02x05 - The Pain Forest

[bunniefuu]

Samantha:
we are literally starving.

Fernando:
it's -- it's almost...

It's almost surreal.

I fantasize about food
all the time.

Probably not a good idea
to eat them.

Desperate times, here.

Wow.

Ooh.

Some kind of reaction's
happening

On the roof of my mouth.

Over here! Hurry!

Narrator:
two strangers...

...one man and one woman,
both experienced survivalists,

Have chosen to put their skills
to the ultimate test.

Just one victory, please!

They have no water, no food,
and no clothes.

Their challenge
is to survive for 21 days...

Aaah!

I want to go home.

...knowing that the human body

Can only live three days
without water

And begins to shut down
after three weeks without food.

Get out of there!

Narrator: this is the everest
of survival challenges.

Can a man and woman

Survive alone in the wilderness
naked and afraid?

Fernando:
this jungle has no mercy.

Narrator:
peninsular malaysia.

It shares
a border with thailand,

And is home to the oldest
rain forest in the world.

Inundated by over 100 inches
of annual rainfall,

Its impenetrable jungle

Is teeming
with huge biodiversity

And threats of all sizes.

From bloodsucking leeches
and malarial mosquitos

To malaysian tigers

And fiercely territorial
giant monitor lizards,

Whose sharp teeth
and large claws can cut deep,

Causing serious infection.

Many of its thousands of species
of plants

Contain poisons and bacteria
deadly to humans.

But the most feared
in the jungle

Is the elusive
blue malaysian coral snake.

Brightly colored
but extremely venomous,

It's known
as the hundred-step snake

For the distance its bite
victims travel before dying.

Dense, difficult, and dangerous,

This ancient land remains mostly
untouched by man for a reason.

Fernando:
this jungle is the real deal.

I mean, you look around,

And this is as jungly
as jungle gets.

I'm fernando calderon.
I'm 33 years old.

I'm a firefighter/paramedic.

I feel my strongest skill set
is my mental toughness.

As a firefighter,
I've learned to stay calm

In some pretty dangerous
situations,

And I've also been training
in extreme survival

For the last 12 years.

I'm good with fire,
I'm comfortable handling snakes,

And no matter
how crazy things get,

I always try and keep
a positive attitude.

I'm just ready to go out there
and just see what I'm made of.

Bring it on, malaysia.
Bring it on.

I feel really excited.

But I admit,
I'm feeling kind of scared.

My name is samantha pearson.
I am a single mom.

When it comes to survival,
I do not mess around.

I have the physical strength
to survive in any environment.

But the hardest thing
I've ever been through

Was a painful divorce
a couple years ago.

I'm doing this challenge

So I can prove to myself
and my two daughters

That no matter
how hard life can get,

If you're tough enough,
you can succeed.

Man, you can't even see
five feet in that jungle.

You know, it's starting
to definitely get real now.

I'm very, very nervous
and anxious.

I've never quite pushed myself
to this level.

This is crazy.

21 Days in malaysia.

Here goes nothing.

Yeah.
Okeydokey.

Now I'm naked.

All right.
Here we go.

Samantha: I'm actually
a very modest person

When it comes to nudity,

So it's going to be
uncomfortable.

I hope that when I meet
my partner for the first time,

We get past that part
very quickly,

And move into making
this place our home.

Naked.
In malaysia.

Hi.

No judging.

No, absolutely.

Yeah, this isn't weird
at all.

This is awkward.
I'm fernando.

I'm samantha.
Nice to meet you.

It's very nice to meet you.

Welcome to malaysia.

Thank you.
Same to you.

Um, so...
Wow.

Yeah.

This is a little weird
for me.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well,
satchels with our items.

Yeah, let's go see
what those are.

Got it.

Narrator:
samantha and fernando

Are each allowed to bring
one essential survival item.

Ah, I got my machete.

This is gonna be huge
out here.

Yeah, it's gonna be really --
I'm glad to see that.

And I've got
my fire starter.

Which, I'm really excited
to see this,

Because it is wet
in the jungle.

In addition,

Samantha and fernando
are given handheld cameras

To document their experiences.

State your name
and where you're from.

