05x02 - Frigate Island

[bunniefuu]

I haven't seen anybody out there all day.

Not a single boat.

It's complete and pure survival on the
island.

Trying to find my own water and my own
food.

It's either that or die.

That's the real story of survival on a
tropical island.

You can't get off.

The island of Frigate, an uninhabited
tropical island that rests deep in the

heart of the Caribbean Sea, not far from
Grenada.

Discovered by Columbus in 1498,
the island has remained untouched by

civilization for centuries,
largely due to the

fierce waves that
pummel its rocky shoreline.

Survival on a tropical island is not
always what it seems.

In a unique way, an island represents a
strange form of entrapment.

I can walk across this island in less than
an hour.

The birds can leave whenever they want.

But nothing and no one else can.

Survival on a tropical island.

That likely conjures up
images of palm trees and

Sandy beaches and
drinking lots of coconut water.

The reality is that pirates used to maroon
people on tropical islands to die.

They'd give them a bottle of rum,
a g*n, and one b*llet.

One b*llet?

Well, that was to use on
themselves before they

went mad or died of
dehydration and starvation.

You see, tropical islands
are not always as ideal,

pretty, and as easy as
living on Gilligan's Island.

What happens when the palm trees are
replaced with cactus?

And the water that you can drink is
stagnant pools.

How do you survive that tropical island?

My faithful team leaves me here,
maroon, and alone, for the next five days.

They've left me here with a raft for
safety.

But the deadly ocean currents that hit
this island make the raft all but useless.

There's about another hour before the sun
sets.

I'm just going to sleep here on these
rocks, hope that it doesn't rain.

Before I do that, I'm going to scrounge
around, see what I can find.

There's always something
on the edge of the ocean, no

matter how pristine or how
remote of a place you are in.

You will find floatsome stuff that comes
up.

Now, check out what I've got here.

Half a bottle of water, which in an hour
or two will be an empty bottle of water.

I got a rain jacket
there, and then I got

this... got this pot,
got a belt knife as well.

And then this.

They call it a cutlass.

Now, that's a machete.

That's all I've got to survive.

Let's see what I can find around these
rocks.

And just like that, in only a
matter of seconds, I've figured

out what I have within my
zone of assessment number one.

My personal belongings and my body.

So the next step is zone number two,
my immediate surroundings.

In this case, it's the raft that the crew
left behind.

Look at this.

Well, there's always stuff, right?

Water bottle.

And I got an old lighter.

I don't know if that's water or fluid in
it, but you can see it's been there a while.

Here's the rust stain.

If this works, I'm going to be smiling.

Hey!

All right!

So that's fluid.

Oh, that's fantastic.

Somebody's smiling down upon me right now.

If I don't look beyond my
circumstances, I never know what

advantages may exist to help
me through a survival ordeal.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

I see something right there.

Fishing line.

Hang on, hang on.

That's a hook.

I see the hook.

I've walked only a hundred yards.

Not even that, maybe.

And I've got myself a fishing line.

Ouch.

And a hook.

And I even found a lighter that works.

I'm not going to have any time to fish
right now.

And besides that, I've got to catch some
bait.

Anyway.

The fish aren't just going to jump on a
hook.

Ah, I did feel raindrops.

I see some major rain coming.

This is not going to be pretty.

I've got nowhere to hide.

I'm going to light this fire now,
before it does start raining bad.

I can't believe I found a lighter.

That's just amazing.

Yep.

Beautiful.

Uh-oh.

That's not good.

I don't usually fail at a fire,
but...

I need that blade.

Shows you.

I've lit thousands of fires.

I should know better.

But I was counting on all the dry grass
and dry wood to just take off on me.

Turns out all this dry wood is hardwood.

All right, let's try this again.

And this time, environmentally
horrible scenario of

burning some of this rubber
and plastic that I found.

That means I can get this fire going,
then.

I'm going to use it.

Instead of using the
lighter, I see I've got

some wood here that's
smoldering really nicely.

Thanks to years of experience,
my self-confidence will often betray me.

And still to this day,
cause me to treat

something as vital as
fire a little too casually.

Yet the importance of this fire is as
strong as it is for any survival situation.

All right.

Fine.

