09x02 - A Screw Loose

[bunniefuu]

-Aah!
-You good?

-Yeah.
-Okay.

It's fricking heavy.

Oh, my god.

Okay.
All right.

Slowly.
This thing is slippery.

Careful. Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, wait.

I got you.
Whoa.

Sorry.
-Aah!

-Aah.
-Where did it hit you?

Oh. *Bleep* oh.
Why'd you drop it?!

I'm sorry.
I mean, it slipped.

Ow!

Narrator: one man...

...one woman...

Whoo!

...alone for 21 days
to face the wrath...

Woman: stop raining!

...and fury

Of the most hostile environments
on earth.

Aah!

They have no clothes,
no food, no water.

I want water.

Do they have the skill
and the will...

Fire!
...to overcome

The most brutal survival
challenge of their lives...

Leah: god, there's so many ants
crawling in my a*s.

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Deep in the remote
tropics of mexico

Looms the lacandon
jungle of chiapas.

Here,
among the ancient mayan ruins,

The memory of
a proud civilization

And legends of spirits live on.

Over 1,000 years ago, the mayan
people died out mysteriously,

Their once-great empire

Reclaimed by
an unforgiving jungle.

The dense rainforest
is home to vicious predators --

The jaguar, the biggest
wildcat in north america.

In addition to a powerful bite,

It uses incredibly acute
hearing to hunt its prey

And is able to hear a twig snap
over 2 miles away.

And massive boas,

Up to 13 feet long
and over 100 pounds,

That wrap their bodies
around their victims

And strangle them in a slow
and painful death.

Leah: there are a lot of dangers
in this jungle.

There's snakes.
I'm nervous.

I'm nervous.
My name is leah.

I'm from dry prong, louisiana.

I am a mother and married
3 1/2 years now.

Say, "hi, everybody."

Hi, everybody.

And I'm a strong-a*s
cajun woman.

I am a hunter. I love
to hunt squirrels, deer, rabbit.

I can build a fire.

I'm a crazy woman.
I like to do wild things.

I flipped my truck
and broke my collarbone

And now have
a metal plate in it.

This scar right here is a rite
of passage in louisiana.

You know, everybody
flips their truck.

It's normal.

I wanted to take
on this challenge

To prove to everybody

That I'm not this little,
bitty girly-girl,

That I am a tomboy
and I can survive,

And I can push myself further
than I have ever before.

Narrator: leah's hunting skills
will be invaluable

To her and her partner,

And her positive attitude

Could be her greatest
contribution to the team.

She heads into the challenge
with a psr of 6.4.

I sense a lot of spirits here,
and I plan to talk to them

And hopefully be
welcomed by them.

My name is caesar.

I'm a martial arts
instructor and a shaman.

Eagle feather, very special.

I do believe that spirits
are abundant in this area.

They're here.

We want to make sure we appease
them and not take them lightly.

Sending me your best wishes?

I hope so.

My first memories
of being a survivalist

Is living
with the indigenous indians.

We lived in a tribal community.

My father taught me
everything I know.

I'm great at making fire.

I can make it in under 1 minute.

I'm able to trap game.

This is a way of life for me.

I want to feel that I am
honoring my ancestors

And keeping their ways alive.

Narrator:
caesar's primitive training

With the indigenous
people of the area

Is a definite plus,

And his spiritual background
may be the "x" factor

That helps him
survive the jungle.

Caesar begins
with a psr of 6.2.

Woo-hoo. Yeah. This is it.
Let's get this started.

Here we go.

Vamanos.

Let's do this.

In louisiana, we have a saying.

It's "laissez
le bon temps roulet,"

And that means,
"let the good times roll."

Let's go.

Caeser: I'm very excited
about meeting my partner.

It's gonna be amazing
to find out who the spirits

Chose to join me
in this venture.

-Hi, partner.

It's nice to meet you.

So nice to meet you.
I'm caesar.

I'm leah.

-This place is beautiful.
-Yeah.

But I heard it's
dangerous, too, so...

Yeah, definitely.

...we'll have to watch out
for snakes and stuff.

-You want to see what we got?
-Let's see what we got.

Narrator: in addition
to a firestarter...

Definitely gonna
need one of those.

Yeah.

...leah and caesar
have brought two personal items.

-Machete.
-Great.

Yes.

I have the map.
-Great.

So, okay.
Those flowers are here.

So that must be
the flowers there.

Yeah.
So we're right here.

Where do you think would be
a good place to go?