I'm fernando calderon.

I'm samantha pearson.

A small crew will capture
the 21-day journey,

With clear instruction
not to intervene

Unless there is
a medical emergency.

And...have a map.

Oh, awesome.
Yeah.

The map shows
that samantha and fernando

Have been dropped off along
the northern shore of a lake

Completely surrounded
by dense rain forest.

To find a suitable spot to camp,

They will need to make their way
deeper into the jungle

Along this tributary stream,
where they hope to have access

To fresh water, fish,

And reserves of bamboo
for a shelter.

After 21 days,

They must swim 3 1/2 miles
up this river,

Amid snakes and monitor lizards,

Where a boat will be waiting
to extract them to safety.

So, try walking
on the bank?

Yeah, sounds good.

Okay.
Got to watch out for snakes.

Bring it.

As part
of their selection process,

Fernando and samantha have each
been thoroughly evaluated

By experts based on three
key survival categories --

Skill, experience,
and mental toughness.

As a fireman,
fernando's leadership

And ability to perform
in life-threatening situations

Give him a high mental score,

But his lack of jungle-specific
skills could be a problem.

Samantha receive high marks

For both skill
and physical endurance,

But her lack of experience

Could put the pressure
on her partner to support her.

Samantha and fernando
have each been given

An overall
primitive survival rating,

Or psr.

Fernando scores a psr of 7.1,

And samantha rates a 6.8.

If they are able to make it

To the end
of their 21-day challenge,

Their psrs will be re-evaluated
by our experts.

This is gonna be a theme.
I can tell already.

Yeah, I know.

We're just gonna have to get
used to never being dry.

Whoa.
Whoa.

This is actually
pretty deep.

Take it slow.

You're gonna fall
in about four feet of mud.

Okay.

But hold it up
pretty high.

Samantha: crossing this river
is really creepy.

I can't see anything
in the water.

Every now and then,
I kick

Or brush up against a stump that
was just below the surface,

Wondering what I'd actually
bumped into.

Fernando:
samantha's great.

She seems fit, in shape.

She's just going for it.

So, so far, so good.

Awesome.

Samantha:
it is amazing how quickly
the rain just goes away here.

Ooh.
Samantha: what?

That hurts.

Something in this region
really hurt me.

Okay.
Then let's go that way.

This plant hurts.

See, this is good.
This is good to know.

It's a little weird to me

How fernando can be so upbeat
in these conditions.

I took one
for the team, there.

That's right.

And that could start
to annoy me.

Some good bamboo out there,
looks like.

Fernando:
it rains here every single day,

And we can definitely
get hypothermia,

So we can't afford
to be wet all night.

This little pocket here?

Use these existing trees
to get us off the ground.

If we build it
kind of right in there,

That's a pretty good
amount of space.

That bark burns really well

If you scrape off
the outside of it, so...

Oh, nice find.

And then, even starting
with that branch there,

Something
to start creating something

That's a perfect start
to a lean-to.

Oh, this will be like
a hotel.

Yeah.
Piece of cake, right?

We can charge people
to come sleep here,

For like a rain-forest
experience.

Narrator: with only a few hours
of daylight left,

Samantha and fernando split up

To find cordage and bamboo
to build their shelter.

Samantha: trying to build
a shelter in this environment

Is really difficult.

It is wet and muddy everywhere.

Whoa.
You're covered in leeches.

A leech?
Oh, it's...

Ohh!
A leech got your ankle.

Oh, crap.

So let me go ahead
and get him off for you.

The key is just to annoy it
so it falls off.

Good.

Man, we've been here
only a few hours,

You look
beat to hell already.

Uh-huh.

And the flies are feasting
on the blood.

When you have open wounds
and you're in the jungle,

Flies smell the infection
and they won't leave it alone,

Which is not only
preventing it from healing it,

But it continues
to contaminate it.

So I'm just gonna
have to keep an eye out.

Oh, it's miserable.

It's really getting dark.
We are running out of time.

We have got to get something
up off the ground.

Fernando: if we don't fix up
the roof before tonight,

We're screwed.

Our shelter is barely finished.

We have no roof over our head.

The only thing
saving us from the rain

Is the heavy, jungle canopy.