Let's try some rubber.

Just ripping apart a rubber shoe here.

I'm.

in the environment burning plastic and
rubber, but if it gets my fire going in a

situation like this,
where it's all about

survival, well, you gotta
do what you gotta do.

Whether in the desert, the
Arctic, or on a tropical island,

the need for fire will always
remain my greatest concern.

It's one of the most
important ways to bring about

comfort in a place where
comfort is hard to find.

It's so hot here, I'm still sweating.

I don't need the fire for heat,
that's for sure.

But it sure is nice for comfort.

I sure hope that water doesn't come up any
higher.

It's making me nervous.

This is the rainy season.

Well, that's actually an understatement,
because it's also the hurricane season.

Hurricane Ivan devastated this whole
region.

Grenada is a powerfully beautiful place.

Beautiful, but for me, alone out here
right now, I still have to be careful.

Left alone again.

This time on an island.

And try and get some sleep.

It's not gonna be easy sleeping on a rock.

I'm still sweating at this point.

You know, there aren't too many
experiences that are as powerful and

beautiful as sleeping out under the stars
by the ocean.

If you can't survive the psychology and
the emotions, it doesn't matter how many

fish you catch or how many fires you get
going.

You'll still perish.

And here comes the rain.

I got nowhere to hide here.

I'm literally just standing up in the
dark.

Fire's sort of smoldering.

All right, I found a place to sit.

It's on the tree that had all the biting
ants crawling on it earlier.

When weather wants to mess with you,
there's nothing you can do.

Survival is all about either dealing with
the weather, preparing for the weather.

If you're not dealing with it,
you better be preparing for it.

And I was not prepared for this.

That's gonna be a long night.

Gotta wait it out.

Starting a fire was easy after finding the
lighter.

Keeping it going will be another story
during this rainy season.

Fresh water, however, is another matter.

This is how I spent the night last night.

It's not gonna help me out here.

I can't get across the strong ocean
currents to get to the mainland anyway.

I do have this life straw here for
drinking water.

I wanna try it out, but it's not gonna
help me for salt water.

Check this out.

I put the cup at the back of the dinghy to
collect rainwater.

Look how much I got.

So that's a huge bonus,
using this as a bit of

a rain catch to give
me some drinking water.

The fire's still smoldering, at least.

That's a good sign.

Throw another hunk of wood on it.

Hopefully the rain will hold off,
and I can scavenge for some food.



And finally, this is the
first time I've been around

cactus while they were
actually bearing fruit.

Oh, I caught it.

When cactus fruit is ripe and ready,
it is good.

Oh yeah, this is good.

I'll watch for more of these.

Should be a good boost of energy.

I found some garbage.

Some plastic.

Those black garbage bags.

And, uh...

I set them up so I could catch more
rainwater.

And this prickly pear... You don't
get a lot out of these guys, but...

what you get helps.

Where do we go?

Not my favorite of wild edibles.

Yet there are a lot of them on this
island.

Not bad.

Prickly pear cactus was actually once used
as a food crop for many desert dwellers.

But I'm on the edge of the ocean.

And that means possibly... fish.

There's a lot of line here.

Definitely enough to cast out there.

But I'm gonna have to untangle it.

And I want to get it around this bottle.

This is not the easiest shore to fish
from.

So it's gonna be mostly throw it out.

Let it sink to the bottom
and... hope for the best.

Usually a tangled mess.

The fishing line I find on islands is also
often too weak to use.

It snaps with an easy pull.

But sometimes I get lucky.

And it's still strong enough to use.

The trick... will be getting the hook
and bait out far enough... to catch a fish.

Well... No sinkers around.

So I'm gonna try using this little piece
of...

shell.

Because it's got a...
natural hole for me.

It's a bit heavy.

Maybe it'll help to get the line out there
far.

Hook, line and sinker.

You can expect that.

A whelk.

That's nice.

That's great, great bait for fishing.

Or... I can eat it.

And I'm gonna try it for bait first.

Oh yeah, I see a bunch more too.

This is great news.

A lot of times what I might find for
bait...

I can always consider as food for myself
as well.

If I'm unlucky with the fishing.

There we go.

Something biting on the other end already.

I felt the line go tight.

