01x08 - Never Quit

[bunniefuu]

Um, it was really
cold last night.

Like, it's freezing right now.

I mean, you can't tell, because
I have such an amazing system

of heating and rocks and stuff.

But, it is cold.
Like, cold cold.

That's my breath. That's...

[chuckles] That's
how cold it is.

Last night was so cold.

Like, I literally,
basically slept in the fire.

Which you can obviously
tell, 'cause I'm covered in ash.

Like, my entire
body is just ash.

I've got three more
[bleep] days here.

I'm just so [bleep] over it.

I love survival, I
love being outside,

but I [bleep] hate being here.

I just wanna go home.

But I'm so close. God
damn it, I'm so close!

[grunts in frustration]

[elephant trumpets]

[Fernando] Good
morning. The sun is out

not a cloud in the sky.
The birds are chirping.

It's a beautiful day.

[elephant trumpets]

Hmm. It's like an old friend

stopping by to visit.

My rainwater stash
is officially gone.

And other water
sources look pretty rough.

So, I'm gonna dig a
new gypsy well today,

and it won't be as good as
the rainwater, but hopefully,

it'll be enough to get
me through till the end.

Today actually, is a big
milestone in my survival career.

Today's my 100th day
surviving naked around the world.

Look at this guy.

It's pretty crazy
to reflect back

doing these survival challenges.

- Yes! Yes!
- [group cheering]

I'm proud of that. I'm proud.

I've never tapped out, never
had to be medically tapped out.

I've always just kind of played a
good, smart survival challenge,

a good chess match, and I hope
to do the same things out here.

[trumpeting]

I've gotten pickier with
my water, over the weeks.

[scrapes]

Trying to avoid
the chocolate soup,

or the green
milkshake over there.

The elephants make these
holes in, like, two minutes,

with their big, big, huge feet.

I'm just copying them.

Maybe, I can convince
him to come over,

and, uh, make me one last
hole since he stole my hole

in the beginning
of this challenge.

Okay, I'm gonna let
that simmer for a while.

See if it refills cleaner
water, hopefully.

[Cheeny] Last night,
I started getting, uh,

a Raynaud's flare-up.

Fingers got a little
numb. Turned yellow.

Last catfish meal.

Ooh, it's three days in a row
of this howling cold a*s wind.

I love Africa. But...

The cold is not making
me wanna stay here.

But I keep going back to her.

My a*usive wife.

I think I have
Stockholm syndrome.

[Fernando] Oh,
yeah, look at that.

Hey, beautiful.

I went the first 10 days
drinking this kind of water.

It's fine. It's got a
little bit of a zing to it.

But that's okay. I'm a few
days away from finishing,

and I will drink
anything at this point.

[elephant grunting]

These incredible
elephants, they've been, like,

the most dominant animal in
my challenge this last three weeks.

I first got here, it was the
elephant who greeted me.

[whispering] Holy crap!

It's been elephants throughout.

[trumpets]

If they move in closer, it
gets more complicated.

Oh, wow.

This is my hunting blinds.

This is where I was gonna hunt.

And it's been
destroyed by elephants.

The elephant's kind
of cramping my style.

Good and bad,

and it feels
super, like, fitting,

to have, kind of, one come in

and almost, like, say goodbye.

Like, even though they were
getting in the way of my hunting,

and using my gypsy well,

and destroying my blinds,
I never minded them.

That's cool. I can leave now,

in peace.

I did not go out this morning,
because my stomach is k*lling me.

And honestly, like, when I stand
up, I feel like I'm gonna vomit.

At night, I'm just,
really, really cold.

But it's hot during the day.

Boobs are sweating,
my butt's sweating.

My stomach is so bad.

Like, it's so rashy
and filled with bites,

that when I sweat it
burns so much. [chuckles]

Everything's just,
so, like, dried out.

And this rash on my side.

If you come out here and you
let every little thing get to you,

it will take you out.

And I... And I know
that firsthand, because,

in my Peru experience...

[sobs] It just hurts.
Everything hurts.

I just can't deal
with, like, the pain.

All of those things just... It
put me in a terrible head space.

You just have to have a good,
positive attitude and will power.

[exclaims] The [bleep].