We can try through here
and follow the river.

We'll come right here,

Where there's a bunch
of fruit and fish.

Awesome.
-I like it.

-Okay. Let's go.
-Let's do it.

Follow me.

Narrator: the area
of the mayan jungle

Leah and caesar will call home

For the next 21 days
has been hit

Especially hard
by the rainy season.

Everything is saturated,

And the nights are wet
and bone-chilling.

To make matters worse,
suffocating humidity

Has led to
an infestation of tiny,

Bloodthirsty insects,
known as chequistas,

Whose bite can leave human
skin burning in agony.

Parasites transmitted
by the bugs

Can lead to deadly
infections that k*ll over

40,000 People
worldwide every year.

Do you know
about aluxes?

No.
I've never heard that.

Well, it's like elves,
gremlins,

Leprechauns of the forest.

A lot of people
from this land

Believe that those exist
and live in this forest.

So you want to get
on their good side

Because they can
play tricks on you.

-Really?
-Yeah. It's no joke.

Leah: my partner talks about,
you know,

Spirits and leprechauns
and stuff,

Which, I mean,
I'm cool with it

Because we have
our tales in louisiana.

Back home, we have some...

I call them superstitions

Because not everybody
chooses to believe in them,

But I do.
-Excellent.

I feel really good
about my partner.

I like him. I mean,
he seems really wise.

Oh, forest elves,
please protect us.

We're gonna need it.

Ooh, look at that.
It doesn't look friendly.

No.

You know what?
Let's get to camp.

Careful, the jungle is full

Of all kinds
of dangerous things.

Yeah. I noticed.

Oh, boy.
Look at that.

Leah: oh, my goodness.
Look at it!

It's too deep right there.

There's no way
we're moving that way.

To get to that spot
on the map,

We're gonna have
to cross the river.

Think about going across
this tree right here.

-Want to do it?
-Yeah. Do it.

-Let's do it.
-All right.

Okay. If you have to hug it,
then hug it.

Oh, god.

Careful, I don't know
how sturdy it is.

Oh *bleep*

-Aah!
-You good?

-Yeah.
-Okay.

No. You know what?
This thing is slippery.

Aah.

-All right. Slowly.
-Ahh.

-Got it?
-Yeah. Hold on.

You got it. Whoo.

-Oh, my goodness.
-All right.

Leah -- she is a partner
I was hoping for.

She's an outdoors girl,
and that's great.

Too early
to be getting wet.

Yeah.

It's getting kind of hot.

I'm starting to feel
the wear and tear

Of not having
water right now,

So it is at the back of my mind,

And we should start
looking for some.

Let's go through here.

Okay. Do you think you'd
find a good resource?

I know that spring water
filters out through the rocks

And through the roots
of the trees.

I think it's safe to drink
when it filters out right here.

You know what?
I think you might be right.

Narrator:
natural springs occur

When water
that is passed through soil

And rock reappears
from underground.

Oh, my god.
That's so good.

The jungle is rich in limestone,

Which is especially effective at
filtering out harmful microbes.

-My god.
-It's good.

Yeah. That's good.

Wow.

I think
you've got a winner.

You know what? We should
make camp back in here.

There's good. It's close
to our water source.

See how they got three
trees and two trees?

Yeah, and it's got
a good canopy.

I bet you this is gonna protect
us from the rain,

So right here?

Yeah. Let's set up.

Okay.

Caeser: I think the way me and
leah are gonna work together

As a team is that
she's open-minded

To listening to
what I want to do,

And I ask of her opinion.

I want to be an equal partner.

Layer the bed first.

Then, afterward, we can
layer on top, you know.

Oh, yeah. We'll layer
on top, too.

Leah:
we are making a raised bed

Because there's a lot
of ants out here,

And we don't want to
sleep on the ground.

That'll bring your
body temperature down,

And it's just not good.

-Looks comfy.
-That's good.

Caeser: all right.

As long as it doesn't
fall down, we'll be okay.

All right.

Day 1, here we are.

No fire, a lot of thunder,
lightning.

Well, it's got to stop
sooner or later.

Aah!

*Bleep*

*Bleep*

What?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh.

Ah.
The bugs are terrible.

Oh, my goodness.

Please,
for the love of god.

Sleeping isn't
gonna happen.

No.

My first night
was not how I thought

It was gonna be at all.

Those little bugs, they go
right through the net.

They get to you.

When they bite, it hurts,
like, really, really bad.

Ooh.

