervous
to be back for
a third challenge.
This is going to be
the hardest challenge yet.
It's the flood season.
Making fire will be
more challenging.
Everything is going to be
already moist.
I'm beat.
I can't go anymore.
my first challenge was
21 days in the coastal jungle
area of columbia.
We should really start looking
for a place to pull over at
and just get some rest.
It was very difficult.
-Yeah.
-Yeah, we did it!
The second one was
a 40-day challenge
in the columbian
desert grassland.
I'm done with the group.
I don't need to be around
a bunch of lazy people.
it was very hard for me
to connect with someone
that was disrespectful to
other people and nature
and animals.
So, with my future partner,
I hope to find someone
that is respectful
and is just also someone that
I can have fun with.
I've spent
the past five years
living in iceland
working as an emt.
I am back for another
challenge because
I'm definitely addicted to
the thrill of adventure
and challenging myself
in different ways.
A primitive challenge
like this,
there's nothing more intense.
with two challenges
under her belt
and solid emt skills,
dani is well-prepared for
primitive survival.
But five years
in an icy climate
may hamper her ability to
adapt to the wet conditions
of a rain forest.
She begins with a psr of 8.3.
so, we're going deeper.
Deeper.
just a couple of mosquitoes
here and there.
so, this is it.
This is crazy.
This place looks insane.
there's nothing
easy about this.
we got hail.
get out!
my heart's racing.
if you don't fight,
you won't make it.
I tried so hard!
this is not for amateurs.
ah, okay.
this is...
This is awkward for me.
This is nothing like
the arctic circle.
here goes nothing.
A third time doing this,
you would think
I wouldn't mind this naked
part, but this is hard.
Feels good to be naked
out there.
That's okay.
All right. Here goes nothing.
Oh, my god.
The second I stepped
off the boat,
it just starts thunder
and raining.
and it just stopped raining.
When it's storming
or raining very hard,
and there's just puddles
of mud everywhere
it makes it the most
challenging thing ever.
for me,
my partner's skill set doesn't
really matter to me that much.
I am very confident we can
get through anything together
with the right frame of mind.
I'm really hoping that
I have a connection with
my future partner,
and that we can get through
all of the ups and downs
together
and have a life-long bond.
Oh, boy.
it's getting real now.
-It is.
-A naked person.
-I'm dani.
-I'm fernando.
-Nice to meet you.
-Very nice to meet you.
You heard the welcoming
thunder that we...
That was like so fitting,
like, "hey, welcome,"
and then here's a big storm
and the mosquito swarms,
and, yeah...
Well, we're in this together,
and at least we're going
through the same experience.
This is going to be tough.
I can tell already.
Yeah,
everything is already wet.
-Wet grounds.
-Yeah,
a little claustrophobic.
But, um, you know, I think,
we'll have fun, I guess,
you know.
This is not my first time
doing this. I don't think
it's your first time, either.
It's not. This is my third.
Oh, okay,
like old-school veterans
from, like,
way back in the day.
So, it's been a few years
for both of us.
Um, let's see if
we still got it.
All right.
dani and fernando
have been given a pot
to boil water,
and each has brought
along a personal item,
a machete and a fire starter.
I also have a map.
Oh, you have the map.
it looks like
the most narrow part of
the river we need to cross...
It would be here.
This looks really,
really challenging.
This is a long way to go.
-For day one.
-I know.
I think the sooner
the better we get going.
Let's do it.
I see a lot of
spikey things in here.
Whoa.
-that is deep.
-Don't walk this way.
it gets deeper.
this is a hell of a start.
this is
the papaya tree.
I don't see anything
on the ground though.
But you would think,
after the storm,
there would be like
something.
I think this is not edible
but we can boil
to make a tea for tonight.
It's good for
soothing the stomach.
my partner dani
seems super knowledgeable,
easygoing, so
I couldn't be happier.
What do you do?
Uh, I am a
fire fighter/paramedic.
Awesome. I'm a wilderness emt.
What!
So, we both have
some medical background.
Yeah, exactly.
I have never had an insertion
like this before.
Yeah, no for sure.
one of my concerns
is trench foot.
I don't want to be immobile
and not be able
to walk around freely.
I don't love having
my feet wet and muddy all day,
but it's survival.
The rain forest is
wet, muddy, like,
it's like the definition
of a rain forest.
there's some
snail shells.
Oh, wow.
I am game
to eat snail if you are.
well, I'm fine
if you are eating snails,
but I won't be
participating in eating...
-Oh, you don't like snail--
-...Any animal.
Oh, you're vegetarian.
I am.
I was very nervous
to tell you.
I didn't want you to think
it's a weakness.
No, that's good to know.
I know I'm always
portrayed as, like,
a tree-hugging hippie vegan,
which I kind of am.
fernando is very supportive
immediately of me doing this
on a vegan diet.
And I'm very grateful
for that.
A plant-based diet for 21 days
is incredibly challenging.
You're not taking in fat,
and your body, like,
needs fat.
holy cow.
Look at this.
whoa.
that is insane.
Getting across this
is our next obstacle.
Yeah.
we don't know what's
lurking under the water.
There's 20-foot
black caiman out here.
1,000 pounds they weigh.
And I don't want to be
someone's dinner.
crossing
the 250-foot-wide river
leading to the lagoon
means sharing the water with
territorial black caiman that,
up to 20 feet in length,
this aquatic predator
can swim at speeds
up to 30 miles per hour.
you ready?
Yeah. And this is not
something I'm
looking forward to.
Let's do it.
We want to get
across this thing
as soon as possible.
yeah.
I feel like anacondas
would love to live in here.
this is really intense.
yeah.
This water's really deep.
I would hate...
To be out here alone.
I would hate...
To be out here alone.
we want to get
across this thing
as soon as possible.
yeah.
I really don't like this.
We're getting close, dani.
Okay.
It's nice to be out of that.
ugh. Look at this guy.
good ol' leech.