Oh, my God.

That thing just fell on my hair.

Ugh.

[grunts]

Oh, my God, my head
is, like, on fire, right there.

I hope those aren't poisonous.

Oh, my God, it's, like, burning.

Now, my forehead is,
like, on fire, where it fell.

Oh, yeah, like,
look at its furs.

They're like little
cactus things.

It's an intense burning

that's been lasting for
about 30 minutes so far.

Okay.

I'm gonna try to treat the
welt from the caterpillar

by going down to the water.

Dude, my forehead is on fire.

And I'm gonna take some dirt and
I'm just gonna mix it in with the water

and rub it into my welt,

and see if that helps get
some of those fibers out.

It's always, like, the small
things that take you out.

Man, that thing hurt. [grunts]

It's fine now. Thank God.

[Cheeny] The sun feels so good.

It's so nice to be warm.

I got a little down.

Morale got a little low.

I'm just gonna not let that little
voice in my head keep talkin'.

No telling what
day 21 has in store.

My legs are really exposed
and that's k*lling me,

so, I wanna try to figure
out some sort of leg covering

for extraction day,
in case it's cold again.

This is gonna go
around my waist.

Trying to keep the
wind off my legs.

Use some belt loops

so I can tie it,
and I'll probably do

like, some relief
cuts in the sides,

so I have freedom of movement.

And then two holes here and
here. I can feed 'em through.

So, I've been wanting
to make pants for a while.

And honestly, pants
take a long time.

So, I'll settle on the next
best thing, which is a kilt.

Which is way easier to do, and it's
a little more functional than pants.

Now, I have a kilt.

Now these just have to, basically, get
tied together, but I can scrunch this up.

It's adjustable. I can move.
Nothing's gonna block anything.

This kilt's gonna be great. The next
48 hours, it's gonna keep my legs warm.

And my a*s warm. Which
is what I desperately needed.

[rain pattering]

[thunder rumbling]

[Fernando] It's raining hard.
There's thunder, lightning.

We're in the middle of a storm,
for sure. Like, a major storm.

I have about three feet
of foliage on this roof.

And, when it rains this
hard, it still comes through.

Leaves only give you
so much water protection.

So, I kind of have to accept
my reality when it comes to...

...the roof in the rain.

[wind blowing]

I'm trying to shiver
really, really hard.

[sighs] So, this is no joke.

This is no joke.

Until the weather changes,

I'm kind of stuck by this fire.

[gasps]

[exclaims]

Ah!

[grunts]

[sighs in relief]

Uh, let me assess
my surroundings.

Everything is muddy,
everything is wet.

Just weathered another... Another
thunder storm came through.

Um, really cold.

I need to get water. What
am I doing? What am I doing?

What am I doing? [mumbles]

Holy cow.

It's like a river now.

Wow.

[chuckling] This is crazy.

Uh, well, so much
for my gypsy well.

I can get water anywhere.

Don't fall.

Don't fall.

Oh, man, I can feel the
heat leaving my body.

Well, I definitely got my fill
of suffering for this challenge.

I need no further
suffering to feel fulfilled.

That is cold.

[Cheeny] Now the catfish is
gone, I need to get some food today

to give me a little extra energy

to walk out of here
tomorrow, on day 21.

Big day ahead of
me tomorrow, man.

It's the day, the day
I've been waiting for.

I don't wanna crawl
across the finish line.

I'm happy to be just
walking across it.

There's something
flying around over here.

So, I don't know if it's
a burrow or, or what.

I can hear the
buzzin'. And they're big.

So, they're definitely bees.

[buzzing]

I'm just gonna get a little
bit of a closer look here.

Just the thought of the...
Of sugar right now, is like,

making me foam at the mouth.

A hive of honey? I'm gonna
have energy for days for extraction.

Rocket fuel.

Man, that hummin' is loud.

I can feel it just
reverberating in my bones.

They're in the rock.
Like, I have to go in

up my full arm at least,
just to reach in there.

And I don't even see
any comb that I can grab.

These are African
honey bees. They sting,

and sting, and sting,
until you are dead.

[narrator] African honey
bees, known as k*ller bees,

aggressively defend their hive.

