0:00:02 > 0:00:04- Oh, my Lord. Oh, my God.- Hey.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11'My fellow comedian Ed Byrne and I are on an epic road trip.'
0:00:11 > 0:00:14We have been in this car for nearly a month!
0:00:14 > 0:00:20'We're travelling 4,000 miles down the longest road in the world,
0:00:20 > 0:00:22'the Pan-American Highway.'
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Wow, look at that.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29'We'll be passing through some of the most spectacular...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32'and volatile countries on the planet.'
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Look at that over there.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34SIREN WAILS
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Oh, my God.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42'Today, this great road is the main artery through the Americas,
0:00:42 > 0:00:47'but 75 years ago, it was little more than a cart track.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53'Then, three adventurers from Detroit set out to drive
0:00:53 > 0:00:56'all the way from North to South America.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:59'It was an expedition to attempt what no-one has ever done.'
0:00:59 > 0:01:04'Crossing jungles, fording rivers and conquering mountains,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07'they forged a route for what would eventually become
0:01:07 > 0:01:09'the Pan-American Highway.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12'Using their journal as a guide,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15'we'll follow their path from the USA
0:01:15 > 0:01:17'all the way to Panama.'
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Here we go.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22'This time, we're going deeper into Central America,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25'where we soak up the ancient culture...
0:01:27 > 0:01:30'..get a Guatemalan re-spray...'
0:01:30 > 0:01:33COD SPANISH ACCENT: How you like my new ride, huh?
0:01:33 > 0:01:37'..and uncover the shocking realities of everyday life here.'
0:01:37 > 0:01:40If you look at the streets, they just kill each other.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44'We'll discover how this highway has changed
0:01:44 > 0:01:47'the lives of the people who live on its course,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51'on our very own Pan-American road trip of a lifetime.'
0:02:08 > 0:02:11I'm excited by Guatemala, I have to say.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13I mean, I've a certain amount of trepidation
0:02:13 > 0:02:17- because of the horror stories...- Yes. - ..we hear about civil unrest,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21- people getting shot through the head on a bus.- Yes.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25But still, you know, a very interesting, exciting Mayan culture.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27- People are just wandering out into the road.- Oh, no, no, no.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30You can do that as much as you want, champ, I'm not stopping.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- What was that about? - That was really weird.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36'Dara and I are a third of the way
0:02:36 > 0:02:40'through our journey along the Pan-American Highway.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44'We're planning to travel nearly 4,000 miles to Panama.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47'We've already come the length of Mexico and, this time,
0:02:47 > 0:02:48'we're travelling through Guatemala,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52'El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57'We're on the trail of the men they called "the three damn fools",
0:02:57 > 0:02:59'who struggled down this route
0:02:59 > 0:03:02'in an ordinary Plymouth Chrysler Saloon in the early '40s.'
0:03:03 > 0:03:06'We leave Mexico now after three torturous months,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08'crossing her from North to South,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12'and enter Guatemala through the Customs House at Rio Suchiate.'
0:03:12 > 0:03:15'By the time they reached Guatemala in January 1941,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18'the boys had been travelling for three hard months,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22'and both they and the car had taken an incredible battering.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24'But Sullivan Richardson, Ken Van Hee
0:03:24 > 0:03:27'and Arnold Whitaker were determined to continue their mission
0:03:27 > 0:03:30'to encourage the building of the Pan-American Highway,
0:03:30 > 0:03:34'and promote friendship between the nations of the Americas.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38'The expedition crossed into Guatemala over the Talisman Bridge,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40'which is still here today.'
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Here is the border.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49There's a nightclub and there's restaurants,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52and now we've got people running alongside us.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54There's a whole team of them.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00I feel like I'm the President in In The Line Of Fire.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06'The Talisman Bridge is one of the busiest crossing points
0:04:06 > 0:04:08'between North and Central America,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12'and a slightly chaotic duty-free area has built up
0:04:12 > 0:04:14'around the passport office.'
0:04:14 > 0:04:15Look how busy this is,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18as somewhere that exists neither in Mexico nor Guatemala.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Hola!
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Gracias, senor.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27'We've got our passports stamped, but our car is stuck in Customs.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33'So we've got time to check out an alternative route.'
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Uh...camino? Yeah? Gracias.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42OK. What is this?
0:04:44 > 0:04:46You're kidding me!
0:04:46 > 0:04:48We can go back to Mexico on a boat.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53'This ingenious raft crossing isn't exactly hidden
0:04:53 > 0:04:55'from the authorities above, on the bridge.'
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- Are we getting on?- I think just for the fun of it.- Go on.- Really?
0:04:58 > 0:04:59You got your passport?
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- I do actually have my passport on me, just in case.- Yeah.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Hang on, there's actually genuine commuters here, as well as...
0:05:05 > 0:05:06- Here?- Si.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10'It only costs a few pesos to take the raft across the Rio Suchiate,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13'but even this is too expensive for some.'
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Apparently, if people can't even afford this,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19they just walk across the river.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23'Every year, hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants
0:05:23 > 0:05:27'make their way across borders like this into Mexico,
0:05:27 > 0:05:28'heading for the USA.'
0:05:28 > 0:05:31That is incredible. Guatemala to Mexico.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34'While the three adventurers dreamed of, one day,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37'people would be able to move more freely across the Americas,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40'this isn't exactly what they had in mind.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42'Not that it bothers the authorities.'
0:05:42 > 0:05:45It's incredible that Florida security isn't up there going...
0:05:45 > 0:05:47HE GARBLES
0:05:47 > 0:05:49They can see this happening and they don't care
0:05:49 > 0:05:52that you can just go back and forth without getting your stamp.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55They seem quite relaxed here. They're relaxed to the point of
0:05:55 > 0:05:58it taking four hours to get your car through.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Oh, Guatemala, you better be worth it.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12DARA LAUGHS
0:06:12 > 0:06:15'Guatemala is one of the most interesting and colourful countries
0:06:15 > 0:06:16'in the Western Hemisphere.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20'Her colourfully costumed Indians, her clean red and white villages,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23'her high, almost perfectly shaped volcanoes.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26'We find her friendly, interesting
0:06:26 > 0:06:29'and with an all-weather road from border to border,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32'which seems like heaven after the three bad months
0:06:32 > 0:06:34'we've just spent in Mexico.'