Maybe that's the only one
in the whole forest,
so we'll be okay.
it's so slippery.
that's awesome.
it's getting less wet.
yeah, it's drier.
Yeah, it's good.
- oh!
- whoa.
Right when you think
you got this place
figured out,
you fall to your waist in mud.
That's why you can't
make shoes out here.
oh, we're gonna
make shoes.
The mosquitoes
love to bite me.
So, I'm going to take
some of this.
Just doing a little bit of
a...
a little bit of a barrier.
this is great.
Yup, it's happening.
dani's style is definitely
different than mine.
You're covering
yourself in mud.
It's not something
I would ever think
to do myself, personally,
but to each their own.
Sun's going down.
There's no way we can make
our insertion day in one shot.
yeah, we just have
to build a temporary shelter.
keep going,
maybe we could see
a place to camp.
-Call it for today.
-Yeah.
okay, we gotta find
some dry earth.
what do you think?
Should we camp around here?
oh, yeah.
This looks good.
We have to build a real
fast on and dirty lean-to.
Uh, there's a good chance
there's gonna be rain tonight,
so we have to definitely
plan for some, uh,
water coming down.
yup.
two slanted polls,
a bar across.
Grabbing some vines to use
to tie our shelter together.
I don't want to get stuck
in a... A downpour.
yeah.
Also, start getting some
palm frond.
Gathering some dry materials
that we can use for the fire.
Um, I could start the fire.
Fire is going to be
the most important thing
here tonight,
especially with this rain.
oh, I know that sound.
the darkness
is just creeping in.
Like, everything is damp.
I found a little bit of
this palm husk.
I'm going to try to spark it.
It's still not
the driest material.
Can't get a tinder
that's catching.
Pretty much everything...
Is so wet.
Please stay. Please stay.
I'm not getting a fire.
it's raining hard right now.
you can't tell,
but it's bad.
It's so dark, you can't see
your hand in front of
your face.
You can't see anything.
yeah, lots of rain,
thunder and lightning.
Big storm.
Shelter isn't
super waterproof.
This is going to be
a long night.
it's rained pretty much
nonstop the last 18 hours.
Ooh, it was cold all night.
this is
our rainwater collection
so far.
The first night,
it was definitely
miserable conditions.
It was not fun.
This is a really hard
environment,
and we need to, like, kind of,
get ahead of the curve.
we need to find
a water source where we can
just drink straight from it,
in case there's no fire
for a few days.
yeah.
goodbye, first home.
Thank you for
the lessons of the forest.
I think
our priority right now
is, like, getting to
a permanent location.
Getting a true waterproof
shelter, getting a fire,
getting firewood...
'cause last night was brutal.
If we're going to survive,
we have to, like, get our
*bleep* together.
The jungles is, like,
growing in on you.
I am very anxious
to just get to our shelter
location as quick as possible.
ugh, this jungle
is dense and dark.
No sunlight even gets in here,
it feels like.
I see an opening.
oh, look at this.
Fallen-tree bridge.
This is cool.
yeah,
it's the river on our map.
Look at this--
it's going this way.
- wow, it's beautiful.
- it looks...
...Pretty amazing.
there's
a lot of resources
in this area.
yeah, this looks
like a pretty reasonable
water source,
but, um, I feel like
it can rain at any moment.
So, maybe, kind of, like,
find some flat ground
and see if we can be
somewhat near this.
yeah, we can
start looking for a place
to make a camp.
-Just higher elevated.
- yeah.
wow.
this rain is so hard.
it's hard to even
keep your eyes open.
I know,
this is quite the storm.
This is left--
somewhere in here,
I guess, huh?
Dani, what do you think?
A gentle slope is not
a bad thing at all.
You know,
keep water running away,
not pooling up in our shelter.
Right.
I mean, ants nests.
I'm just getting flashbacks
of how bad the b*llet ants
can be.
the b*llet ant
stings by injecting
a potent neurotoxin,
causing pain that has been
compared to being shot
by a firearm.
I'm going to start
clearing the ground.
Awesome, we're going to put
an a-frame structure,
utilizing these two trees as,
like, foundational support.
I'm just grabbing
some vines to use to tie
our shelter together.
this is gonna be
muddy all around us.
So, we, kind of make it
a little bit bigger
than you would think,
so we can have
a nice little dry pocket
in the middle.
and just do
a ton of layers.
- yeah.
-We have no choice.
This is where we are,
and we're going to
make it work,
and we're going to
make it beautiful.
at night,
it gets cold,
and if you're not dry,
hypothermia sets in,
and that's it.
You go home.
I think I filled in
all of the gaps.
This is amazing.
This looks so good.
both of us worked
very hard today
for getting no sleep,
and it's really
tough conditions.
-This is the ideal shelter
for this... Situation.
-For sure. *bleep*
rainstorm comes,
we can be in here for hours.
Right.
I would like to do
the other side,
but at least on the daylight,
let's get the fire going.
Yeah, just wanna get
a fire today.
That's all.
I'm just anticipating that
we're not gonna have a fire.
It's just, like,
everything is damp.
If we don't get fire,
it's going to be
a long miserable night ahead.
no fire.
Ouch.
there are so many bugs.
oh!
ouch!
ah, the mosquitoes are bad,
the bugs are bad.
We're itching our bodies
like crazy.
Um, it's cold.
There's not a lot you can do.
You just suffer,
you itch, you get bitten,
you shiver.
Just hardcore suffering.
ah, the mosquitoes are bad,
the bugs are bad.
We're itching our bodies
like crazy.
Just hardcore suffering.
ooh.
Oh, god.
the worst night ever.
We were just eaten alive
all night.
This is not a place
where humans are meant
to survive.
I'm really covered everywhere.
Let me see.
Yeah.
covered.
We just got eaten alive,
um, because we didn't
have smoke,
and we didn't have fire.
Do you wanna go
in the water,
and we can jump in
and fill the pot?
yes.
so many strange noises.
whoa! A snake.
oh, *bleep*!
where?
it is gone.
was it a viper?
it was jet black,
like, black, no colors at all.