Narrator: leah and caesar's
sweat has attracted

An army of tiny chequistas.

They're, like,
all over the place.

Son of a b*tch,
and I'm still getting bit.

Look at that.

Narrator:
unlike mosquitoes,

Chequista bites
occur in clusters.

As they cut into the skin,

Blood droplets form,
which attract others,

Creating a feeding frenzy.

Leah: oh, my god.

They're worse than any
other thing that bites you.

It's like a nagging,

Just makes-you-go-crazy
kind of pain.

I thought a louisiana
mosquito was, like,

The worst possible bug out
there,

But this tops that by far.

Ooh.

We really need to find something
to put on these bites.

I have to get
some sleep tonight,

Or I am not going
to be worth a damn.

Mud keeps bugs
off of you...

-Right.
-...kind of make a repellent.

All right.

And you mix it with
a fern kind of like this.

Okay.

Just crush it up,

And then you can
just rub it on your skin.

Narrator: mud has been used for
centuries by native americans

To ward off mosquitoes.

Oh, god.

The mud masks the smell of human
skin that attracts the bugs,

And the aromatic oil
from the sweet fern leaves

Adds an additional
layer of protection.

Oh.
Everywhere *bleep* hurts.

Because, I mean, I can't deal
with those mosquitoes.

We just have to wear
this all night.

Caeser:
I feel bad for my partner.

I saw her suffering
all last night,

And I can't have her
going through that again.

Sprinkle this *bleep*
in my hair.

I don't even care.

Oh, man.

I got a lot of work cut out

Because last night, our shelter,

Well,
the bed broke two times,

So I have to do what I can
to improve the situation.

*Bleep* I feel like
I'm still getting bit.

What's the deal?

Aah!
*Bleep*

I mean, I cannot do this.

I'd rather break
my collarbone again

Than have to go
another night without a fire

To keep those bugs away.

-I mean, I'm telling you.
-I don't know what it is.

I'm with you.

Caeser:
the sun is coming down,

So trying to see what the heck
we're gonna do about fire.

Those mosquitoes, it would
help with that situation

Because they're
driving us crazy.

There's a nice
little dry spot.

I'm thinking right there.

Roll it up, like,
in the shape of a bird's nest.

Put that magnesium
on top.

It works good.

Caeser: shave off as much
magnesium as possible.

God, there's so many ants
crawling in my a*s.

Oh, yeah.

Hear it?

I know you're not wanting
to make it easy on me.

Oh, god.
Take a break.

Take a minute.

Leah: everything is wet.

It's too wet
to even get a coal.

Ooh. You almost had
something there.

*Bleep*

*Bleep* man.
I just had it.

Leah: I'm really more concerned
about the bugs than anything.

I just want to be able
to sleep tonight.

Hey.

-I just need a minute.
-Okay.

We need a fire

Because I cannot
have a night like last night.

I nearly lost my mind,
and I can't be like that.

It's not a good place
for me to be in.

So, yeah.

*Bleep* damn it.

Caeser: you see what...
Mm.

Caeser:
last night was a rough night.

Haven't slept a wink,

Just fiery itching
all night long.

It's miserable.

Leah:
I'm a strong-a*s woman.

I know what my skills are
and my capabilities,

But there is absolutely nothing
that I've experienced in my life

That compares to this.

Nothing.

This is definitely a challenge.

Caeser: I'm concerned
about my partner right now.

I don't like to see her
suffering and in pain.

I feel dizzy.

You okay?

No. I feel sick
to my stomach.

Ugh.

You okay?

Ugh.

Leah: I'm having a bad reaction
to all these *bleep* bugbites.

It's awful.

Ugh.

Caeser: I thought they'd only
come out at night,

But I guess they're
around all the time.

If we were to get fire,

I'm sure that would
lift up her spirits.

It's very important
if we could get that fire.

Maybe we could try again.
What do you think?

Yeah.

It won't catch.

*Bleep*
it's so wet.

-Try it again.
-Ooh!

*Bleep*

Ah!
*Bleep*

Put stuff in.
Put stuff in.

Put stuff in. Put stuff in.
Put stuff in. Put stuff in.

I need something else.
I need something else.

Keep feeding.
Good job.

Good job.

I'm emotional.

Someone is happy.

It's a pretty big deal.

I didn't think I would
ever be this happy

About a damn fire.

You wouldn't think
you could get emotional

Over something people
take for granted.

Good job.
That's...

You should be
proud of yourself.