Something's biting.

Something's biting.

That's a little ocean perch.

Oh yeah.

Look at that.

I'm.

calling that lunch.

And there's still bait here.

I'm gonna toss this line back out while
I'm still here.

And see.

Forget the whelks.

We're eating fish today.

What a great way to start.

So I know now that I can access a quick
food source close by.

And that's a huge psychological boost.

But it'll be a short-lived one.

Unbelievable.

And all of this here would be excellent
bait.

I say would be because on the last cast I
lost the hook.

So this is it for fishing.

Just in case, I'll leave it over here.

You never know.

If it was absolute dire straits,
I would just eat the fish raw.

You get more nutrients that way.

Survival also comes down to psychology.

And you want to feel good.

So I'm putting my balance on the side of
good strong psychological survival.

Over the sensationalism of just eating a
raw fish and making it look cool.

Now that's survival.

Sooner or later I gotta go
up and over and through

the cactus and see what's
on the other side there.

I never wait when it comes to gathering
food or water in a survival situation.

Searching out shelter and
food, water and fire sources

should happen often and
be considered constantly.

These basic necessities of survival can
run out quickly.

Make sure I don't slip my foot into a sea
urchin.

There's a few of them around here.

Regardless of the fish that I've just caught,
the reality is I've also lost the hook.

Nice.

So that may very well be the last fish I
eat.

And the whelks here are plentiful.

Well, I'm hearing an awful lot of big
thunder rumbling behind me.

So, I wanna cook these up right now.

All I have to do is put them right on the
fire.

Well, I was told that they scream when you
cook them.

I've lost the one hook that I had found.

This is the edge of the ocean,
however.

And in a strange way,
whatever floats in on the

ocean waves make it a
potential land of plenty.

Yet, either way, I'm
still very isolated, though

I'm technically a short
boat ride from safety.

I haven't seen anybody out there all day.

Not a single boat.

So I can scream as loud as I want,
like the biggest fire.

Hit the most smoke.

It doesn't matter.

I'm still stranded here.

And without rescue.

It's complete and pure survival on the
island.

Well, that's not bad at all.

That's good.

Oh, let's go here.

Mmm, that's even better.

Lots of them.

Very edible.

Those welts are really tasty.

Alright, I'm gonna climb up through here
now and check out the rest of the island.

Looks to be a bit of a pathway here.

Now it's time to check out zone number
three.

What lay further beyond my immediate area.

This is amazing.

It opens right up.

What a difference.

Well, this is obviously incredibly
different from where I've been.

Just huddled down on the rocks and the
shoreline on the Lee side.

A lot of birds and they're all in the
grass.

It's gonna be a good chance to maybe look
for eggs.

If I'm lucky, maybe there's some,
uh, there's some water.

Fresh water.

I gotta do some exploring.

There's gotta be nests around here.

With this many birds all getting upset.

Gotta be eggs around here.

Gotta be.

Or little chicks.

This is a major score.

They call them meroquai.

I call them lunch and dinner.

You're lucky.

Because I've already had some fish and
some whelks.

If I don't see anything else by tomorrow
to eat...

You're lucky.

Turtle soup.

There is zero fresh running water on this
island.

Only a feces-filled rain puddle is
available to me.

That water is only drinkable because I
have this live straw.

Or if I were to boil it.

But drinking it straight, I'm likely to
k*ll myself.

I can't imagine what's in that pool of
water with the dead birds and turtle feces.

But with the straw or with boiling it,
I can drink it.

And that's great because now I don't have
to rely on rain water.

When the rain water comes, it'll be a
bonus.

Not since my time in the Australian
outback or South Africa...

...have I had such a repulsive source of
drinking water.

It'll be the life straw that makes a big
difference for me here.

They dive bombing me.

They want to keep me away from their
chicks, that's for sure.

And that was the end of Survivorman.

They found him with his eyes pecked out in
the middle of the island.

Though the island should be left alone...

...to continue as a biologically unique
area...

...and as a bird and turtle breeding
colony...

...locals will still sneak onto it to take
eggs and turtles...

...and even sh**t a small group of goats
that were put here for that purpose.

Grenada itself could be a world heritage
site...

...due to the still pure nature that
exists here.