It was from--
it was right here
to down there.
probably more snakes
that like this lower elevation
and more wet area.
yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Ah!
Feels so good to go down
into that river,
dunk ourselves in...
Clean the bits and the parts.
Feels so good on
my mosquito bites.
It was really, like,
the worst t*rture
I've ever experienced.
look at that back.
You're just speckled.
fire is our number one
concern right now, so
this part of the shelter,
one side is going to be
our sleeping area,
and one side
is just going to be
to keep like a massive
amount of firewood
and just have a drying area.
this will be my drying area.
Fire is not easy
when you don't have any sun.
The wood is all soaked,
and so you gotta get some
sun exposure on it
to help speed up the drying.
The problem is
it could rain at any moment.
While fernando
is drying the firewood,
I'm looking for something
that we can eat.
This is called
elephant's palm nut.
But the only edible part
is the grub.
Maybe it's something
fernando will like.
So I'll take
that back for him.
check that out.
This is a little larva.
That looks... Interesting.
Here it goes.
I think she was pregnant,
because something
exploded in my mouth.
Is it kind of like
a butter texture?
Yeah, it's like fatty
and, like, there's a hint
of bacon flavor in it.
It's calories,
and more important,
it's fat. And your body,
like, needs fat.
Another one in there.
I'm guessing
you don't eat this, right?
no.
No food with faces.
okay.
Larva, does it have a face?
-Okay, I got some more wood.
-Nice.
the shelter
is looking really good.
We're going to make it
completely waterproof.
And I think it'll be good
for any storm
that's going to come.
Yeah, and a lot of this wood
has little, like,
bugs and stuff,
so maybe, just something
to consider not keeping it,
like, inside inside.
yeah.
Um, fernando, I'm going
to need more, um, palm
whenever you have a chance.
Okay, I'll get 'em right now.
I think, dani,
she's not really into
getting firewood,
or chopping down trees,
things like that.
So, um, I don't wanna be,
like, a jerk about it,
but it's just
sometimes that means
doing more of the work.
I don't mind doing this, like,
thatching kind of stuff.
Fernando is out
doing palm leaves,
so no matter how we divide it,
I think it's fair.
delivery!
perfect timing.
You can just
toss them in here.
Well, you're making
great progress. Looks good.
Yeah.
Today was very productive.
Almost finished
the outer part of the shelter.
How's it going
with the fire stuff?
Uh, it's all laying out.
Um, I would say,
as long as there's no rain...
It might be okay.
seems like
a storm is coming,
thunder, so I wanna
a good supply of firewood.
The problem is
all the firewood here
is just so rotten.
So finding good stuff
that burns takes some time.
Okay.
I think it's ready.
We have some kindling
and really dry materials.
We're gonna try to get fire.
I don't know
if it's gonna catch.
It's still not
the driest material.
This is absolutely
the hardest I've ever
had to work for fire.
I've never been in a place
where everything is wet.
come on, come on.
whoa. Not the place
we want to be
in a thunderstorm.
please start.
Please start.
Last night was awful.
We didn't have a fire.
so we just got
eaten alive.
Humidity in the air makes it
the most challenging
thing ever to have fire.
Ecuadorian amazonian jungle,
please let us have fire today.
Fighting for our life.
yeah.
dani, I think we--
we got fire.
I'm actually crying.
-Are you really?
-Yeah.
So I just started crying
because now I know
I don't have to go through
what we went through
on night two.
it just means
so much.
And you don't realize,
like, how important it is.
Man, that feels good.
All right. So we boiled
some water.
I'm really, really,
really thirsty.
So nice to have fire, water,
shelter all in one day.
now that we have fire,
the goal is
to keep that fire going 24/7
until we leave this place.
Our first night with a fire
in the jungle.
So much better.
This is a fire producing
a lot of heat,
we're in a waterproof shelter,
and it feels nice.
Feels good.
I'm gonna get
some more firewood.
Then, I have to focus
more on food.
See this tree, like,
right there.
Uh-huh.
And then there's
those two fallen trees in it.
- oh, for wood!
-Yeah.
All right.
Let me go check it out.
I'm working
on a gathering basket.
I really like weaving.
Mentally, it's just--
it's like therapeutic for me
to do this.
I'm never gonna see a basket
the same now.
Is it fun?
If you ever wanna learn,
I can show you.
It wouldn't work for me.
You don't know till you try.
fernando and I
are a lot alike.
But as the days go on,
I notice some differences.
He is just very simple,
straight to the point.
Whereas I'm just wondering
what can I do
to make our shelter more cozy,
or our daily routine easier.
And it's just nice to, like,
do things out here
that make you feel
more human.
dani is extremely skilled
at, uh, weaving baskets,
making small little things.
Not really things
that I necessarily would use.
I have to make sure I don't
let my minimalist style
diminish her
creature comfort style,
because they're kind of,
in a lot of ways, different.
-oh!
oh,
I thought it was a b*llet ant.
Oh! That hurt so bad.
-oh!
it was a b*llet ant.
that hurt so bad.
-where did it bite you?
-On my foot.
it seriously
feels like someone took
a wide gauge needle
and just shoved it
through your bone.
how can something so small
hurt so bad?
I'm sorry.
it's been about
five or six hours
since I got bitten
on the foot by the b*llet ant.
And I just want everyone
to know that it really sucks.
I'm not gonna be able to sleep
if this is what it's gonna
feel like the whole night.
It feels like
someone took a hammer
and smashed my left foot
into 1,000 pieces
and then I stepped
on charcoal.
we need to
really get food.
I really hope this works.
-For shoes?
-Yeah.
Somehow stepped
on a b*llet ant
and the pain
just kept throbbing.
- it hurts.
-I hear you.
Walking around barefoot,
it just makes it--
you more prone
to get, like, bites.
And also,
I'm just really tired
of the wet ground.
So I'm gonna make shoes.
So I'm really looking forward
to walking around.