Swarms can chase intruders for
a quarter mile with deadly results.

[Cheeny] I came this far,
to get stung for honey?

When I could just
wait another day?

I don't think it's
worth it to me.

Yeah, I'm [bleep]
good. Gettin' out of here.

Slowly getting out of here.

I know my limits here, and,
uh, I think I draw the line with

African k*ller bees.

I ain't messin' with that.

Nope, nope, nope.

[Kaila] If I don't get more
protein before extraction,

I'm gonna be so screwed.

The biggest obstacle that I need
to overcome for the extraction

is making sure that my
energy levels are good.

Yay!

There's two crawfish.

They're big guys, too.

I wish that I could catch, like,
ten more before extraction,

but it's really hit or
miss with this fish basket.

Look at his claws!

These are going to be delicious.

Well, at least I'll have a little bit
of protein before I leave tomorrow.

[Cheeny] Nothing fancy about
grub huntin'. Just choppin' and hopin'.

I've been just craving fat. And I
wanted to work on these rotten logs

that have been sitting
outside my shelter all week.

Ooh, [bleep] yeah.

[blows] Nice.

Six grubs.

I feel like Africa's finally
answering my prayers.

Goin' in the pot!

Mm-mm.

Can't wait for these
babies. Yum-yum-yum.

The big ones are gonna be good.

God, I've never been
so happy to see a grub.

Huge one. These ones are huge.

Grubs probably... I
know they're mostly fat,

but maybe like what a
chicken wing would be.

Seventy to 80 calories a grub.

Mm-mm-mm.

Lots of fat and protein.

They're kind of buttery.
[smacks lips] So interesting.

[Kaila] Yeah! Whoo!

I'm so excited about this.

[sniffs]

It's definitely a
big chunk of meat.

[crunches]

Mm.

That's so good.

These claws are huge, too.

Look at all the meat in there.

[crunches]

This is definitely a good
meal, right before extraction.

I definitely needed
the protein, so...

This is exactly what I needed.

[thunder rumbling]

Oh, my God.

I was just sitting here
and I heard some thunder,

so, I'm hoping...

[thunder rumbles]

Ooh, there it goes
again. [chuckles]

It's cooled down so much,

in the last 30 minutes.

It just got so dark
so fast, you know?

I'm honestly getting worried.

[thunder rumbles]

I'm not scared of a lot of things,
but I... I hate thunder storms.

I hate thunder and lightning.

Um, it's like one of the
things that just terrifies me.

I don't know why.

It... It scares the [bleep]
out of me, though. [chuckles]

[lion roaring]

[elephant grunts]

[Fernando]
Tomorrow's extraction.

Last night... I will say, like,

the alone version of
this survival challenge,

um, is different in such
interesting ways. Like,

it's different in the obvious
ways, but, it's also just...

It's a very, like,
self-reflective experience.

There is no one
to, like, occupy you.

So, it's just you
in your own head.

Which can be good
and bad. [chuckles]

But, it's been
really, really, um,

just, meaningful for me.

Being alone has
really made it, just...

just a much richer,
deeper experience.

Looking forward to
going home, though. Wow.

[thunder clap]

[Kaila] Oh, this is so bad.

[rain pattering]

Honestly, like, I can
deal with the rain,

but I am terrified of
thunder and lightning.

[wind howling]

So, really bizarre.

It was lining up to be,
like, a beautiful night.

Stars were out. Uh,
not a cloud in the sky.

And all of a sudden,
it has begun to gust.

Really cold.

Super, just, strong,
gusty, sporadic winds.

One final night

of uh, excitement.

I am, like,
anchored to the fire.

Might be a long, long night.

It's like non-stop right now.

[thunder claps]

That is not normal thunder. Like,
this is not normal thunder and lightning.

Well, night 20.

I don't know if you
guys can see this,

but it is raining so hard.

And I'm trying really hard to
keep my fire going. I'm soaked.

Absolutely drenched.

I'm just, like, hovering over
the fire, trying to stay warm.

This is crazy, like,
it's... it's pouring so hard.

It's awful.

I don't know how much
longer until sunrise.

But, uh...

If it's not soon, I'm gonna
be screwed, because...