Samantha:
out here, there's no protection.

We just have to figure out
how to get through the night.

Please don't rain.
Please don't rain.

Crap!

There's a snake.

And I don't have a machete.

Fernando! Snake!

I don't even know
what that is.

Watch out. Watch out.

Aah!

Over here!
Hurry!

Samantha:
fernando is really sick.

I don't know
that he's gonna make it.

Samantha: please don't rain.
Please don't rain.

Fernando: still night one.
We're still not sleeping.

It's just cold.
It's been raining all night.

Soaking wet.

My feet are just getting rotten
with moisture.

This jungle has no mercy.

Samantha: night one.

It was so uncomfortable,

And you could start feeling
parts of your body going numb.

It was awful.

Aah! You suck.

Cut myself.

Samantha: oh, you did.
With your machete?

No, no, no.
From the bamboo.

The bamboo cuts up your hands
really bad.

Just blood everywhere.

Leeches, cuts.

Uh-huh.
Falling apart.

Oh, I have a leech on my a*s.
A big one.

Just very painful.

The misery is hard to imagine.

I mean,
I can't think of a time

I've suffered for that long
in my life.

Ouch.

Our goal is to get our shelter
better than it was last night

So that we can have shelter
from the rain.

Samantha:
keep going on the bamboo,

And I'll keep going
on the cordage.

Fernando: I'm so sick
of cordage and bamboo.

I even have a leech
in my vaginal area.

This is just not good.

With all this rain,
there are leeches everywhere.

It feels like a stabbing pain
underneath there.

It's just disgusting.

If it doesn't stop raining soon,

These 21 days
are just gonna be unbearable.

Fernando: man.

There's a leech on my scrotum.

That's gonna bleed.

That's the least of my worries
is that.

Samantha:
fernando's still so upbeat.

It just seems
like nothing bothers him.

And as the days go on,
it's getting really old.

Honestly, it's miserable.

Have some water.

One of the benefits

Of it raining around the clock
in this rainforest,

We get lots
of fresh rainwater,

Which is obviously
good to drink.

So we put out some big leaves
here to collect the rainwater,

And hopefully stay hydrated.

It's a nice,
efficient way to get water.

We're not having
to go and boil anything.

We're letting mother nature
take care of it for us.

The harder it rains,
the more water we get.

So bring it.

I'm ready.
Rain all you want.

Samantha: he just keeps saying,
"bring it on, malaysia."

I think it is bringing it on.

It's annoying, and it's probably
just gonna get worse,

So we'll see.

This will be waterproof.

I mean,
you line these up like this

And you put
the other ones on top.

What I'm hearing is we're gonna
need more cordage.

You're like,
"no more cordage!"

This is awesome.

Fernando:
I'm cutting a notch
in this tree, here,

To have a point for this
to kind of rest on

To help make it more secure.

How you doing, sam?
I'm okay.

You don't look good, sam.

I'm just cold.

I'm just freezing cold.

Narrator:
the human body loses heat
25 times faster when wet,

And after days of being exposed
to the harsh elements,

Samantha is already in the early
stages of hypothermia.

Fernando:
you're super, super cold?

I'm just freezing cold.

Fernando:
she seems like the cold
is definitely getting to her.

She's shivering,
she seems confused.

We got to get her body heat up.

Right now,
you're, like, miserable.

We've got to finish this.
We don't have any shelter.

No, no, no, hear me out.
Hear me out.

So, what's making you
miserable right now

Is you're so, so cold,
okay?

Now, we can fix that,
believe it or not.

If you just go do
like 20 jumping jacks, okay,

And just get yourself warm,

You'll be surprised how much
heat you'll generate, okay?

Okay.

So, no more --
I'll take care of this.

Just go out there.
Just do jumping jacks.

Do whatever you think

And I guarantee you, you do
like three minutes of that,

You won't be cold.

All right?

Sound good?
Okay.

All right.
You got this.

No, sam.
Sam, seriously.

You got to get warm.
I promise you.

Come out here with me.
Here, I'll do them with you.

We got this.
We got this.

Fernando:
doing all this exercise,

This will get her blood pumping,
get her body moving,

Get her body warmed up

To keep her from going
into hypothermia.