I used palm frond fiber.
They have like a natural,
like, arch support to them.
Ta-da!
-Elf gladiator.
-Yeah.
I watched 1,000
youtube videos on
native tribes in the amazon,
and none of them wear shoes.
that's so funny.
I'm not really
like a make shoes,
use chopsticks,
make a pillow kind of guy.
It seems much easier
to embrace your environment
as opposed to, like,
not wanting
your feet to get muddy.
I can see where they're
really useful, like,
if it was like
a really hot dessert
or something.
I'm gonna
try it real quick.
very impressive.
But she's not what I expected.
today, I'm gonna look
for moracocha.
It's a kind of nut.
I have an idea of
what to look for
out in the jungle.
Tons of moracocha.
This has been
all over the place.
If you're lucky, it has some
edible parts to it.
That would be edible
if it was not rock-hard.
oh, I got the b*llet ants!
Son of a... Biscuit.
- a b*llet ant?
b*llet ant.
- oh, no.
-Oh, look at his fangs.
-Oh, man.
-Oh!
And I got bit here,
and the pain is, like,
down to like here.
Man, it's like pulsating.
It's so swollen
I can barely bend it.
this hurts like hell.
Having a lot of firewood
is key, but we're gonna
need food.
-Hi.
-Hey, how's it going?
Good.
Um, fernando,
it really stresses me out
to see firewood
just thrown on the ground.
I think it's important
to keep everything tidy
and organized.
And also, I think we can build
like a double-deck
firewood drying rack.
-water?
-Mmm-hmm.
I really don't
want to make
a wood-drying rack.
It's not something
I would ever think
to do myself personally,
it's a nice-to-have,
not a need-to-have.
Uh, do you need me
to do that?
I just wanna kinda get food.
Yeah, I just don't like
living in a chaotic mess.
are you kidding me?
Two-tier wood-drying rack?
It's like a 1950s...
The man goes
and gets the firewood
and gets the water
and cuts the tree,
and the woman sews and weaves.
This beam locks into here,
just like that.
And that's the first beam
of our two-tier
wood-drying rack.
um,
how are you doing it?
Are you putting two poles?
I'm burning
a bunch of calories right now
to build a two-tier
wood-drying rack system.
Uh, go higher.
Go back, um...
no.
but I'm a married man,
and I understand
the importance of building
a two-tier
wood-drying rack system.
I can put this wherever
you say is good.
I mean,
if you think it's good...
No, no, no, no, no, no,
not me.
Then I guess this is fine.
I'm gonna look for food.
Today I'm gonna go
to the river.
I am definitely
looking forward
to kinda expanding
my food option.
I'm looking
for eels or stingrays,
things like that.
It could be nice to kinda get
a nice boost of protein.
On my first 21-day
survival challenge,
I got a bunch of fish
with my bare hands.
We haven't had big storms
in the last few days
and the river's gotten lower,
and it's gotten clearer.
And I can see
small fish around.
The goal is to leave
my hands in here so long,
they think my hands
are part of the river bottom,
and then they just kinda
swim through them freely.
And then I grab them.
I'm checking
all of the papaya trees
and just foraging around
for something I can find.
My shoes are doing
pretty good.
They keep my feet dry.
I definitely think
it's an asset out here.
we've seen a few small fish
in this river,
but, um, nothing substantial,
nothing worth
building anything for it,
to be honest.
Little small fish
like this, so...
I have to use
some common sense.
I can't spend every day
all day trying to catch fish
when there's other options,
just simply because
that's just not
smart survival, you know.
I guess I'll have to focus
way more on snakes,
the pit vipers, anything.
This looks like the storm
knocked down this papaya tree.
Just checking around it
to see if there are any
loose papayas.
We would have never thought
a papaya tree falls down.
It's so massive and strong.
Yeah.
I found a really ripe papaya.
-I found a papaya.
-Cool.
I'm gonna try to finish
this basket today.
yeah.
And then it'll be good
to like store fruit in
off the ground.
Very organized. I love it.
it's like the middle of night,
and a pretty big storm
has come through.
Fire's still going.
Ugh... Just, I'm tired.
I stay up all night
and keep the fire going,
and dani sleeps.
I'm not getting
much sleep at all.
It's proving to be
really time-consuming.
I'm gonna try and...
oh, yeah!
I'm gonna go
get some more firewood.
-Thank you.
-No. Thank you.
Right now,
I'm working on another basket
that we can hang
in our shelter,
so that way,
the ants aren't crawling
all over our food.
I feel like it's pretty clear
we need firewood,
and she doesn't ever
volunteer to do it.
Dani kinda goes to this
like deep, deep
basket-weaving operation.
Doesn't leave the shelter
and just makes big baskets,
small baskets.
It is a very real concern
that if I keep
taking on more of the
physical responsibilities,
the heavy lifting...
Oh.
...That I could definitely
wear myself out.
Okay. Let me take
a little break.
Hey. This is not cool.
We kinda have like firewood
and other things to do.
mmm...
Like, I'm getting
all the firewood,
I'm getting all the water,
like, you're never leaving
the shelter.
All you do is basket weave.
Uh, I feel like everything
I've made has been
for both of us.
No, this isn't
a healthy relationship.
Wow. I'm just really
like hearing this
for the first time.
I would think that
if fernando needed anything,
um, especially from me,
like, he would just ask.
Yeah. Okay.
I never realized how gathering
firewood all the time
takes up a lot of energy.
Being a good partner
or teammate is important,
because you want to feel
like you really
are working together
and they can talk to you
about whatever's
on their minds.
So, I'm just trying to think
of like what else can I do
to lift his spirits.
Today, I decided
to put together a travois.
I'm trying to help fernando,
because it takes
so much firewood
to just keep
the fire going strong
and to boil water.
A travois is like
a native american
method of hauling loads,
like firewood,
over a long distance.
Two long poles
and then a couple
smaller ones.
Then you can load up
the back with firewood
and then drag
a bunch back at one time,
instead of making
multiple trips.