I'm pretty much out of
firewood, at this point.

[thunder rumbles]

Yeah, this isn't good.
This is not good at all.

My coals are almost out.

Once my fire's gone
I'm definitely in trouble.

So, I really don't know
what I'm gonna do.

Just getting worse.

It's just coming down harder,
and harder, and harder.

Got hit again with
another huge blast of rain,

and everything just went out.

I'm freezing.

My hot rocks aren't hot anymore.

And I was really, really hoping that
morning was gonna be here soon,

but it's not
looking like it, so...

[thunder claps]

Please, please stop raining.

[Fernando] So, it's
the morning of day 21.

And sometime, in
the middle of the night,

it got so windy.

Um, my boma was shaking. It
was like, "Oh, boy, here we go."

It was miserable. It was almost
like Africa's last, little hurrah.

And it lasted for a while.

And then it stopped.
And now it's calm again.

Now, it's clear
skies, beautiful day.

I am ready to go home.

I do not want to have a pot
of water with me on extraction.

Don't wanna be bogged down
with one more thing to carry.

So, uh, I feel good
about leaving that pot.

I've had water all night.

Machete, check.

Need to head
south to extraction.

[narrator] Fernando
faces a 4-mile trek

through dense brush and
dangerous lion territory.

He will be searching
for a large African anthill,

which he must climb to
spot his extraction vehicle.

I'm gonna take
that dry creek bed,

and hopefully it'll get me as
far as I can and get to there.

All right. Time to head out.

Every good explorer
has a moustache.

Think I need eyebrows
to go with this moustache.

So, I gotta go from here
to my extraction point here.

Now the party's over.

I'm ready to go.

Bye, shelter.

Bye, AJ.

You're still my number one.

Keep an eye on the
place for me. Bon voyage.

Finally making my way home.

[narrator] Cheeny's
mountainous extraction trek

will take her six miles through
the open desert landscape,

where she will be a
potential target for predators.

She must make it to the
top of the tallest mountain,

where only then she will
meet her extraction vehicle,

and complete her solo challenge.

[Cheeny] The solo
challenge is so different,

'cause I mean, you're
doing everything by yourself.

You're alone, you have no one
to talk to. Just a different beast.

So, I learned I can handle the
cold, and I've learned that, uh,

I don't wanna do anything
like this again without a partner.

We're social creatures.
We're in tribes for a reason.

We have families for a reason. I
don't wanna be alone anymore.

I'm just ready to
get out of here.

Gettin' down kind of low. I'm gonna
try to find a good vantage point,

get my bearings again.

Well, there it is.

Of course this is my extraction.

Send me up a [bleep] mountain.

[Kaila] Man, last
night was rough.

I've never heard
thunder like that.

I'm trying to make sure my body
temperature doesn't drop anymore,

so I'm just gonna
do some exercises.

Man, what a terrible day 21.

Just gotta stay warm.

Look at how pruny my hands are.

I'm just excited to get
out of here. [coughs]

If I even get out of here.

All right, so let's
check the map.

I am down here, and then
extraction is all the way over here.

[narrator] Kaila's five-mile
hike through the dense forest

will follow the remnants
of a dried up river bed,

where she'll have to
keep a constant lookout

for the dangers of the jungle,

like the deadly fer-de-lance,

which hides on the canopy floor.

[Kaila] Man, these
thorns are k*ller.

Have to be so
careful where I step.

You can't really see like
what's in this tall grass.

[hisses]

Man, it's so dense
in here, it's crazy.

Ah! Man, there's so many thorns.

It's like every step
there's a thorn.

[Fernando] These extraction
hikes are never easy.

This survival challenge
makes you earn your exit.

And I know that, and,
uh, I'm ready for anything.

I'm committing to this dry
creek bed to head south,

so, we'll see.

Whoa. This is fresh lion tracks.

[lion roars]

Uh, I may not be the
only thing using this creek

as a trail here.

[lion roaring]

So, my dry creek bed here is
definitely getting smaller and smaller.

And so, I may
lose my nice, soft,

sandy trail.

Man, sun's coming up.

Definitely getting tired.

And thirsty.

It's so dense here.

Having lots of zig zagging,
working my way through.