0:06:34 > 0:06:36It's a lovely straight road.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41They checked into a rooming house in Guatemala.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44They asked the guy who owned it
0:06:44 > 0:06:46- if their car would be safe, and everything.- Yes.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48And he said, "Oh, yes,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50"there is no thievery or crime in Guatemala City.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53"El Senor Presidente would have the culprits shot."
0:06:53 > 0:06:58- Right.- "It was not the only time we had heard of Mr Ubico's
0:06:58 > 0:07:01"summary method of handling the incorrigibles of his republic."
0:07:01 > 0:07:03You incorrigible, you!
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Shoot him.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09'General Ubico had ruled Guatemala
0:07:09 > 0:07:11'in this way since 1931
0:07:11 > 0:07:13'and backed by the US,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16'he'd embarked on a huge programme of road-building.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21'A keen motorcyclist, the general rewarded himself
0:07:21 > 0:07:24'with a custom-built Harley-Davidson.'
0:07:24 > 0:07:28"Our great Senor Presidente rides his motorcycle very often
0:07:28 > 0:07:31"to visit towns and cities in his republic.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34"If he could ride his motorcycle comfortably over the roads,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36"then his people can ride comfortably in cars and carretas."
0:07:36 > 0:07:39This is a small plus point in favour
0:07:39 > 0:07:42of a generally very dubious character.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53'In the 1940s, Sullivan Richardson and the expedition
0:07:53 > 0:07:56'skirted along the shores of Lake Atitlan,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59'describing it as one of the highlights of Guatemala.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03'This area has been at the centre of Mayan culture
0:08:03 > 0:08:05'for hundreds of years, and Ed and I are keen to see
0:08:05 > 0:08:08'what remains of their ancient ceremonies.'
0:08:11 > 0:08:14There's something to be said for arriving in the dark
0:08:14 > 0:08:16and then, in the morning, having this...
0:08:16 > 0:08:18- Waking up and seeing this.- ..reveal.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21The scenery would take the sight out of your eye.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23- Fantastic.- It's amazing.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30'Santiago Atitlan is the largest Mayan village on the lake...'
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Hi.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35'..and Mayan guide Dolores Ratzan is taking us to a shrine of Maximon,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39'one of the most important deities of the Mayan religion.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44'Traditionally, he's consulted before any big decision or journey.'
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Maximon, we call him a holy grandfather.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51In my language, Chujean,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55we call him "Rilaj Maam" or "Maam".
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I don't know what you're going to ask to the grandfather,
0:09:16 > 0:09:17Maximon,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20is it for health, or for the work?
0:09:20 > 0:09:25I'd like to have a blessing for the health of our friendship,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28because it's being sorely tested lately.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I want to ask for a blessing for the trip,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34and for Ed's career as well.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37- You want a blessing on my career, do you?- Yeah.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40TRANSLATION:
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Unlike most gods,
0:09:50 > 0:09:52the cross-dressing Maximon likes to consider
0:09:52 > 0:09:55all requests over a cigarette and a tot of rum.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59- So you hold the two candles and the rum?- Yes.- OK.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- Till the medicine man ask you, then you will give it to him.- Fine.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06HE CHANTS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:10:06 > 0:10:09'Each coloured candle stands for a different request,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12'and blessings are communicated to the shaman
0:10:12 > 0:10:14'through the smoke and incense.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'Blue candles, for example, represent work.'
0:10:37 > 0:10:39'It's not clear exactly when the designer scarf
0:10:39 > 0:10:41'and cowboy hat were introduced,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45'but this ancient ceremony has been adapted
0:10:45 > 0:10:47'for tourists in recent years.'
0:10:53 > 0:10:55'Maximon's blessing doesn't come cheap,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58'but although we have to part with 20, four large beers
0:10:58 > 0:11:02'and a bottle of rum, we do at least get some of it back.'
0:11:02 > 0:11:04You need to close your eye.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Close your eye.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12SHAMAN SPITS RUM
0:11:12 > 0:11:14(You're having me on.)
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Did you get rum in your eye?
0:11:33 > 0:11:36No, but do you know what? That was bizarre.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39It's really made me appreciate the smoking ban in pubs,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43because I suspect I'm going to smell of that for some time now.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46I wasn't expecting the...part.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50There's a lot of stuff there that I have issue with.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52I appreciate that it's a tourist thing.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54So that people can come in and have a look.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56And it's an interesting way to experience, you know,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- traditional Mayan culture.- Jesus.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02But, at times, it really felt like you were just getting fleeced.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05You know, listen, what religion doesn't hand
0:12:05 > 0:12:06round a basket at some stage?
0:12:08 > 0:12:10'While they may have commercialised it somewhat,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14'you do have to admire them for keeping their religion alive.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17'Having previously suffered years of brutal oppression under
0:12:17 > 0:12:19'successive military regimes,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22'it's a wonder any of the Mayan culture has survived here at all.'
0:12:33 > 0:12:36'From Lake Atitlan, we're driving south on the Pan-Am,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38'towards the town of Antigua,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41'which should take us about six hours.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46'In 1941, the same journey took the expedition three days,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48'but they didn't have to deal with
0:12:48 > 0:12:51'the technicoloured speed freaks that we do.'
0:12:53 > 0:12:55HORN TOOTS
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Chicken bus.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59'These gloriously decorated chicken buses
0:12:59 > 0:13:03'are the kings of the Pan-Am Highway in Guatemala,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05'and it's not wise to get in their way.'
0:13:08 > 0:13:10- I think he wants a race.- I know!
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Why is he matching your speed?
0:13:14 > 0:13:17'Crashes are common, but these buses are what most people
0:13:17 > 0:13:19'use to get around here.'
0:13:19 > 0:13:22We're happy to let you go if you want to go.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28'Perhaps unwisely, Ed's persuaded me to take a ride on one.'