And this island in particular... ...could
be a shining example of natural beauty...

...especially if they remove the goats.

At least I know I'll stay dry here.

That's a long night...

...when your pillow is a rock.

Beautiful vistas aside...

...survival on an island is still no walk
in the park.

This is how I ended up last night...

...crawling under this dinghy.

It came on to just pour down.

Probably about four or five o'clock in
the morning... ...it started raining hard.

I'll tell you, survival is such a
rollercoaster affair.

Super high highs, super low lows...
...physically, in terms of sustenance...

...and definitely mentally and
emotionally.

Well, let's see if I caught some
rainwater.

Advantages and disadvantages
when it comes to... ...the weather.

Say, well, it's cloudy and it's rainy...
...and I gotta hide from the rain.

That's very true.

I'm collecting rainwater...

...and that's a lot better than drinking
out of that sludgy puddle.

I'll take the rain.

I'll take the clouds right now.

Well, since I have the cloud cover...
...I'm gonna go hunt for some bird eggs.

Even if I find only one or two...
...finding eggs would be a huge boost.

It's in these little holes right here.

Look for all the little spots...
...where the grass just kinda...

...is blown over... ...and you see
maybe an opening on one side.

Look at this right here.

Fresh turtle poop.

And, uh... ...right
beside this little eggshell.

And I'll look all around this
area... ...and see if I can find...

...some eggs of my own.

Have a real breakfast.

Oh, look at that right there.

A pair of chicks.

Which I could eat, but they're hatched.

So I'll leave them be.

There's nothing on those little chicks.

But if the timing was right...
...I could find plump chicks.

Reality... ...is that finding them... ...with
little more than a teaspoon of meat...

...on their tiny bones is unlikely.

Hardly worth the lost calories...
...looking for them or chasing them down.

There's a nice little sheltered cove over
there.

That's beautiful.

I think I found my new home.

See how it is for shelter.

It's certainly big on comfort.

Nothing like a sand beach.

This is a beautiful little spot.

It's better than the other side.

As always... ...after just
a few hours of exploring...

...I've discovered a way to make
my circumstances... ...much better.

A few ants.

They'll settle down at night, I think.

I hope.

Oh, God.

It feels good on the back.

Nice view, too.

Just beautiful.

I think I'm gonna have a...

...daytime nap.

It's tough sleeping at night.

Not much at all, really.

Getting sufficient sleep...

...remains vital... ...to keeping
a clear mind for survival.

Where I'm staying right now...

...I haven't seen any birds coming over
here at all.

I'm gonna hope that it's not gone bad.

But it seems like it's actually abandoned...
...because nothing's been around it.

Try and cook it up.

Now that was relatively easy.

One single egg hiding under a log.

I didn't even have to go looking for it.

But finding it without any adults
protecting it... ...seems suspicious to me.

Still, it's worth a taste test.

If it's fresh, it could be delicious.

Come on, baby.

Burn.

All right.

I'll let that catch... ...and
get ready to cook an egg.

Not only did I find this one
egg... ...but also some wire...

...and a couple of other surprises...
...all around this shoreline.

That'll work.

I think that might have been a waste.

I think this was simply a bad egg.

Maybe it was a dead egg.

Maybe that's why it was left there.

You know what?

I eat that.

I run the risk of making myself horribly
sick... ...because that doesn't smell.

Ah.

It looks good, but it smells...

...horribly bad.

The good news is that... ...while
I was trying to find some wire...

...for tying up this tripod...

...I actually found more fishing line...
...lots of it... ...and hooks and sinkers.

So I'm gonna get out... ...and try
some fishing in this section here.

I think I can walk right out... ...into
the shallows here... ...and try fishing.

No welts, but I've got a handful
of snails... ...I'll try out on the hook.

The area here is not as rocky...
...and perhaps not as fruitful...

...as the other side of the island.

That's the toughest part...
...I gotta find some more bait.

I don't really wanna have to give up too
soon... ...on looking for some good eggs...

...or even... ...some
plump chicks.

They should be an easy catch.

What I'm looking for...
...is an actual live chick.

Big, plump one that I can grab and eat.

I think what's happened is...
...I'm about a week too late.