-A travois it's called?
Travois?
-Mmm-hmm.
-Or some people say...
travois.
-Oh, it's french.
she built this,
uh, wood-carrying device.
-So just drag it...
And then-- yeah.
-I just go forward now?
The only thing you have
to watch is, like...
It's harder
when it's like small pieces.
Yeah, I could see that.
It seemed a little bit clumsy.
I could probably just
carry this back in my arms.
But there's a lot of bugs
in there.
one thing
I don't mind that much
are the bugs.
Look, there's b*llet ants.
I'll just get this back
really quick.
um, fernando just prefers
to do things very...
simple and...
Um, he doesn't really
care about like getting bit
which I do.
So it's just different style.
I'm really confused
how to navigate dani
as a teammate.
I never had this much
weird tension before.
I mean, it's ridiculous.
*bleep*
this can't be how
a survival partnership goes.
I've had people who were
super bitchy and awful,
and I've had super unskilled
but sweet.
I'm just like,
"oh, you're--
you're out of your mind."
fernando.
Yeah?
I might need you to help me.
hurry!
You know what? I'm done.
-Fernando.
-Yeah?
Um, I might need you
to help me.
working with dani...
I've never had this much
weird tension before.
I mean, it's ridiculous.
this can't be how
a survival partnership goes.
Hurry!
You know what? I'm done.
So I'm kinda like
hitting a wall.
My feelings
were definitely hurt
that fernando had
zero interest in
the travois that I built.
I feel like I'm always
trying to make him things
that would help.
And he's not interested.
it's really hard out here
as it is,
and having to like
battle with a partner
when you're
on different pages...
...It adds that much
more work.
You carried that here?
Yeah.
-are your feet still wet?
-Yeah.
You can't get trench foot.
Does it bother you
just walking on
wet ground everyday?
-Not at all.
I don't wanna get
like a trench foot
kind of injury out here.
And when you're walking
around with wet feet
all the time,
it just makes your-- your skin
is so soft and so vulnerable.
And that's probably
the worst thing
that could happen in survival.
yeah.
You know your body.
Just do whatever you gotta do.
I think
I had an epiphany.
This is a harder environment
for her than I realized.
I know that she does not like
muddy wet feet at all.
She doesn't want
to get firewood because
firewood involves
hiking through mud
and just nastiness.
Now I recognize that
she's been having
kind of a hard time
adjusting to this place,
and I can be what she needs.
I can get the firewood
every time.
I can get the water
every time.
You know why?
Because, you know,
those thankless jobs,
even though
you don't get a "thank you,"
you're making
someone's life better.
Dani.
Okay, I just
realized something.
I apologize.
-You built this
awesome thing...
...And I just was like,
"oh, no big deal."
-it's okay.
-We will totally use this.
I just realized
that wasn't very nice.
You built this.
That was pretty rude,
because she spent
a long time making
this wood-carrying device.
And even though
it isn't my style,
I should respect what she did
and acknowledge it.
-I can give you a hand.
-Yeah. That'd be awesome.
ooh, baby.
there was definitely
a weight lifted off
my shoulders
after fernando told me
he was sorry.
when you're part of a team,
it's important
to feel valued and respected.
Dani, seriously,
thank you so much
for helping with wood.
- yeah.
-It really takes
the burden off me a lot.
I really appreciate it.
No worries.
I know that
I can be stubborn.
And it can be a challenge
to be my partner.
But fernando taught me
how important it is
to compromise
on something and
I think that we both see this
as a valuable experience
to grow and it's really cool
that we shared that together.
whoa!
- are you okay?
-I'm okay.
I'm okay, don't worry.
I'm a professional.
Do not try this at home.
last night
was a rough night.
All right, I am gonna slowly
get out of bed here.
First priority today is food.
I've never had so little food
up to this point
in my survival challenges.
And this one we're running
pretty bare bones.
I'm tired.
Like, like I feel
the fatigue setting in.
Yeah.
Think I'm gonna go out
and forage and find things.
the fire is like
a newborn baby,
so, one of us always
has to be near the shelter
at any time making sure
it doesn't go out.
this palm tree has a fruit,
it's kind of coconut-like...
his little head.
Not the biggest meal, but...
It's something different.
-Got some cha-chewy.
best day ever!
whoo!
Mmm.
I was so grateful
that there was this food.
oh, yeah.
k*lled a small snake.
-Really?
-Which isn't--
yeah... I mean...
Aw.
I know I definitely
would not be able
to k*ll an animal myself.
But I know that he needs
more protein
to sustain himself.
It's not something
that I would eat.
Good meat there.
Can't make a belt
out of the skin or anything.
Here's the snake,
and, uh, we're barbecuing it.
I have no idea
what kind of snake it is.
Not a clue.
I'm assuming
it won't k*ll me.
Let's see how it tastes.
What does it taste like?
Not bad.
I wouldn't say
it's like chicken sandwich
or anything.
Yeah, I mean, I'm grateful.
I wouldn't order it
at a restaurant.
that's the loudest thunder
we've heard.
-Right?
-Yeah.
Definitely some drops
coming through.
Um, yeah.
This is...
This is about as hard
as it can rain right now.
We've-- we've been through
some few storms,
and this is about
as bad as it's been so far.
it just makes for a...
Makes for a long night.
Yeah, it's raining
hard right now.
yeah, it's raining
hard right now.
uh, we just had the
craziest storm come through.
That was, uh...
That was the real deal
right there.
A lot of water came down
from the sky very hard.
luckily,
our shelter held up.
We were a little bit worried
about the fire going out.
Yeah, that...
That could have
knocked our fire out easily.
there was
thunder and lightning,
buckets of rain.
It was wild. I've never seen
anything like this ever.
it's a new day.
I think we should
definitely drink some
well-deserved water.
wanna drink it
right from the river
before boiling?
well, if you aren't
against it, I'm gonna do it.
It's worth it.
Because then,
we don't have to keep
the fire going strong
all the time.