0:13:32 > 0:13:33THEY SPEAK IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:13:33 > 0:13:36'So I'm heading towards Guatemala City
0:13:36 > 0:13:38'with local commuter, Juancho Galic.'
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Right.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46HORN TOOTS
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Would people not like a slightly calmer ride?
0:13:57 > 0:14:01- Certainly not to be thrown around as much.- Yeah, well...
0:14:01 > 0:14:02You grow up with that.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05You see the little girl already knows how to, like...
0:14:07 > 0:14:10- Properly wedged in.- Yeah. For a Guatemalan, this is normal.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13But you don't call them chicken buses? The locals don't?
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Guatemalans don't call them chicken buses.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Chicken bus is a name that came from outside.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21- In Guatemala, they're called "camionetas".- Fine.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22Should we refer to them as camionetas?
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Is it insulting to call them chicken buses?
0:14:25 > 0:14:26No, not really.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30'While Dara risks his life on the bus,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33'I've come to the Esmeralda Company HQ,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35'to see how these camionetas are made.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42'Originally clapped-out old US school buses, they are driven down
0:14:42 > 0:14:46'the Pan-Am Highway and transformed into exotic beasts of the road.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54'Victor Flores has worked for the company since he was a boy.'
0:14:54 > 0:14:55- Victor?- Hello.
0:14:57 > 0:14:58Hi. Ed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01So you're the head engineer here?
0:15:01 > 0:15:03- Yeah?- Yes. Si.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05And I see that it's not just cosmetic,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07the changes you make to the buses.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11You give them a full overhaul. What are you guys doing here?
0:15:11 > 0:15:13TRANSLATION:
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Right, yeah.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30So you properly soup them up, then?
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Right. Turn them into
0:15:36 > 0:15:38something worthy of a Guatemalan bus driver.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41'The buses are also shortened in length,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44'and automatic gearboxes are replaced with manual ones,
0:15:44 > 0:15:49'to make them easier to handle on Guatemala's winding mountain roads.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53'And finally, they get a trademark multi-coloured paint job.'
0:15:53 > 0:15:57So, Victor, you guys clearly take great pride
0:15:57 > 0:15:58in the decoration of the buses.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Why is it so important to you how they look?
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Right. That's an Esmeralda bus, definitely.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29HORN TOOTS
0:16:29 > 0:16:31'But the multi-coloured chicken buses
0:16:31 > 0:16:34'also draw the attention of less welcome customers.'
0:16:34 > 0:16:36If you get in a chicken bus,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40you should know that there's a chance that you'll be held up.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43They'll just, like, walk in with guns or knives
0:16:43 > 0:16:46or something and be like, "Hey, give me your watch."
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Where does that happen? That's not going to happen today.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51- It's a bright day... - Hopefully it won't happen today
0:16:51 > 0:16:53- but it has happened before.- Yeah.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57'As well as hold-ups, the bus drivers and companies
0:16:57 > 0:16:59'are forced to pay protection money
0:16:59 > 0:17:01'by organised criminal gangs, or "maras",
0:17:01 > 0:17:04'who control the routes into the big cities.'
0:17:05 > 0:17:07The gangs have definitely taken over, erm,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09- certain areas of Guatemala.- Right.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12There are some parts where at least once a month you will
0:17:12 > 0:17:17hear about some driver not wanting to pay the fee.
0:17:18 > 0:17:19They're not going to care.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22- They'll just shoot the guy, you know?- OK, right.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25It's one of the most dangerous jobs in Guatemala.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29'And it's not just the chicken buses that are targeted by the gangs here.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33'Since 2006, over 1,000 bus, taxi and truck drivers have been
0:17:33 > 0:17:37'murdered during robberies on Guatemala's roads.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42'A far cry from General Ubico's crime-free highways
0:17:42 > 0:17:46'which the original expedition enjoyed in 1941.'
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Victor, I've got a favour to ask.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52I want to surprise my travelling companion
0:17:52 > 0:17:55with a little bit of pimping of our ride cos, erm,
0:17:55 > 0:18:00the guys that we're following, you can see their car...
0:18:00 > 0:18:03You see it had these designs on it.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07I think it'll be really cool to have something like that on here, see?
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Do you think you could... Do you think you can manage that?
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- No hay problema. Si, se puede. - Eh?- No hay problema.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23You're joking me!
0:18:23 > 0:18:25I said, "Spruce it up a bit."
0:18:25 > 0:18:27I thought you'd give it a wash.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30COD SPANISH ACCENT: How you like my new ride, huh?!
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Check out the pintos, huh?
0:18:32 > 0:18:34DARA LAUGHS
0:18:34 > 0:18:36I...love it!
0:18:37 > 0:18:41- That is fabulous! Show me the route map and everything.- Yeah, yeah.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42There we go.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46I was so tempted to get "Dara" really small and "Ed" really big.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48I am so impressed that you went that way.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53That is a generosity I would not have extended to you. Top work.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Guate, guate, guate, guate!
0:19:04 > 0:19:07'We've been on the road for two weeks now,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10'and we're heading into the ancient city of Antigua.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16' "The fools" had been travelling for 15 weeks over mountains,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19'through rivers and along dirt tracks by the time they arrived
0:19:19 > 0:19:22'at this extraordinary colonial city.'
0:19:25 > 0:19:29'In the early '40s, few people in the States had heard of Antigua,
0:19:29 > 0:19:34'and Sullivan was keen to reveal its beauty and history to a US audience.'
0:19:36 > 0:19:40- So, beautiful downtown Antigua. - Yes, it is beautiful.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42UNESCO World Heritage Site.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site? - Yes, it is, and so, therefore,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47it has been kept in this beautiful colonial state.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- Beautiful courtyards. - Yeah.- Cobbling, apparently.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Lots of cobbling, you can feel the cobbling all right.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Lots of cobbling going on, it's quite good as a massage.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59'From the 16th to the 18th century,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02'Antigua was the capital of Spain's
0:20:02 > 0:20:06'Central American empire, which stretched from Guatemala to Panama.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13'The city was destroyed by a huge earthquake in 1773,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16'but many of its stunning Baroque buildings survived,
0:20:16 > 0:20:21'and these days, tourists come from all over the world to see them.'