Most of the chicks, they're just
up... ...they're up on their feet now...

...and I always watch them
scurry off... ...into the rocks there.

I'd have to run...
...throw a rock.

I'm not saying that's
not possible... ...but, uh...

...in fact, I'm gonna go
look over there... ...and see.

This is highly unlikely...
...but it can't hurt to give it a try.

It's entirely possible.

But this guy... ...he
feels like skin and bones.

There's nothing to him.

So...

...I can either run and catch...
...a whole bunch more of these...

...or go pick up a turtle at ease.

I've upset these guys...
...and this little guy enough.

And off he goes.

He'll be all right.

As good as he may have
looked... ...there was nothing to him.

Maybe a teaspoon of meat...
...and a few crunchy little bones.

I would need at least eight of
those... ...to make a meal worth eating.

And by then... ...I would have
burned off... ...twice as many calories...

...as I would have gained.

And that's not smart survival hunting.

Not when hundreds of
turtles... ...are an easy pick up.

As soon as my body tells
me... ...I need more food.

But what's more important...
...to me right now... ...is water.

Dehydration will shut me down
quick... ...if I don't keep drinking.

That's foul tasting stuff.

But at least I know it's clean.

It's the only way I can stay hydrated.

Otherwise I'm dehydrating pretty quick.

I'm gonna create an impression in the
sand... ...and line it with some plastic.

If it rains tonight... ...hopefully
get more rain water I can drink.

One small trick... ...is
to not eat too much.

The more food I eat... ...the
more water I need for digestion.

And this is not a land flowing with milk
and honey.

Just one stagnant pool... ...of
rain water... ...filled with feces...

...and dead birds.

I got this crab here.

I can eat him...

...but I want him for bait.

That's looking like...
...fish bait to me.

Stay on the line.

Oh yeah!

I had a good feeling about that all along.

Look at that baby!

That's dinner!

Oh yeah!

I'm getting repaid.

The gods are repaying me
for letting... ...that little chick go.

I couldn't believe it!

That was freaky being in the
water... ...and having him on the line.

He fought well.

Yeah baby!

You are dinner!

Yes indeed!

With such little water to drink... ...I'll
have to be careful I don't eat too much.

But this kind of a meal... ...is
an incredible psychological boost.

And I'm not going to forgo it.

Searching for firewood on this shore...
...reveals more than I really want to see...

...as it does on every ocean
shoreline... ...around this planet.

Oh, I figured this is just really,
really good Karma.

Let the little guy go... ...and
reward it with a fish dinner.

Mmm!

Oh, I can guarantee this tastes a lot
better than that little bird.

A lot of times in a survival situation...

...you need to consider where all sources
for sustenance are.

The turtles are here anytime I want them.

Easy pickings.

The prickly pear cactus.

Easy pickings.

But as long as I can catch fish like
this...

...I can leave the turtles where they
are...

...I can leave the chicks where they are...
...and eat my fish and my prickly pear...

...and get a lot of my main nutrients.

I'm going to keep eating.

Turn the cameras off.

I can almost guarantee that I will not
sleep tonight...

...because now I'm going to have way too
much energy rushing through my body.

But it was time to eat.

Wow!

There's a major fish thing going on out
right in front of me.

This has got to be a good little bay for
catching fish.

Why does it always have to be ants?

Across the channel from my island lay
safety and people.

But the currents here are deadly and they
take lives.

And so I remain isolated and alone within
view of salvation...

...and that's classic island survival.

Last night's the first night it hasn't
rained.

So I actually got a little bit of sleep.

Early in the morning and already that sun...
...well I can start to feel this heat.

It's going to be intense today.

I can feel that coming.

Before that happens I'm going to get out
and explore along...

...the outer zone out there.

Just to see what else I can find.

Boy.

Under the tropical sun.

It's not a good place to be when...

...heat stroke could mean your life.

Well they certainly don't make it
difficult.

Those fellas coming walking right into
camp.

That's a big turtle.

Anyway.

Too big for my needs.

I can get a smaller one.

It'll be just fine.

With abundance like this... ...I can
afford the time... ...and calories...

...to search for eggs.

I've had bad luck eating turtles...

...having suffered through some pretty
horrible parasites.