Okay, sounds good.
I really trust
this water source.
It's flowing quickly.
There are no signs
of parasites or insects
or anything that
looked unhealthy.
So it saves us from having
to collect so much firewood.
So I really don't mind
being the guinea pig.
Cheers.
boiling water
uses up so much firewood.
Dani will reevaluate tomorrow
how she's doing,
and if she's healthy
and feeling good,
we'll take boiling water
off of our to-do list,
which will be a humungous
burden off our plate.
if I got
really sick...
-I got your back.
-...I'm not gonna tap out.
I got your back.
And I will be as functioning
of a partner as I can.
You'll be awesome.
I always knew
dani was awesome.
I've always known
from day one
she's an experienced
survivalist,
but it's also really cool
to see dani grow
as a teammate.
It's so good.
I can see you sick
and still like...
"gotta make shoes,"
like, weaving.
You are tough.
I'm 100% confident
that it's good water.
one-- ooh.
You went up...
-I was 99 yesterday--
-whoa!
-It's a caiman!
boom, that was perfect.
That made my day.
What's goin' on?
I'm making a toothbrush.
I'm not laughing at you,
that's just awesome.
But by making a toothbrush,
I just mean like
taking a branch,
and I'm like fluffing it out.
-I like it. You--
-it works.
You get style points.
I'm just like a brute savage,
like, keep it simple,
but you get like style points.
Would you try it
if I made you one?
Yes.
so it could be
like a little bit pointy.
-Okay.
-But this like just
frayed out of
like a green branch.
-Okay.
-And then you just like
kind of buff your teeth.
Okay, this is great.
Oh, yeah.
This is amazing.
-I feel like a new man.
dani, I really am growing
to appreciate and love...
The lens she sees
everything through.
And then you rip it off
and peel it and do it more.
This is great.
So three times
a day or what?
how's it going?
good.
This is the second day
that I drank the water
without boiling it.
And I'm feeling really good.
okay, cool.
I'll be back.
What dani did,
drinking the water unpurified,
is huge.
Survival wise,
it was almost unsustainable,
because boiling water
took up a lot of firewood.
Delicious.
This water tastes good.
It tastes fresh.
Big, big relief there's
no more boiling ahead of us.
ah, here comes the rain.
Party's over.
Just like that.
This is the biggest storm
we've ever had.
yeah, this is...
This is not for like...
For amateurs.
Here it comes.
it's show time.
The storm loosens up
everything that's hanging
in these trees.
So right now I'm checking
all of the papaya trees.
And just foraging
around for...
Something I can find.
We just wanna have, like,
a really hearty meal
before we go
on our extraction.
papaya.
Amazing.
No.
the ants got to this one.
So I'll cut down
this heart of palm.
See if we can get
some food out of this.
Chop off the top section,
cut open the middle,
get the heart of palm.
Piece of cake.
Should definitely be
a good meal tonight.
And the reality is
you never know
how much heart of palm
is gonna be in there.
Until you get it open.
It's super, super low fat.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, that works.
Is it worth the calories?
I don't know.
it kind of is what it is
at this point.
oh, my god!
Look at this.
oh, my god.
Look at this.
I found a giant snail.
Wow.
I'm really torn about it.
Because I'm a vegetarian,
part of me considered
just leaving it where
I found it.
But I know that
fernando needs the protein
and needs nutrients.
All right, little dude.
Gonna take you somewhere else.
-Hi.
-Hey, we got dinner.
-Heart of palm.
-Nice.
-Whoo!
-Do you want to see
what I found?
Yeah.
What's in here?
-It's heavy. Can I open it?
-Yeah.
oh, my goodness.
This is the biggest snail
I've ever seen.
Right? I've never seen
one like that.
for fernando,
this is a very good source
of animal protein.
-Oh.
I brought it back to camp
for him and he was really
excited about it.
-Oh, you. You.
you wanna eat some stuff?
Okay.
I've never
had snail before ever.
So I am going to cut
this little guy up,
put him on the fire and see
what snail tastes like.
Fernando is outside
the shelter.
I'm prepping
some vegan dinner.
Heart of palm
I just chopped up.
So quite a feast for tonight.
Okay, there is the snail
cut up into four pieces.
Okay.
Dinner is ready.
Uh, I'm a little nervous.
And I'm gonna use chopsticks.
Mmm.
Mmm.
It's really nice.
Mmm, really rough.
It tastes just like pasta.
This is awesome.
Mmm.
I have to make sure
I don't vomit because
my body needs a protein.
I have four pieces,
four small pieces.
I finished one.
I have three more to go.
Really?
You only finished one so far?
Yeah.
Wow.
and another storm.
Another big storm tonight.
I'm just really wondering
what the weather is gonna
be like for our extraction.
Yeah, lots of rain,
thunder and lightning.
We do have to plan
for a worst-case scenario.
We're really not gonna know.
It's just gonna be up
to mother nature.
with extraction coming up,
we should take a look
at the map.
It'd be great to make it there
in one shot.
We do have a river crossing
ahead of us.
There could also be walking
through more thick,
dense jungle.
the problem is
it can rain at any moment.
We definitely have to consider
stopping along the way
as night approaches.
Yeah. Our insertion was
a very difficult 2-day trek
to get where we are now.
So, we're also thinking
it might be
a 2-day extraction.
yeah, this is a 2-day hike.
I finished your, um,
fish basket.
Wow.
Thank you, dani.
That's awesome.
I'll go fishing today
and see what we can find
before we head out tomorrow.
This is that phase
of the challenge
where food has become,
I think, the biggest priority.
Hmm, I've never tried
this waterhole.
For dani, if I can catch
some fish, that frees up
some of the other vegetation
for her to eat on her own.
Right now, I'm out checking
the trees to see if any fruits
fell down.
Papayas.
We definitely need
to make sure
that we are prepared.
I think I've found
a small jackpot here.
It's gonna be tough,
it's gonna be energy-draining,
so it's super important
that fernando and I
consume as many calories
and nutrients as we can.