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Park there. Look, there, there, park there...
0:20:27 > 0:20:30- I'm going to park up there, I'm going to park there!- Don't hit that guy!
0:20:32 > 0:20:36'Sullivan picked out the ornate 18th-century monastery of La Merced
0:20:36 > 0:20:39'to feature in his book, Adventure South.'
0:20:39 > 0:20:42One great church, beautifully decorated,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45had withstood the earthquake and was still being used,
0:20:45 > 0:20:47and still is there. Exact same shot.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50It's almost like they've hired those flocks of birds...
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Just to go past it at exactly the right moment.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54..just to give it that extra bit of drama and gravitas.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Get the shot, get a shot.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Get a picture, come on.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01This is how we do photos NOW.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10'Guatemala has 22 volcanoes,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14'and Ed, because he likes this sort of thing,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16'has suggested we visit one.'
0:21:18 > 0:21:24So we're going to Pacaya, which is the most active volcano in Guatemala.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- Wow. - In fact, I think in Latin America.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28And how active... When you say that, like, cos...
0:21:28 > 0:21:30- It erupted two weeks ago.- What?!
0:21:30 > 0:21:31It erupted two weeks ago.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32Like "erupted" erupted?
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Erupted, like lava came out of it and people had to be moved.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37What the hell are we doing going up it now?
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Because if it erupted two weeks ago,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41the chances of it erupting again now are very...very low.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44The chances are the same as at any time.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49'Despite the obvious danger, we're heading for the peak
0:21:49 > 0:21:51'with volcano guide Matt Nordgren.'
0:21:51 > 0:21:54- The older lava you see here is from May 2010...- OK.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56..where it was flowing for several years.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59And then, just most recently, two weeks ago, you can see
0:21:59 > 0:22:01the darker patch of lava.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03- Right.- Wow, this is recent.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06What noise does it make when it erupts?
0:22:06 > 0:22:09So it sounds just like thunder.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12- Occasionally you'll feel earthquake-like tremors.- Yeah.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14And then you can hear the rocks, boulders,
0:22:14 > 0:22:17as they actually roll down the mountain face.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- Were there tourists on the mountain when it erupted?- Most recently, no.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27And in the eruption in 2010, there was actually only one fatality,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31it was from a journalist who decided to come up and...
0:22:31 > 0:22:33- What did they do, get hit with a rock or something?- Yeah.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Took a hot rock to the head.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39'Pacaya is now monitored on a daily basis
0:22:39 > 0:22:41'for signs of further eruptions,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44'and with these vague assurances that we're safe,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47'I agree to continue to the peak.'
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Matt, I'm no mountain expert - that's more Ed's thing -
0:22:53 > 0:22:56but there seems to be a bit missing from the middle of the mountain.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Yes. So, the peak, as we're looking at it now,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02is an effect of the eruption in 2010, and when it erupted
0:23:02 > 0:23:05it completely blew the top out of... off the mountain.
0:23:05 > 0:23:06LOW RUMBLING
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Can we hear a rumble of thunder now?
0:23:08 > 0:23:10That might be my belly.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12OK, well, hopefully.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14That would explain the gaseous smell as well.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17- Yes, that's the sulphur. - Yeah, sorry about that.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20The main trail of lava that you can see is fresh,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23- this is, again, from just a few weeks ago.- OK.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25It's funny when you think about it, though,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28- that this mountain was inactive until the '60s.- Yes.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30So even when "the fools" came here in the '40s,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33it would have been just thought of as a mountain,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and then suddenly, in the '60s, it starts rumbling and smoking.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Very much alive, still.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47I have to say, I was entering Guatemala
0:23:47 > 0:23:49with a certain amount of trepidation,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51so, er, I didn't have high hopes for it,
0:23:51 > 0:23:56but now that I've been here, it is heart-stoppingly beautiful.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Guatemalan people must be the most lucky
0:24:05 > 0:24:07and unlucky people on the planet.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10They have the most incredibly beautiful country.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11You can grow anything,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14anything will grow in Guatemala, and because of that,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18massive international companies came in and they took all the food,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20and then the CIA got involved,
0:24:20 > 0:24:21and then there's this hideous history.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23So, on the one hand, there's everything here
0:24:23 > 0:24:25to draw people towards a country,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and on the other hand, it always comes with a warning.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34'Do you know, I was right to be nervous about Pacaya!
0:24:34 > 0:24:37'Only a week after our climb, the volcano erupted again,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41'forcing the mass evacuation of several nearby villages.'
0:24:46 > 0:24:49LAVA RUMBLES AND GURGLES
0:24:52 > 0:24:55'Following the trail of the Richardson expedition on what is
0:24:55 > 0:24:57'now the Pan-American Highway,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59'we're heading south into El Salvador.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01'It's a short trip of 60 miles from
0:25:01 > 0:25:04'the Guatemalan border to the capital,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06'and like "the fools", we're making good time.'
0:25:10 > 0:25:13'From Guatemala, we enter El Salvador,
0:25:13 > 0:25:15'smallest of the American republics
0:25:15 > 0:25:17'but, in many respects, among the most progressive.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21'We're entranced by the beauty of the countryside as we drive along.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24'And another thing that wins our hearts - paved highway -
0:25:24 > 0:25:27'and Salvador's section of the Pan-American Highway is paved
0:25:27 > 0:25:31'more than 75% of the way from border to border.'
0:25:34 > 0:25:37'By the time the expedition arrived in San Salvador,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40'word of their mission to promote the Pan-Am Highway had spread,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42'and the three adventurers arrived to
0:25:42 > 0:25:46'a warm welcome from government officials and the local press.'
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Right, somewhere around here are the offices of El Diario.'
0:25:51 > 0:25:55'El Diario is one of El Salvador's oldest newspapers, and according to
0:25:55 > 0:25:59'Sullivan's journal, it covered the expedition's arrival in the city.'