We got this.

Thank you.

No, that's good.

See? We're solving
this problem.

Okay.

Now tell me you don't feel
a little bit warmer.

I'm feeling warmer.

There you go.

Get up.

Cool?
You feel warm, right?

I feel a lot better.
Yeah.

Samantha:
I really appreciate

Fernando's positive attitude
a lot more now.

He just made
such a genuine effort

To really exert energy
he doesn't even have

To bring my head
back into the game.

Cool.

Don't be cold.

If you're cold,
I'll meet you out here again.

Thank you.

Fernando:
there are gonna be times

That she has to help me out,
I'm sure.

But for me to be able
to help her out at that moment,

It was a good
team-building thing.

Fortunately, it worked for now,

And she seems like
she's doing a lot better.

So hopefully she can
bounce back from this.

Narrator:
after two days,

Their shelter
is finally complete.

This is the shelter,
which is holding up amazingly.

This is so incredibly nice.

It feels like a bed.

I'm so tired.

The rain has come
with a vengeance.

The rain is seriously
like a character.

The rain is the villain because
it's a formidable opponent.

Narrator: after six days
of relentless rain,

The survivalists have been
confined to their shelter

And unable to search for food.

Samantha:
day six and I didn't sleep.

I actually felt hunger pains
last night for the first time.

So I'm gonna have to dig deep
to get through this day.

This is
our fire-building operation.

We just can't keep water out.

Fire not gonna happen
in this downpour.

We've had nothing to eat
since we've been here.

Eight days
trapped in this shelter.

We have got to get out
and find some food.

You know, the rain makes it hard
to find anything.

Samantha: it does.
I think everything's away.

Everything's gone.

I mean, there's no bugs out now,
I mean everything...

Samantha: I was really expecting
that coming into the jungle,

The resources would be
more accessible, more plentiful.

I'm gonna go look for some food.

Yeah.

I'll go look this way
and then come back.

There's a snake.

And I don't have a machete.
Uh...

Fernando, snake!

Over here!

Hurry!

Hurry,
I can still see the head.

Oh, it's going,
it's going, it's going.

Okay.
It's right here.

Right here --
the blue right here.

You see it
moving on the tree?

Ahh.

I know, I know, I know.
Get your machete.

I don't even know
what that is.

Watch out,
watch out.

Aah!

Fernando, snake!

Narrator:
samantha has stumbled across

A highly venomous
blue malaysian coral snake.

It's right here.
Where is it?

Right here --
the blue.

You see it
moving on the tree?

I don't even know
what that is.

It's known by locals
as the hundred-step snake.

For fernando,
one bite could be fatal.

Watch out.
Watch out, fernando.

Oh,
that's beautiful.

That is amazing.

Get it.
Watch out.

I'm gonna fling him
this way.

Oh, crap.

Okay,
I have him pinned.

Wow,
he wants to fight.

I'm coming.

I just don't want
to ruin his body,

So I'm trying to get a nice,
clean cut at the head

So we have more meat.

Machete.
Good find.

I asked for food.
You weren't messing around.

Okay, ready?
Thanks.

Uh-oh.
What?

No,
he's just --

He's squirrelly.

It's a narrow escape,

But the survivalists have found
their first source of protein.

Yeah, wow.

It'll be dinner.
This is just pure protein.

Samantha: partner,
we're gonna have to cook that.

Getting fire
is crucial for tonight.

Snake meat is inedible raw

And starts to spoil
in about 24 hours.

Now fernando and samantha
need fire more than ever

If they are to taste protein for
the first time in over a week.

We're in the hardest place
on the planet to build fire.

Come on, come on.

Fernando:
everything out here is so wet.

Gosh,
it's not getting anything.

Almost looks
like the best plan

Is to keep some of the tinder
with us through the night,

And hopefully
it'll dry out some more

And we can try again
in the morning.

Narrator: after nine days
of unrelenting rain,

The sun finally breaks through.

It feels so good.

It does feel good.

This is the first time
we've had sun on our bodies

Since we got out here.

I know.

We're gonna have
some great sun

To set up the driftwood to dry
in to attempt fire again.