Trying to stay oriented
with the sun, to head south.

But it's definitely getting
trickier and trickier.

[lioness growling]

I feel so vulnerable.

Just like walking, and
you really can't see

much past you.

You never know what's around the
corner which really gets unsettling.

I do wanna get out of
here as fast as possible.

I'm so, so close now. I
can't let my guard down.

This looks like a good... good
place to cross the river, right here.

I know that my
extraction is on this side.

It's pretty shallow right here,

and looks like I could probably
hop across some rocks.

The water's cold. I'm not really
lookin' forward to puttin' my feet in it,

but I'm lookin' forward
to gettin' out of here, so...

I'm not a quitter.

Never quit anything in my
life and I ain't gonna stop now.

I'm so close to extraction.

Ooh! [bleep] ice-cold, boy.

[exhales]

Ah. [pants]

I'm tired, dehydrated, and
shaky, gettin' kind of light-headed.

I'm not out of Africa till I
get to my extraction vehicle,

so you gotta be extra careful.

[Fernando] So,
still heading south.

I've been going for awhiles now.

The sun on my left side is
definitely my compass right now.

Can definitely see how
you can get lost out here.

It is just miles of mopane.

Oh! [groans]

That is Africa for you.

[exhales]

An anthill.

Is it, like, the one?

I see an anthill there.

There's... And one
over there. [scoffs]

That one's the biggest one.

Okay.

Man, look how far I've come.

I do not see
signs of extraction.

This has gotta be
the anthill, though,

because I can see
360 in all directions.

Holy cow. I see a vehicle.

Whoo! That's gotta be my ride.

I did it. [sighs]

I've never been so happy to
see an old safari pickup in my life.

Oh, man.

That's my ride
home, right there.

[sighs]

Doing this alone, so
much more intense.

Four survival challenges,
four completions,

over 100 days, surviving naked,

around the world. This one

was really, really tricky.

Working this hard to do
something and overcoming...

Whoo!

...and succeeding,
is truly life changing.

[narrator] Fernando
leaves South Africa,

still undefeated
after four challenges.

Surviving alone for 21
days, he lost 33 pounds.

His final solo survival
rating increases to 8.6.

[Fernando] I absolutely feel
like I've been hardened out here.

I feel good, I feel proud.

Did I show my children the
importance of a can-do attitude?

The strength of
mental toughness?

Yeah, that's what
got me through this.

Uh, I feel like
I'm just full, like,

survival savage mode.

But I'm looking to go back.

Positivity, a can-do
attitude, mental toughness,

that will get you
through anything.

Whoo!

[Kaila] Well, this
is super slippery.

Especially after it rained.

I've endured being alone.

The bites, the ticks,
the extreme weather.

Fer-de-lance.
It's definitely been

a crazy challenge,
to say the least.

Looks like I might be
coming to that canyon.

Once I get out of the jungle, I
drop down into my dried river bed,

and it's absolutely insane.

It's definitely scary.

And I just am so worried that
I'm gonna slip and hurt myself.

Yeah.

[bleep]

That's a fer-de-lance.

[Cheeny] And as
soon as I get home,

first thing I'm doing, I'm gonna
drink my favorite frickin' beer.

I'm making this
list in my head...

[Fernando] When I go back
home and drink clear water,

it's gonna be, like,
so amazing to me.

I want a big prime rib.

Waffles with butter and
real Maine maple syrup.

[Kaila] Definitely
getting pizza.

What kind, you ask? Hawaiian.

Don't come for me if you
don't like Hawaiian pizza.

You have to have muddy water
first to appreciate clear water.

It tastes really bad.

Oh, God, I could go for like a
pint of cookie dough ice cream.

I'll go get wings at Willie's.

A donut. That sounds amazing.

Probably get tacos at Bird & Co.

But I want peanut butter
slathered all over the top of it.

And they got a wicked margarita.

That sounds so good.

And I'm gonna go across
the street to my mom's house,

and I'm gonna sit
my a*s in that hot tub.

Oh, [bleep]

That's a fer-de-lance.

Of course, I walk
upon a fer-de-lance.

And it's only fitting that
I'd see one on my way out.