Oh, wow.
That way when we have
our extraction,
we feel healthy, we feel good,
we feel strong.
Yucca root.
It's huge.
this is a really good find.
And we can just cook it up
like a potato.
The mud here is very,
very deep.
Oh, *bleep*.
That's a piranha.
That's 100%
a really big piranha.
That's a piranha.
red piranha's are
a good source of protein,
but their strong jaws combined
with finely serrated teeth
enable them to tear few flesh
with ease.
I definitely want
to seal them in here,
just to make sure
they don't jump over this.
I don't think the fish basket
will help when it comes
to catching piranhas.
Oh, right there.
Hey, little guy.
Red belly piranha.
My old friend.
Oh, oh, oh.
Red belly piranha.
My old friend.
Ooh! Oh, oh, oh.
I got him. I got him.
Oh, yes. Oh, man.
That's a big frigging piranha.
You gotta control the mouth,
because that thing will take
a chunk of your finger off.
Get your fingers in the gills
to protect yourself.
Look at this guy.
There's my machete mark
on the back.
That's a lot of meat.
And today was definitely
an awesome day in survival.
Being able to catch a piranha
and have some good protein,
it was a good feeling.
Oh, he's alive.
Look at those teeth.
He's cut in half.
And he's still looking
to bite.
Wow, this thing will cut off
the tip of your finger.
-Caught some fish.
-Wow.
I'm really happy
fernando is using the
fish basket,
and that he's appreciating
some of the things
I've been making.
-You going to eat some?
-Absolutely.
We're gonna eat as much as
we possibly can to get ready
for our 2-day extraction.
We have roasted papaya,
mashed potatoes,
which is made of yucca roots.
And then for dessert,
ripe papaya fruit.
-Cheers.
-Cheers.
Aah!
Oh, that's so good.
-That's flavor. Yeah.
-Yeah.
Awesome meal. Delicious.
It tastes like a meal
you would have at home.
It's time...
For some fish.
This one isn't the prettiest,
but...
Hopefully, there'll be some
good white meat.
Oh, look at that.
Oh, man. That's good.
It felt like eating
a chicken breast almost.
I am happy for fernando
because I know he was ecstatic
to have this fish.
His body is used to eating
this diet, so,
I think it's great for him
for extraction.
What a great find, dani.
You are so skilled at, like,
the foraging thing,
it's like so impressive.
Thanks.
And this one's for you.
Food is better
when you share it.
-Mmm, that's good.
-Mmm-hmm.
what was that?
Look.
oh, my gosh!
We have monkeys really close
to our shelter.
Hi, neighbors!
It's like a whole family.
that is incredible.
They're so many.
Maybe they're after our food.
it's day 19.
We're leaving tomorrow.
-What do you think?
-It doesn't seem real.
It has not been easy.
We've worked our butt off
for three weeks, and now,
it's like time to
get out of here.
feeling super prepared.
If it pours and it rains,
if it's on fire, who knows?
Either way, I'm excited.
-Wrap me up.
-Okay.
-You want the handles at
your armpits, right?
-Yeah.
I'm flipping one of the
baskets into a backpack,
which has a lot of
dry tinder in it.
this is really cool.
I hope this stays.
-How does it feel?
- I feel like
a turtle.
It looks like a turtle.
this was the travois
now repurposed to carry
our coal on our
extraction hike.
I've never transported coals
like this.
And my biggest concern,
besides the coals going out,
is it burning through
my carrier and then
the whole thing falling apart.
it's beautiful.
It was really nice to see
fernando use the travois.
This is all gonna make
our life easier when
we have to make our last fire.
We're here.
Our extraction point is here.
-Which is gonna be
out that way.
-Mmm-hmm.
-Walk through
our water source.
-Yeah.
-Then keep on going.
-Okay.
-All right.
-Let's get to it.
this is gonna be
a hard extraction.
It was a very hard insertion.
And so the theme of this
challenge has been just
difficulty, adversity.
And I think this extraction
will be no different.
for the first leg
of their extraction,
dani and fernando will hike
through 6 miles of
dense jungle terrain,
keeping an eye out for jaguars
and venomous
fer-de-lance snakes.
After locating
a large ceiba tree,
they'll make camp
for the night
before trudging
the last 4 miles,
which includes
crossing a river
teeming with piranhas.
we're at our
fallen-tree bridge.
if the coals fall here,
that would be really bad.
-Yeah.
-Definitely incentive
for us to kind of get moving
and get to our next camp,
because these coals,
their shelf life
in this little bundle.
-It's pretty steep up here.
-Okay.
let me know
if I can grab anything.
I'm happy to have
fernando by my side.
He definitely makes up
for all of the strength
and manpower
that I don't have.
How's your weight?
it's good.
The only thing I didn't really
factor in is
how hot I would be
carrying hot coals,
which seems
really obvious now.
Well, if you need to
switch at all, we can switch.
it's funny,
the more we travel,
the more it feels the same.
yeah, but it looks
like it's getting a little bit
more open.
that would be amazing.
over there
it looks like
a lot of sunlight.
oh, yeah, sunlight.
it's amazing
how much we value
a patch of sunlight now.
yeah.
Whoa. It was a nice
clear path up until this.
a lot of deadfall.
I think we should absolutely
avoid this area.
There's a lot of dangerous
creatures out here.
I know that a lot of snakes,
they like to breed in
the wet season,
so we just have to keep
our eyes out for any kind
of danger.
ow! Ooh.
How are you doing, fernando?
it's not easy.
The coals are hot
and they're smoking.
As a firefighter,
I am used to like
inhaling a lot of smoke,
but I feel like I've been
drained of all my hydration.
watch out
for this leaf.
There's a lot
of fire ants on it.
oh, my god.
Thank you.
We've been going
for a while now.
The sun's going down,
I'm not sure if we're
gonna have these coals
for much longer.
If you see a good spot...
-We can start looking--
-...To camp.
That probably
wouldn't be a bad idea.