Some of it's
still pretty wet.

Fernando:
if we don't get a fire soon,

That snake's gonna go waste.

Samantha: yeah,
that looks more dry.

We need to get super, super dry,
inner bark for the kindling,

And we are running out of time.

I think we're ready.

My gosh,
just blow just right.

Good,
you're getting a flame.

That's good.

No, it's gone.
Come on.

No. No.

I think
it's a lost cause.

Samantha: it's hard
to keep your attitude high

When I can see something
that I can eat

But I can't eat it
because it has to be cooked.

I mean *bleep*
I don't know.

This *bleep* sucks.

Ugh.
Look at that snake. Smell it.

Fernando: it stinks.

It's pretty nasty.

I mean, now it officially
smells like dead, rotting flesh.

Yeah.

Fernando: it's k*lling me
to have to waste this snake

And throw it away.

To have that protein be wasted
because we have no fire,

It's heartbreaking.

Yeah, this snake has definitely
seen better days.

The colors are all faded now.

I think he's a lost cause.

We haven't had protein
in over a week.

Gosh.

That snake could have been
a very good meal.

Weakness is just
gonna continue to increase

If we don't get protein
or fat in our diet.

If you don't get fat,

It's harder
for your brain to function.

I'm feeling hunger pains.

Unless we can get fire,

I feel like I may not make it
through the night.

Narrator: without a fire,
another freezing night awaits,

And the lack of rain

Means the jungle's insects
come out in abundance.

The mosquitos, the flies,
little flea things.

It makes sleeping impossible.

So we just lay here.

Samantha:
and scratch.

Swat things away.

This is not gonna be solved
until we get a fire.

We need it bad.

It's miserable
when you're so exhausted

And you can't sleep
because you're itchy.

Like, I don't know how many more
nights you can do this.

Narrator: after a sleepless
night devoured by insects,

Samantha faces the dawn
with a new setback.

Samantha:
my legs look like a buffet,

And I've got bug bites
on the bottom of my feet.

I just feel like a big part
of the food chain.

Not on a part of it
I want to be on.

Fernando: she's ready
to gnaw off her own skin.

I mean,
I've never seen someone bitten

By so many insects
like samantha is.

I wish I could take some of them
for her.

I wish I could share the weight
of these bug bites

Because she's really
going through a lot right now.

Samantha:
just I can't function.

I just am about to pass out.

I'm tired and malnourished
and I really want a fire.

I don't feel very good.

Oh...

My two kids -- I thought
about them a lot last night.

The thought
I kept having in my mind

Was just
getting to get back to them.

I miss their voices, I miss
their hands, I miss their hugs.

I am a mom,
and I'm a mom without my kids.

And it gets me really down.

Samantha:
unless we can get fire,

I feel like I may not make it
through the night.

Fernando: samantha --
she's having a hard time.

I want to be there for her.

I get one more push
to get a fire going.

This tinder bundle just
feels a little bit different

Than the other ones I've made.

So, here goes nothing.

Fernando: whoo!
Samantha: yes!

We have fire!

Whoo-hoo!
I'm so happy.

I know. I know.
Sam, high five.

We got fire, dude.
We got fire.

Samantha: to get the fire
is very much a blessing.

It's something
I'm very grateful for.

You're doing great.

Fernando:
okay, now that we have fire,

Everything is fair game.

I mean, we can get some fish
or some snails.

It would give us a huge boost.

Sam and I both
really need to eat,

And there's a bunch of fish
in this creek.

Narrator:
with no bait or hook,

Fernando attempts to catch
a fish with his bare hands.

Yes! Yes!

I got one.
Whoo!

Samantha:
you're amazing.

Dinner.
This is protein.

That's a lot of protein.

It's gonna make a big difference
in today.

Samantha: I'm amazed
at fernando's fishing skills.

No pole, no net,
and next thing you know,

He's just throwing fish
on the shore.

Really astounding.

I don't think
this fish is good.

The meat's,
like, disintegrating.

It feels
like it's just...

Something's not right
with this.

Narrator:
the fish is most likely a female

That has recently spawned.

Many species of fish
die within just a few days

After laying their eggs.