Caeser: fire god,
I give you sincere thanks.

You came through and
helped me when I needed it.

Leah: the high you get from
making that fire is unreal.

And now I've just got
to worry about

Getting enough
firewood for tonight.

Ugh!

There's a big log.

We could just feed
it in like that.

We don't even have to
chop it up, this one.

Ready?

It's fricking heavy.
-Whoa.

-Is it even good?
-Yeah. It's pretty dry.

-Okay.
-Are we going that way?

Straight ahead super slow.

Okay.
Hold on.

Don't let go of it.

Here. Put it on your shoulder.
It's easier.

No, no, no.

Oh, my god.
How long...

Drop it if you have to.

No. It can't get wet.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa. Wait.

-I got you.
-Whoa.

Sorry, sorry,
sorry, sorry.

Aah! Aah! Aah!

-Where did it hit you?
-Ah!

-Go see the medic.
-Aah!

Medic, medic!

It's my bad one.

Why'd you drop it?

I'm sorry.
I mean, I slipped.

Aah! Oh.

Ow.

It hurts right there.

It hurts.

Ow!

Dr. Vega:
she has a previous surgery,

So it is very likely that
she has another fracture,

Or she may have
rebroken her clavicle,

So we cannot know
without x-rays.

Leah: ow.

And we have to take her
to a hospital.

You can't continue.
I'm really sorry.

I can't continue at all?

No. I'm sorry.

This is not *bleep* fair.

I worked *bleep* hard.

I went through,
like, excruciating

*Bleep* bites that were
eating me to *bleep* death,

And I still didn't give up.

It's not fair.

Leah, I'm really sorry.

-Okay.
-I'm really sorry.

Please keep the fire going.

-Thank you. You built it.
-You did, too.

You have
a lot to be proud of.

-You got to finish.
-I will.

Good luck.

Narrator: forced to tap out,

Leah's psr drops
from 6.4 to 5.9.

Leah: I'm disappointed
that I have to leave

Because I know
I'm a good survivalist.

I'm proud of myself.

I learned that I am a lot
stronger than I thought I was.

Caeser: I can't believe it just
took a turn that quick

From one minute
we're celebrating a fire,

And now it's over.

To have her just be taken out

And me having something
to do with it

Is embarrassing, painful.

I feel so bad.

Leah: it really hurts
to have to go.

I just feel like
it's been taken from me,

And my heart is
broken, definitely.

Now I'm on my own.

She did leave me a fire.
I'm very thankful for that.

I don't know what's
gonna happen,

But if it was hard before,
it just got harder.

*Bleep*
it's raining like crazy.

Damn.

*Bleep*

Caeser: *bleep*
the fire went out.

Oh. Come on. Come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on. Come on.

Oh, yeah.
Thank god.

That piece of wood
kept warm all this time.

Last night, I didn't get
much sleep, maybe 30 minutes.

Keeping that fire
going was difficult.

Now I'm gonna be out here
in the jungle by myself, alone,

So I have to do everything
I can and keep my promise

To leah to protect that fire.

Being left alone,

You feel isolated
and vulnerable,

But you've got
to stay focused

Because I haven't
eaten in 4 days.

I'm really hungry.
I need something.

What the hell?

Well, there's some
sort of snail.

I can use them as bait,
throw them in the mosquito net.

What I'm doing is putting
the snails in the net.

Some of them have been smashed,

So, hopefully, the scent
attracts something.

The hunger is starting
to weigh on me,

So I'm making a trade-off
with the mosquito net,

Using it to set up
a fish trap overnight.

So that means I'm not
gonna have it tonight

To protect me from the bugs,

So, hopefully, I'll find
something in return.

Oh, my god.
Another night.

Oh!

Ahh.

Oh. Damn it.

Ahh.

I'm supposed to do
all night long?

*Bleep*

No sleep again.

Bugs biting all night

Because my mosquito net,

I used it to try
to catch fish.

So, hopefully, there's something
in there to make it worthwhile.

*Bleep*

Oh, I'm...

I'm a little bit anxious.

I want to see if I caught
something or not.

It looks like I collected
a lot of dirt.

Hopefully, in there,
there is something edible,

So I'll take it back
and sort it out there.

Oh, man.

So let me see.
What do we have?

Ahh.

Nothing.

*Bleep*

Sometimes the spirits
have lessons,

And everybody has their own
lessons planned for them.

As a shaman, I'm not exempt.

This is a journey for me,

A journey of growth
for a time of pain,

For a time of adversity.