0:26:01 > 0:26:05- Hello.- Elder.- Hi. - Hi, hi.- Glad to help you.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- Yes, you're Elder Gomez. - Elder Gomez.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10This is Ed, I'm Dara.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15- We're looking for a newspaper from here from 1941.- Ah, OK.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19- Do you have old papers and archive? - Yes.- That'd be great.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24'The paper still prints six editions a week, as it did in the 1940s.'
0:26:26 > 0:26:28- Excuse me.- Can we put it down here?
0:26:29 > 0:26:33- So we're looking for March 17th. - Yes, OK.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- February...- A little further on.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41- Wait, wait, whoa, whoa, yes. - Oh, hey, there it is!
0:26:41 > 0:26:45- This is...OK.- Oh, wow, it's on a fold. That's fantastic.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- They look quite casual about it. - They do, very unremarkable, yeah.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52It's like, "Oh, must we pose for more photographs with this car?"
0:26:52 > 0:26:54That's amazing.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57'It's impressive to see how a journalist, a mechanic and a cook
0:26:57 > 0:27:00'from Detroit were fast becoming Central American celebrities,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03'as their message of Pan-American friendship
0:27:03 > 0:27:05'was welcomed everywhere they went.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12'Indeed, in 1956, El Salvador became the first Central American country
0:27:12 > 0:27:15'to complete their section of the highway.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21'In those days, San Salvador was a stylish, affluent city
0:27:21 > 0:27:24'of 200,000 people, and after posing for photos,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27' "the fools" stocked up on provisions at the central market.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37'Today, two million people are crammed into the capital,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40'and the market is one of the biggest and craziest
0:27:40 > 0:27:42'in Latin America.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46'Dara thought it would be a good idea to drive through it.'
0:27:46 > 0:27:49- Are you sure you don't want anything?- I am sure.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53I'll buy a gun off this guy.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Senora?
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Toothpaste?
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Toothpaste?
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Toothpaste? Perfecto. Come, quantes?
0:28:02 > 0:28:04THEY SPEAK SPANISH
0:28:05 > 0:28:09HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:28:11 > 0:28:12'We've decided to ditch the car
0:28:12 > 0:28:15'and hook up with local resident Donald Magana.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17'He's going to keep an eye on us
0:28:17 > 0:28:20'as we've been warned things can get a bit rough round here.'
0:28:20 > 0:28:23SHE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:28:26 > 0:28:29- Armadillo shell?- For what?- What does one use an armadillo shell for?
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Like this one, they sell it for the cough.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34If you cough a lot, so they sell it in a...
0:28:34 > 0:28:37And do you drink it? Do they grind it up? Do you rub it on yourself?
0:28:37 > 0:28:40- You drink it as a tea, basically, but you do...- So you grind it up?
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Yeah, and then you boil it, and then you turn it into a tea.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46By which time your cold has probably passed anyway.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49That's the best thing about the armadillo medicine.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51It takes so long to prepare that you've healed.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55'This market seems to sell everything,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58'from the exotic to the downright weird.'
0:28:58 > 0:29:00- Snakeskin?- That's snakeskin, is it?
0:29:00 > 0:29:03- Well, actually, no, it's snake meat.- It is.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07- Oh, this is witchcraft. - This is witchcraft?- Yeah.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09If you have a loved one, I guess you talk to her, you know,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12in the middle of the night, and then your loved ones can come.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15If you talk to the snake, the desiccated dead snake...
0:29:15 > 0:29:18- Yeah.- ..that could make your loved ones come back?- So she says.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20What if the reason your loved one left is
0:29:20 > 0:29:23because you kept talking to desiccated snakes?
0:29:23 > 0:29:25She was sick of the smell of snake in the house!
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Ah, so that's the testicles and the penis.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29That's the testicles and the penis.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31That's so the one you love will only think about you.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34And do you burn it? Is it a candle or...
0:29:34 > 0:29:37It is a candle. Es una candela?
0:29:37 > 0:29:40So, a woman will do this so that you don't get excited...
0:29:40 > 0:29:42- Over another woman. - ..over another woman.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44And will she carve your name into that
0:29:44 > 0:29:46before setting fire to the wax penis?
0:29:46 > 0:29:49- Yeah.- Wow.- It's the only way you're going to...
0:29:49 > 0:29:51There really is everything in this market!
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Oh, my lord! We've been waiting to see the wax vaginas for a while.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59That is...a very accurate anatomical rendering of a lifeboat.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02I think I'll take one of these wax penises for my wife, to set her
0:30:02 > 0:30:06mind at ease next time I go on one of these long adventures.
0:30:06 > 0:30:07- Yes.- Yeah, absolutely.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09I think it's a lovely gift,
0:30:09 > 0:30:11but I also hope that you get stopped at Customs
0:30:11 > 0:30:13in the next four countries we go to
0:30:13 > 0:30:16and have to explain the purpose of your wax penis.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19'Wax penises aside,
0:30:19 > 0:30:23'there is definitely a serious atmosphere here.'
0:30:23 > 0:30:27There's quite a reasonable armed presence.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29I notice there's a lot of, like...
0:30:29 > 0:30:31I mean, it's kind of dangerous, that's why.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36'Paramilitary police on the streets are a result of El Salvador's
0:30:36 > 0:30:38'particularly violent recent history.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44'After years of oppressive regimes,
0:30:44 > 0:30:48'in 1979, a vicious civil war broke out between the US-backed
0:30:48 > 0:30:52'right-wing government and a left-wing guerrilla movement.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56'During this 13-year conflict,
0:30:56 > 0:30:58'over a million Salvadorians fled the violence,
0:30:58 > 0:31:03'many of them travelling up the Pan-American Highway to the States.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08'Donald's family sought refuge in Los Angeles,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11'only to be faced with another kind of threat.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14'Their neighbourhood was controlled by violent street gangs
0:31:14 > 0:31:17'who began recruiting the young Salvadorian immigrants.'
0:31:17 > 0:31:21Did you get involved in crime or gangs or anything in California?