I'm glad I brought
my snake stick

and was very cautious
about where I was stepping.

I'm definitely getting tired.
My body's starting to feel it.

Everything's just catching
up with me all at once.

[faint whooshing]

Sounds like a river.
It has to be a river.

That's definitely water.

Holy [bleep]! Look at that!

That's crazy. Wow.

Well, it looks like I
have to swim across,

so I definitely don't
wanna swim here.

That's way too sketchy.

It looks like there might
be a road over there,

and I think that's
probably my goal.

So close. [chuckles]

[exclaims joyfully]

Yay, I'm finally done! [laughs]

[jeep rattling]

Yay!

[exclaims happily]

Yeah, I'm just overcome with
so many different emotions.

I almost start to tear up.

I'm just so excited to finally be
done and to have accomplished this.

I feel like I... I
gained confidence.

I feel like I just did
something so amazing

that very few people
can say that they did.

Yeah! [laughs]

[narrator] In this 21
day solo challenge,

Kaila lost 16 pounds, successfully
completing her redemption.

Kaila's SSR elevates
from 7.3 to 8.2.

[Kaila] I'm beyond happy.

I was really worried
coming into this challenge

that I was gonna
overthink things,

and I wanted to try to overcome doubting
myself and second guessing myself,

and I think that I absolutely
nailed it. [chuckles]

I can walk away from this knowing
that I 100%, did this all by myself.

I feel like I came out
here and I just, I k*lled it.

Humbly, k*lled it. [chuckles]

I am kind of a
bad-a*s. [chuckles]

[Cheeny] That's
my extraction point.

Hopefully in the middle.

Not great for climbing,
but nothing out here is.

[sighing] My legs are so tired.

Oh, man.

The last thing I need to do
right now is climb a big a*s hill.

But nothing's gonna
stop me today. Nothing.

[pants]

Yes! [exclaims triumphantly]

Oh, I feel so good!

[helicopter whirring]

I know that sound.

[mimics helicopter sound]

No better way to pick up a SERE
specialist than with a helicopter.

That's what I'm talking
about! [bleep] A, dude.

I just came out here
to come back to Africa.

Came back to the
place that I love.

I definitely had a solid
reminder how harsh she can be.

Still love her, though.

[screams in joy]

That was awesome!

I can't believe
this is real life.

Whoo!

Best day ever. Best day ever.

It's the best day
of my life! I made it!

Yeah!

Let's go home! Yeah!

[cheers joyfully]

Yes! [laughs]

Whoo!

[narrator] Over the past 21
days, Cheeny lost 11 pounds.

Her final SSR
increases from 7.4 to 8.3.

This was worth every
cold, miserable second.

I can't believe I wanted to
tap on day five. So stupid!

Oh, deep down
inside I feel complete.

Africa's got another
piece of my heart.

Africa, I knew you loved me.

Thanks for the tough love.

[shower running]

I'm gonna have to use a
whole entire bottle of conditioner.

Gonna be in here for a bit.

But it feels so
nice. Oh, my gosh.

I'm in heaven right
now. [chuckles]

So, I am fresh
out of the shower.

I feel so nice and
clean. My hair feels nice.

I brushed my teeth.
I feel really good.

So, now I'm gonna
have my first meal.

[thunder rumbling]

Ooh.

Yikes. I'm glad I'm inside
and not in my shelter. [giggles]

Yes, look at that.
Hawaiian pizza.

Mm.

Oh, my God, it tastes so
good. [chuckles happily]

[Fernando] Okay, this is me,

walking into my
house for the first time.

[all] Welcome back! [cheering]

[Fernando] Oh, whoa! I love it!

My amazing children!
So good to see you!

- [child] Dad!
- [Fernando] Samuel, Lila!

Oh, my God, these
hugs feel so good!

These hugs feel so good!

[child] I love you so much, Dad.

[Fernando] I love you!

- [chuckles]
- [Fernando] My love.

Do I get to say hi now?

[Fernando] Yes, a hug
from my amazing wife.

- It is so good to be home.
- [kisses]

This is like the best
feeling in the world.

Hot, hot, hot.

[sighs]

Man, it feels good to be
warm. [chuckles, sighs in relief]