And though these ones may be
just fine... ...and without issue...

...they're still on my easy last resort
list.

The turtles aren't going
anywhere fast... ...in any event.

As soon as they start swooping down on my
head...

...I figure I must be getting close to
something.

So it's back to the egg hunt.

Ow!

Oh, that hurt.

Cactus and shorts don't go together.

Ouch.

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

There we go.

Awesome.

Check this out.

Sounds solid.

Well... I think what
I'll do is... ...I'll do the...

...more environmentally friendly
thing... ...and I'll leave one egg behind.

I know where it is.

And...

...I'll go eat this one.

That's a nice sized egg.

Once again... ...it's the proactive
survival that has served me well.

If I don't look around... ...and I
just sit... ...and wait to be rescued...

...I can wither away and die.

But spending the time exploring... ...has
brought me fish... ...water... ...cactus...

...turtles... ...and best
of all... ...an egg meal.

This doesn't look good.

It looks like it was a bit far along.

Well, that looks and... ...kind
of smells disgusting, actually.

There's the chick.

Well...

...crazy thing is...

...it's all edible.

I've never eaten an egg this far gone
before.

Well, let's start with the egg white,
shall we?

Oh, that's actually good.

Wow.

Alright.

Now let's try the chick.

It's not bad.

This is going down a lot better than I
thought it was going to.

I'm gonna add in the shell.

There's calcium in the shell.

Well... ...there's more
where that came from.

Once again, in a strange twist of how
survival works...

...I've had the boost of eating an egg...

...but I've made my need for water much
stronger... ...by putting food in my stomach.

Well, that'll help anyway.

Anything else I can do to... ...catch
some rain if it does rain tonight...

...beats, uh... ...going over and
drinking out of the sludge puddle.

Three, four inches of water...
...and I've got a good cool drink.

Well, just to be safe... ...I'm gonna
make a little bit of a rain shelter here.

In case it does come on to
rain tonight... ...I don't have to...

...go running to the, uh...

...other location... ...through
the cactus in the dark.

This is the rainy season...
...and I have to remain vigilant...

...at protecting myself from the elements.

It's not watertight by any stretch.

It'll help to shed most of the rain.

I'll tuck you in here with my raincoat
on... ...in case I get any more downpours...

...like I did the first couple of nights.

It's always very humbling when...

...you do well in survival.

It's humbling because...

...just about anything could go
wrong... ...in a survival situation.

And it usually does.

I'm always asked... ...what's
the toughest place to survive?

And the answer's always the same.

It comes down to temperature.

Give me heat...

...for moderate temperatures...

...and I'll get by.

Drop it below freezing...

...and survival becomes a way to struggle.

TV has made survival...
...look like a recreation.

And me being in this location...
...may almost look like an adventure.

But survival will always be survival.

And by its very nature... ...it's a
difficult... ...and a miserable undertaking.

Not to be wished on anyone.

Huh.

Well that sure paid off well.

Unbelievable.

We're perfect.

A little tiny thing like
this... ...a little idea...

...and I'd get myself a drink of
rainwater.

This island might not have any...

...palm trees... ...no coconuts...
...no fresh running water.

But it has eggs and turtles.

A prickly pear cactus... ...by the
ton... ...that I can eat and live off of.

And good fishing.

You never know what you're gonna get in
survival.

You get what you
get... ...you deal with it.

Because survival is doing what you have
to.

Or perishing.

Tropical island survival... ...often
exists in people's minds... ...as a cliché.

Yet it's the reference point... ...for us
all... ...when we think of being maroon.

And there are places... ...where
the coconuts... ...fall in profusion...

...and fresh water... ...comes cascading
down rock faces... ...into aquamarine pools.

But here a cactus...
...replaced the coconut.

And the flowing fresh water...
...is actually a stagnant pool.

Yet Grenada stands... ...a
beautiful example... ...of pure nature.

And its islands are uniquely
vibrant... ...and rich in biodiversity.

So why is it I always seek out...
...the most difficult way to enjoy...

...such powerfully beautiful places?

Someday... ...I'll have
to try being a tourist...

...and just take pictures of turtles...
...rather than considering them my lunch...

...in the name of survival.