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- Were you part of that...?- Yeah, I was part of a gang up there.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26I mean, you've got to be a part of something
0:31:26 > 0:31:28so might as well make it a gang.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30- Really? That was the philosophy, was it?- Yeah.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34- Was it a sort of self-preservation kind of thing?- It was, yeah.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37And how long were you involved in gang life, as it were,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39in California, then?
0:31:39 > 0:31:41A little over ten years, yeah.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43What was the name of the gang you were in?
0:31:43 > 0:31:46- MS.- What does MS stand for? - Mara Salvatrucha.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52'The feared MS-13 gang
0:31:52 > 0:31:56'was set up by Salvadorian immigrants in LA.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00'After the civil war ended in the early '90s, many suspected MS-13
0:32:00 > 0:32:03'members like Donald were deported back to El Salvador,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05'along with rival gang members.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12'While Donald left gang life, others quickly regrouped
0:32:12 > 0:32:15'and continued the extortion, kidnapping and murder
0:32:15 > 0:32:18'they'd practised in the US, making El Salvador
0:32:18 > 0:32:22'one of the most violent countries in the Americas today.'
0:32:23 > 0:32:28When I got deported, it was kind of difficult, yeah, cos then you
0:32:28 > 0:32:32learned that, erm, over here people don't really live, they survive.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35- Day by day.- Was there a temptation to go back into the old life, though,
0:32:35 > 0:32:37when you landed back here?
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Not really, cos over here things are way different, yeah.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Over here, mainly, if you look at the streets,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47they just kill each other for no reason.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49- So it's more dangerous here? - Yeah, it is.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Is there any chance El Salvador's going to get out from gangs?
0:32:54 > 0:32:57I don't see it happening, not within the next ten years.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08'You can't help but feel for people who are just trying to lead
0:33:08 > 0:33:09'ordinary lives here.'
0:33:09 > 0:33:11Er, una yucca, por favor.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Oh, is that, erm, papas fritas?
0:33:15 > 0:33:16Gracias.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19- The fries are great. - That is just very good.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21I'm not sure about the yucca.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24I think it's been very aptly named, the yucca.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26D'you know what? I want part of this journey
0:33:26 > 0:33:28that involves being in El Salvador
0:33:28 > 0:33:30to be about anything other than just gangs, right?
0:33:30 > 0:33:33For the simple reason that, being Irish, how many times
0:33:33 > 0:33:37did foreign news teams or documentarians come to Ireland,
0:33:37 > 0:33:39go to Northern Ireland, and it's all about the murals
0:33:39 > 0:33:42and the violence and the Troubles and, you know...
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Clearly, this is a country with six million people,
0:33:45 > 0:33:47- it's not just about gangs.- Yeah.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Despite this being the undercurrent
0:33:49 > 0:33:52or kind of the hum of this thing being always there,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54people continue their lives.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56It still would seem remiss of us
0:33:56 > 0:33:59not to investigate it, at least to a certain extent.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01I know, but you've got...
0:34:01 > 0:34:04You've got to still feel some empathy for people who...
0:34:04 > 0:34:06El Salvadorans who might watch this and go,
0:34:06 > 0:34:07"God, is that the only thing
0:34:07 > 0:34:09"we're ever going to see about El Salvador?"
0:34:09 > 0:34:11No, we went to the lovely market.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13You're right, you're right, and bought a wax penis.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16- Bought a witchcraft wax penis. - Yeah, you're right, you're right.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- You know?- So we've balanced the messages out, haven't we?
0:34:19 > 0:34:22I think, between the two things I could've gone home with,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25I'm better off going home with that than a massive gang tatt!
0:34:25 > 0:34:26DARA LAUGHS
0:34:31 > 0:34:35'But much as we try to avoid focusing solely on the gangs,
0:34:35 > 0:34:37'as we leave the capital,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40'it's not long before that reality creeps back in.'
0:34:44 > 0:34:46Look at that. Look at that over there.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50'A dead body has been dumped on the side of the road.'
0:34:51 > 0:34:54- He's being bagged up now.- Yeah.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59They don't tent it off, you know, like they would back home.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Thrown into the back of a pick-up truck.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04And they've just shoved him in the back of a Toyota pick-up,
0:35:04 > 0:35:06- not even into an ambulance or anything like that.- No.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09It's just... It's quite unceremonious,
0:35:09 > 0:35:10it does make the whole...
0:35:11 > 0:35:13..notion of life being cheap...
0:35:13 > 0:35:15And it's gone, he's been driven off.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20They're already taking down the police tape.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32It's hard not to think that life is just valued slightly less here.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41'Inspector Astrada of the Salvadoran police
0:35:41 > 0:35:43'is in charge of the crime scene.'
0:35:43 > 0:35:46We've just seen you load a dead body into the back of a truck.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51Can you tell us anything about who he was or what happened to him?
0:35:51 > 0:35:54TRANSLATION:
0:36:13 > 0:36:15We don't know his name, you can't tell us his name?
0:36:15 > 0:36:16Si.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19Hector Antonio Aquilar Rivas,
0:36:19 > 0:36:2137 anos.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Hector Antonio Aquilar Rivas,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27- 37 years old.- Si.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30'We later find out that Hector Rivas was a suspected
0:36:30 > 0:36:34'member of the 18th Street gang, and was reportedly shot dead by
0:36:34 > 0:36:38'the rival MS-13 whilst waiting for a bus -
0:36:38 > 0:36:41'one of the 36 gang-related killings
0:36:41 > 0:36:45'that took place during the three days we spent in El Salvador.'
0:36:51 > 0:36:54You see armed police everywhere,
0:36:54 > 0:36:59and then a murder victim on the side of the road.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03You try not to make this all about gangs...
0:37:05 > 0:37:08..and then you drive past a body that's been shot.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19'Leaving El Salvador, it feels that here at least, Sullivan's dream of
0:37:19 > 0:37:23'Pan-American friendship and peace is a long way off.'
0:37:26 > 0:37:29'From El Salvador we enter Honduras,
0:37:29 > 0:37:30'and now we begin to understand
0:37:30 > 0:37:33'what Central American bull cart trails are going to be like.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36'No automobile had ever gotten through Honduras and Nicaragua,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40'we were told, and now we begin to understand why - dust.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42'Choking clouds of it.'