The spirits know that I will be
a better person for this.

So I'm making
a statue of an alux,

A little altar,
in their honor.

Hopefully, they help me
find food

Because I really need it.

Please help me endure.

Ah.

Ah.

I found
some monkey fruit.

I'll pick up everything
and just take it back

And see if it's good.

Thanks, spirits.

Narrator: rich in sugar
and vitamin c,

Monkey fruit, or wood apple,

Is a potent anti-inflammatory.

Caeser: so I guess the spirits
have a plan for me after all.

Oh, yeah.

It smells like alcohol.

Wow, really fermented.

Well, if they don't pan out,
we took a chance.

Let's see what happens.

It tastes like maybe
rum or something.

Narrator: as fruit ripens,

Yeast naturally ferments
the fruit's sugar,

Which produces ethanol,

The intoxicating agent
in alcoholic drinks.

That's it.

Off you go.

Wow.

Hey. I'm getting
a little...dizzy.

Ooh, ooh, ooh.
Ow.

Yeah.
That's the monkey sound.

Oh, man.

I wonder if I'm
getting drunk now.

Ugh.

Let me sit down...

For a minute.

Oh.

Oh!

Ah.

Oh.

Damn bugs.

Holy crap.

Oh, yeah. No wonder
I was itching.

Bugs are in my *bleep*
pubic area,

Looks, like,
just like my legs.

Oh, damn.

Thanks a lot, bugs.

I didn't have enough
itching all over the place.

Yeah.

All right.

Welcome to the jungle.

Oh.

Ow!
Bugs don't stop biting me.

*Bleep*

No more getting drunk
off monkey fruit.

I can't be trying that anymore.

Damn the jungle.

It's, like, you see
all this beautiful trees.

The place looks great,

But the worst place there
is to survive.

Oh.

Ooh. Ooh.

Oh, yeah.

*Bleep* my god.
Look at that.

Take a look at my bites, all of
these spots all over the place.

Suckers were not
like this yesterday.

Oh. Mm.

Narrator: thousands of bugbites
have inflamed caesar's body,

Severely weakening
his immune system's

Ability to fight off
infection and disease.

Oh! Oh, yeah.

*Bleep*

Exhaustion is
starting to set in on me.

In the last 8 days
of the challenge,

I've probably only gotten
2 hours of sleep,

Enough to drive you crazy.

I've been hearing drumming,

The singing coming
straight from the river.

I can hear them.

Okay.

They're singing songs.

I'm hearing them singing,

And I'm trying to see
which parts I catch to repeat.

Aah! *Bleep*

Ow.

Ow.

This is my worst night.

I can't take the bugs no more.

I can't take the bugs
constantly biting you,

And you're going crazy.

Narrator: the brutal as*ault
on caesar's body

Has left him disoriented
and near his breaking point.

Producers send in the medic
to evaluate his condition.

Dr. Vega:
caesar has been bitten a lot.

All his body is
covered with wounds.

The inflammatory process that is
going on around his whole skin

Can make him go hypotensive
and low blood pressure.

The pain
is just incredible.

He is not eating at all,

And his mental status
is not helping anymore.

Caeser:
the bugs are miserable.

I can't do it one more day.

I want to tap out.

Okay.

This just might be
what the spirits had me do

Was to do the toughest thing
I've done in my life.

This jungle pushed me
to the human limits.

It's powerful.

It swallowed up mayan buildings
just like that.

It's no joke.

My level of respect
for the indigenous people

That have lived here,
out on their own,

Goes even higher.

My god.

I do leave humble.

To the spirits, I say,

"We're still connected
in the universe."

Narrator:
after just 9 days

In mexico's saturated
lacandon rainforest,

Caesar lost a total of 19 pounds
battling relentless storms.

It's raining like crazy.

Narrator: and skin-burning
bugbites broke the shaman,

If not spiritually,
mentally and physically.

There's no victories
for me here.

Narrator: his inability to
complete the challenge

Drops caesar's psr
from 6.2 to 5.3,

Adding to the deep
history of the jungle

And all those who tried

But failed to conquer it...
Naked and afraid.

Hey, everyone.
I made it back safely.

The x-ray showed that the log

Knocked a screw loose
in my shoulder.

It did not affect it to where
I had to have surgery again,

So I'm thankful for that, and
I completed physical therapy.

It was still the experience
of a lifetime,

And I would definitely
go out there

And do it again
in a heartbeat.