It's just like mush.

It's like mush.

Yeah,
I don't risk it.

I've never seen fish
look like that before.

Samantha: there are some kind of
disturbing steps backwards.

Having to throw away a snake
that required effort to catch,

Having to throw out a fish
that required effort to catch.

Food is so scarce.

We are literally starving.

Oh,
I look so skinny.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, my gosh.

Look at my arms.

I'm usually ripped.

I'm so scrawny
right now.

You need a substantial day
of protein.

And you've got
to find it.

Lot of termites.

Those aren't grubs
or worms.

Any insect that lands on me,

Any insect that lands near me,
I'm eating those.

If getting protein
means eating bugs, I'll do it.

I'll do whatever I can.

Whoa,
what is this?

Samantha:
they're mushrooms.

These were not here
yesterday.

Not even a hint.

The jungle
just gives us a gift.

I know.
These all edible?

Um...
I don't know.

We'll just
have to take a look.

Narrator: mistakenly eating
the wrong type of mushroom

Can be fatal.

Within hours of ingestion,

It can cause respiratory failure
and shut down vital organs.

Probably not a good idea
to eat them.

This is so taboo
in the world of survival.

I know.

Mushrooms are, like,
a big no-no.

But I'm just
so hungry.

Desperate times, here.
I'm gonna dig in.

Just gonna go
for it?

I just don't know
if I can do it.

Samantha: fernando is not picky
at all about what he eats.

I am a little more cautious.

I'll probably hang out here
for a few minutes.

That's good.

That is good.

Ooh.

Huh.

Very unusual sensation.

Some kind
of reaction's happening

On the roof of my mouth.

Narrator: before they began
their 21-day survival challenge

In the oppressive
malaysian rain forest,

Samantha and fernando
were both given

A primitive survival rating,
or psr.

Samantha has struggled
with hypothermia and starvation,

Making her overly dependent
on her partner.

As a result,
her psr has been trending down.

Fernando's optimism
while under duress

Has helped support his teammate.

His psr was up.

But now his desperate decision
to eat an unidentified fungus

Could change everything.

Whoa,
what is this?

Samantha: probably not
a good idea to eat them.

Narrator:
after 15 days of starving

In the malaysian jungle,

Fernando has made
the risky decision

To eat wild mushrooms.

Fernando: some kind of
reaction's happening

On the roof of my mouth.

Narrator: fernando's reaction
to the toxins in the mushroom

Has passed.

In the world of survival,
he's dodged a b*llet.

Fernando:
it was definitely an eye-opener.

That definitely
made me more cautious.

I'm gonna go ahead and abandon
the mushroom operation.

Over here!
Hurry!

Samantha:
fernando is really sick.

I'm not sure
whether it's from mushrooms

Or drinking the wrong water,
but he needs help.

I feel so cold,
like my whole body...

Woman: aches?
Aches.

Narrator:
if fernando's core temperature

Is not reduced in time,
it could lead to brain damage.

Immersing him in cold water
is the only emergency resource

The medics have
in this environment.

Samantha:
I am really worried.

I don't know
that he's gonna make it.

Narrator: fernando's temperature
has been reduced for now,

And medics return him to camp.

The medics just told me that if
my temperature hits 104 again,

They're pulling me out
from this challenge.

Samantha:
you'll make it.

Samantha: if I had to be
out here by myself,

I don't even know
that survival would be possible.

Without fernando, I can't do it.
I can't do it.

Narrator: fernando remains
dangerously weak,

And in two days' time,

He will have to summon
the resolve

To make the perilous
3 1/2-mile swim to extraction.

Samantha: fernando is still
not feeling good.

He can't even sit up
for more than a minute.

So now it's my responsibility
to get us through to the end.

Narrator:
samantha has no choice

But to begin building
a makeshift raft all alone

To help fernando
make the journey to extraction.

This was my biggest fear,
getting injured or sick.

There's no way
I'm not finishing.

I'm too, too close.

I'm so close now that if I can
just not get a whole lot worse,

I can do it.

Okay, there's one piece down.

I'm gonna take it down to
the lake and see if it floats.

It should.

It has been mentally,
physically,

And emotionally
a complete drain.