0:37:45 > 0:37:48'By the time Sullivan, Ken and Arnold entered Honduras,
0:37:48 > 0:37:53'they had been on the road for 139 days.'
0:37:55 > 0:37:59Let me read for you the first paragraph in its entirety
0:37:59 > 0:38:02- about Honduras.- OK.- Have you got the time to spare for that?
0:38:02 > 0:38:04I absolutely do.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06"Honduras was a disappointment."
0:38:06 > 0:38:09- Yeah, that's a great opening line, isn't it?- End of paragraph.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10ED LAUGHS That's it!
0:38:12 > 0:38:15'Sullivan's disappointment was fuelled by the fact that the
0:38:15 > 0:38:18'millions of dollars given by the US government to build the
0:38:18 > 0:38:23'Pan-American Highway in Honduras had been diverted into other projects.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27'So when the expedition arrived in March 1941,
0:38:27 > 0:38:33'they were forced to crawl along for mile after mile in intense heat.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38'At least we've got a fair road and something
0:38:38 > 0:38:41'to take our minds off the searing temperature outside.'
0:38:41 > 0:38:42Shall we have some music?
0:38:42 > 0:38:44Go on, that CD there.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48# Round, round, get around I get around, yeah
0:38:48 > 0:38:50- # Get around - Ooh-woo-ooh-ooh... #
0:38:50 > 0:38:52This is almost taunting us.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56It's hotter than the Beach Boys had to put up with, with no water!
0:38:59 > 0:39:02- I would kill for a beach now.- Yeah.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Well, well, well.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09- That's a bridge with... - That's an interesting...
0:39:09 > 0:39:12- Shall we nip down?- Yeah, go on, let's have a look down.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17# My buddies and me are getting real well known
0:39:17 > 0:39:20# Yeah, the bad guys know us... #
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Watch that big rock, ah-ah, and...
0:39:22 > 0:39:27get past this difficult bit. Lovely. OK!
0:39:27 > 0:39:29- How far do you want to go? - Oh, now we're like...
0:39:29 > 0:39:32- I say we just stop it here. - This is suitably weird.
0:39:32 > 0:39:33Do you want to get out?
0:39:33 > 0:39:36- Do you fancy a paddle? - Yeah, of course I do.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38'With the temperature close to 40 degrees,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42'we aren't the only ones cooling down in the river.'
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Oh, look at you. Aren't you a fine figure of a man?
0:39:47 > 0:39:50- How's that? - Ohhh... That is cooling.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52That is cooling and soothing.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Dara, come on in, the water's perfect!
0:39:55 > 0:39:59Oh, no, a merman has been washed ashore.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02Paint me, I am Venus of the River!
0:40:02 > 0:40:04You look more like amoebic dysentery of the river.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06ED LAUGHS
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Put it away - and by "it", I mean all of you!
0:40:16 > 0:40:19'At the end of their first day in Honduras, Sullivan,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23'Ken and Arnold pitched camp here on the banks of the Nacaome
0:40:23 > 0:40:26'to wash the dust off and catch a few hours' sleep.'
0:40:35 > 0:40:38'We're moving on down the Pan-Am Highway,
0:40:38 > 0:40:42'following the original trail of the expedition through Honduras.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46'By the time they reach the town of Choluteca,
0:40:46 > 0:40:48'the intrepid adventurers have travelled over
0:40:48 > 0:40:50'3,500 miles from Detroit
0:40:50 > 0:40:53'and driven the Plymouth further down Central America
0:40:53 > 0:40:57'than any other motor vehicle in history.'
0:41:02 > 0:41:06- This bridge is an impressive piece of kit.- Isn't it?
0:41:06 > 0:41:08- It's a good-looking bridge.- Mm.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21'To kick-start the building of the highway in the 1930s,
0:41:21 > 0:41:24'the US government decided to build a series of steel bridges
0:41:24 > 0:41:27'along the proposed route of the road.'
0:41:27 > 0:41:29It was built in 1936.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33'The Choluteca Bridge is still here today and it's a lifeline
0:41:33 > 0:41:35'for Hondurans like Mario Gutierrez.'
0:41:35 > 0:41:37America sent down the Marine Corps to build this,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39- so it's a military bridge, to a certain extent?- Yes.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43It was given as an extension of the Pan-American Highway, just to
0:41:43 > 0:41:47- make sure that the road was going to be here.- Was there a bridge before?
0:41:47 > 0:41:50I mean, did this replace an older, more rickety bridge,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53- or was there...- There were certain bridges, smaller bridges,
0:41:53 > 0:41:55but they always had troubles
0:41:55 > 0:41:58in terms of dealing with floodings and things like that,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01so that's why they decided to build a huge bridge
0:42:01 > 0:42:03that could last for more than 75 years.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08'US engineers designed the bridge to withstand the tropical storms
0:42:08 > 0:42:11'which plagued this region
0:42:11 > 0:42:15'and in 1998, it was put to the ultimate test
0:42:15 > 0:42:18'when one of the worst hurricanes in Central American history
0:42:18 > 0:42:20'descended on Honduras.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23'It was known as Hurricane Mitch.'
0:42:25 > 0:42:28We had so much rain that the river started flooding
0:42:28 > 0:42:31and the first thing that got blown away were bridges
0:42:31 > 0:42:33so we were, like, isolated communities,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36- we couldn't go from one place into another.- Ah.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39So, if you're a very decentralised country, then you need the roads
0:42:39 > 0:42:41- more than other countries do. - Absolutely.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45Many communities were destroyed along the river.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50Houses, complete neighbourhoods were damaged either by mudslides
0:42:50 > 0:42:52or by river flooding,
0:42:52 > 0:42:56and the whole infrastructure was completely destroyed.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05'Hurricane Mitch claimed over 6,000 lives in Honduras,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08'and washed away more than half of the country's roads and bridges.'
0:43:11 > 0:43:14What happened here, then, when Hurricane Mitch hit?