Holy cow!
whoa!
I have never seen
anything like this in my life.
-dang!
-This is the tree
on the map, huh?
-It has to be.
I think we should camp here.
This is like a symbol.
We can totally utilize
the different root systems
here to...
Stay out of the rain
if it rains and...
Uh, yeah,
this is going to be
home for tonight.
It's getting dark now.
Set up camp,
then we can hit it
hard tomorrow morning.
Did you want to do
like a-- a lean-to--
yeah, lean against the tree.
Have this wall as insulation.
Have our exit here.
All right. Work to do.
I'm going to do
one last outing
for firewood.
Whoa! Oh! Damn!
have you seen
this tree before?
It's called
monkey p*nis tree.
Ooh, yeah.
-Can you tell why?
-that...
Is undoubtedly
a p*nis.
-no way around that.
-I want to touch it.
wow.
Can we eat it?
wow! Oh! Damn!
a furry gnarly caterpillar
just stung the crap
out of me.
the automeris caterpillar
has sharp spines
lining its sides and back.
These spiky armaments
release venom
causing a painful,
long-lasting sting.
Wow!
That hurt... A lot.
Oh, man.
That was pain.
this is like throbbing.
It is easily up there
with a b*llet ant.
It hurts like hell.
It should be okay.
this fire,
it looks really good.
yeah, it does.
transporting
the coals was a success.
absolutely.
If you want to kind of
give that thing some life,
we'll be good
for the night I think.
Night, 20.
Ha-ha, last night, baby!
we're just
getting, uh, settled in
for the night.
We're feeling
pretty exhausted.
That was a very strenuous
hike to get here.
We had our hands full today.
We're gonna have our hands
full tomorrow, too.
so we're going to get
as much rest as we can
for part two
of the extraction tomorrow.
it's surreal
that it's day 21.
Yeah, all we have
left to do is...
-Get to the red "x".
-Mmm-hmm.
for the final
leg of extraction,
dani and fernando
will trek another grueling
3 miles
through the soggy jungle
to the piranha-infested river
that also conceals caiman
and anaconda.
Once they cross,
it will be another
2-mile hike
to their extraction point
on an abandoned road.
all right.
I think we're ready.
thank you, tree.
tree,
you're the best.
Let's go for it.
the bigger these trees,
I feel like the bigger
the danger.
mmm.
anacondas
would love to live in here.
they're good
at hiding, they're good
at camouflage,
and so we're definitely
at a disadvantage.
I keep seeing
bigger gaps of sunlight
and it's just
telling me
we're getting closer
and closer to the edge.
-I cannot wait to have...
-I know.
I know, it's been--
-...A view
beyond the canopy.
-It's been a long time
since we've had
some open space.
oh,
there's a lot of ants.
My least favorite insect.
yeah.
I'm tired.
I'm really tired.
going down
this very slippery muddy hill.
Other extractions
were both water-based,
whereas this hike
is more challenging.
whoa!
I feel like
we're getting closer
to the river.
yeah,
it's getting--
it's very wet,
this lower elevation.
Ugh!
Back to lower ground.
Everything is wet
and muddy.
yeah.
This is not--
this is not easy,
that's for sure.
I'm just looking
forward to... Getting out.
- it's definitely
a buggier area
than the previous locations.
this is a good sign
that we're approaching
a river.
- oh, yes!
we made it to the river!
oh, my goodness!
I thought we'd never
get out of that jungle.
oh, my gosh!
this is it.
Okay.
We know we have
to get across this somehow.
-What do you think?
-I say we just swim.
But let's just keep our eyes
up in the trees and along
the bank
if there's any anacondas
over here.
averaging 15 feet in length,
anacondas strike quickly
and lock in their bite.
They k*ll either
by suffocating
or crushing their prey.
Yeah, there's definitely
things living in this
waterway.
-Ready?
-Let's do it.
-are you good?
- yep.
Oh, my god.
oh! Great job.
- awesome!
this is a tough place.
I am feeling
so incredibly exhausted.
my feet are throbbing.
-Every step, dani,
that much closer.
-Yeah.
Do you hear a vehicle?
-I do hear a vehicle.
-We must be close
to the road.
-Oh, I see a clearing
up ahead.
-Yeah.
This could... Be the road.
What do you think?
What is that?
that's a vehicle.
Yes!
Oh, my god!
Dani, that's it.
We're done.
oh, my god!
Dani, we did it.
We did it.
Oh, my goodness.
Back to our families.
That was really hard.
It's just so nice to--
to be out of the canopy.
-I know.
- here we go.
-We're on our way out.
-All the hardships,
all the suffering
is for this moment
right now.
Absolutely.
I'm excited about
finishing this challenge in
a way that I'm proud of.
Working with dani,
it just took a little bit
of trial and error
because her survival
perspective is so different.
I feel like dani
and I both have strengths,
we both have limitations,
and I think we brought
our best versions of ourselves
to this challenge.
over the course
of 21 days,
fernando lost 15 pounds.
His psr
goes from 8.2 to 8.7.
The most important thing
for me is finishing as a team.
That's essentially half
of the challenge itself.
Having a partner and learning
to compromise is something
that I learned,
and fernando,
I couldn't have imagined
a better partner
for this location.
dani lost 13 pounds.
Her psr
goes from 8.3 to 8.5.
I was absolutely
very concerned
that if I still had
the focus
to finish this challenge.
Still having that toughness,
still having
that resourcefulness,
and so, even though
I'm 40 now and I have
some more grey in my beard,
I really did prove
to myself this challenge
that I still got it.
-And this is why you do it.
- for this moment.
it's for this moment
right now.
yes!
oh, my goodness.
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13x01 - Baskets and b*llet Ants
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Each episode chronicles the lives of two survivalists who meet for the first time naked and are given the task of surviving a stay in the wilderness for 21 days.
Each episode chronicles the lives of two survivalists who meet for the first time naked and are given the task of surviving a stay in the wilderness for 21 days.