That's a really good sign.

When I was down and wasn't sure
that I could make it,

Fernando helped pick me back up.

So I feel like it's my turn
to step up

And do whatever it takes

To get us both
to make it to the finish line.

I've got nothing in the tank.

I can do this, though.

I just have to really
pace myself.

Oh, let's do it.

I vomited earlier today.

It's been brutal.

Brutal, brutal, brutal.

I've been thinking
about this long swim

For the last two days now

And how I'm gonna do it
in my current condition.

I'm gonna have to
really dig deep.

How are you doing?

I feel like crap.

Okay, all we need to do here
is get this top beam.

We can take it down to the lake
and finish the raft real quick.

Fernando:
sam, you are amazing.

These last two days,

You've really
pulled us through as a team.

So grateful.

So, these last days, I've never
been this sick in my life,

And sam has stepped up and got
that raft together by herself

While I was just laying there,
lifeless.

Samantha:
you ready to try this?

Yeah.
Let's get out of here.

Samantha: not sure what's
gonna happen with fernando

On our swim
to our rendezvous point.

All right,
ready?

Hoping that
once he gets in the cool water

And is able
to kind of lean on something

That he'll have
just enough strength to kick

And we can get it there.

But if not,
we will make it work somehow.

Did you
just see that?

There's a lizard
in the water.

Oh, man.

Fernando: there's a huge,
four-foot lizard

On that shoreline.

That's a problem.

Narrator: monitor lizards
are fiercely territorial

And aggressive creatures,

And they've been known
to attack humans.

Fernando:
man, this is crazy.

But this is the only way
we're getting home.

Narrator:
to reach their extraction point,

They must now swim 3 1/2 miles
up this river

Amidst deadly monitor lizards

And rendezvous with a boat
that will bring them to safety.

This is a lot more work
than I thought it would be.

Yeah.

How's your energy?

I'm definitely tired.

It's just unrelenting.

This is
a long way to go.

Yeah, we're working really hard
and we really should --

We're not getting
as far as we should.

I feel
like I may crash.

Whoa,
did you see that?

Oh, whoa.

That is a big lizard.

Oh, crap.

Samantha:
lizards can k*ll you.

And if they k*ll you,
they will eat you.

Right there,
right there.

Perfect.

This is not good.

Fernando: every single thing
that crawls out here

Just wants
to get their fangs in us.

Yeah.

Man.

This is it.

Whoo!

Samantha,
we made it.

Ohh.

Seeing that rescue boat
come towards us,

It's an amazing feeling.

Samantha:
this is it.

This is the moment
that we've been working for

This entire time,

And getting out
from all the freaking misery.

Whoo!

Sam,
we did it.

We did it.

21 Days.

I am really proud of myself
for sticking this out.

It's just amazing to know
what your mind can do

If you really feel like
you don't have any other option

Than to face it.

That's all you got,
malaysia?

Fernando:
I don't feel invincible.

I don't feel
like I can do anything.

But I feel like, "wow.

That wasn't easy, and I was able
to get through it."

I'm first and foremost
just proud of myself.

I mean, this was no joke.

Whoo!
We did it.

Samantha:
this was an incredible feat

Of determination
and mental strain.

When my daughters see this,

They are gonna know
that if mom can do this,

Then they can do anything.

And that's huge.

Narrator: over the course
of their grueling,

Three-week challenge,

The survivalists each
went through extreme mental

And physical stress.

Fernando lost a total
of 31 pounds,

While samantha lost 21 pounds.

Based on their performance,

Experts re-assessed their
primitive survival ratings.

Early on, samantha struggled
with the wet conditions

And was forced
to lean heavily on her partner.

But she rose to the occasion
when it mattered most.

Fernando showed great skill

And mental resolve
in supporting samantha,

But some questionable decisions
and a dangerous fever

Almost took him
out of the challenge.

As a result, fernando's psr
falls from 7.1 to 6.9,

And samantha's rises
from 6.8 to 7.0.

In the end,
they both helped each other cope

With the horrendous conditions

And proved they have
what it takes

To survive naked and afraid.

Samantha: I'm gonna be savoring
this for a long time.