0:43:14 > 0:43:16Because obviously the Choluteca Bridge withstood it.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19Obviously something good happened with this bridge
0:43:19 > 0:43:22because you got 75 years later and the bridge is standing
0:43:22 > 0:43:25in one whole piece, it did completely survive Hurricane Mitch.
0:43:25 > 0:43:30- That's astonishing, just the bridge left standing on its own.- Si.- Wow.
0:43:36 > 0:43:37- Oh, my Lord! Oh, my God!- Hey!
0:43:42 > 0:43:43Jesus.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45'As we approach Nicaragua,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49'the usual welcoming committee of border hustlers is here to greet us.'
0:43:49 > 0:43:52- Ah, one of the great traditions.- OK.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55- It's OK, we're good. - No, no, no, we're OK.- OK. It's OK.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58- We're OK.- We're OK.- It's OK.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03'After swerving around potholes and the hustlers,
0:44:03 > 0:44:06'we are free to drive straight into Nicaragua.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08- 'And- I'M- picking the music.'
0:44:08 > 0:44:11This is Managua, Nicaragua. It's a beautiful town!
0:44:11 > 0:44:13MUSIC: Managua, Nicaragua by Guy Lombardo
0:44:13 > 0:44:15# Managua, Nicaragua What a wonderful spot
0:44:15 > 0:44:18# There's coffee and bananas and the temperature hot... #
0:44:18 > 0:44:21There's coffee and bananas and the temperature is hot!
0:44:21 > 0:44:25# ..Go sailing away across the aqua to Managua, Nicaragua, ole
0:44:25 > 0:44:28# Ole, ole
0:44:28 > 0:44:30# Across the aqua to Managua, Nicaragua, ole... #
0:44:30 > 0:44:31Ole!
0:44:35 > 0:44:38- It's very pretty, Nicaragua. - Genuinely is lovely.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41And the roads are quality so far.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44After Honduras, these roads are awesome.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46- SULLIVAN RICHARDSON: - 'Inside Nicaragua,
0:44:46 > 0:44:49'the bad road and picturesque countryside continues.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53'Friendly natives with big-wheeled carts, pigs wearing pokes,
0:44:53 > 0:44:55'one interesting scene after another.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58'Time after time we're forced up into the bush,
0:44:58 > 0:45:01'where we have to cut trees out of the way which block our progress.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04'Once in a while, however, nature is kind
0:45:04 > 0:45:06'and bends the tree in exactly the right spot.'
0:45:11 > 0:45:13You don't have to go far off the roads
0:45:13 > 0:45:15- to see the old Nicaragua, do you? - Yeah.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19Don't mean to wax lyrical, but this looks like a way of life
0:45:19 > 0:45:23- that has not changed in a long, long time.- No.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25Look through there, right, look through there.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29- What does that look like straight ahead?- What do you mean, what does it look like? It looks like a road.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33- Yeah, but what kind of road does it look like?- Are they mangrove trees?
0:45:33 > 0:45:35No, no, no! It looks like a tunnel, Ed, it looks like a tunnel.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37Doesn't look as much like a tunnel as a tunnel.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39It looks like an avenue, is what it looks like.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44"We crawled into Nicaragua through a funnel. Even today, we still talk about those low trees."
0:45:44 > 0:45:45Does it say anything about a cow standing?
0:45:45 > 0:45:47They didn't say anything about a cow
0:45:47 > 0:45:50- but I'd imagine they would say, "Don't hit the cow."- Oh, Lord!
0:45:50 > 0:45:51OK, that was nerve-racking!
0:45:51 > 0:45:53OK.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58'We've come this way to see the fearsome Cerro Negro volcano,
0:45:58 > 0:46:02'whose eruptions over the last 50 years have covered this whole area
0:46:02 > 0:46:05'in a carpet of black volcanic ash.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12'It's one volcano too many for Dara, though,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15'so local guide Rigo Sampson and I are going it alone.'
0:46:15 > 0:46:20We're going to walk to the east side terrain, go around the rim.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24- It's really fun.- It sounds fun. Is it dangerous?
0:46:24 > 0:46:27- Not really, it's quite safe. - Not really?- No.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29When I'm supposed to do something dangerous,
0:46:29 > 0:46:33I like to hear, "Not at all". That's a phrase I like. "Not at all!"
0:46:34 > 0:46:37'Cerro Negro has become something of a Mecca for thrill-seekers
0:46:37 > 0:46:40'in recent years, not for its eruptions but for the new sport
0:46:40 > 0:46:43'that Rigo and others have developed here.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47'All you need is a boiler suit and a plank of wood.'
0:46:47 > 0:46:52I'm hoping the actual volcano boarding is going to be a cinch
0:46:52 > 0:46:56after putting on overalls in gale-force-ten winds.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02OK, here goes nothing.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04'While it's taken us an hour to get up,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07'the journey down is going to be a lot quicker
0:47:07 > 0:47:10'and some descents have been measured at over 50mph.'
0:47:17 > 0:47:18Oh, ho, ho!
0:47:34 > 0:47:37Hey! Whoo!
0:47:37 > 0:47:40And you look like a political prisoner.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42Look at that, there you go.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45Look at you with your little legs flailing around.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48Like little chicken legs going up and down as you're coming down!
0:47:48 > 0:47:50What I like about it is you earn it,
0:47:50 > 0:47:54you know? There's no namby-pamby chairlift to carry you to the top.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58- No, no, you have to walk. You have to earn it.- Good for you.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00We're going to eat the same breakfast now.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03- Which you didn't earn!- I don't care. - My breakfast will taste...
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Well, actually, my breakfast will taste like volcano ash
0:48:05 > 0:48:08- because that's what's in my mouth. - Yeah!
0:48:12 > 0:48:14'In March 1941,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17'as the original expedition headed south through Nicaragua,
0:48:17 > 0:48:20'the country was in the grip of yet another US-backed dictatorship
0:48:20 > 0:48:24'led by the brutal Anastasio Somoza Garcia.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31'The Somoza family were in power for over 40 years,
0:48:31 > 0:48:36'but in 1979, a battle on the Pan-American Highway,
0:48:36 > 0:48:38'just outside the city of Leon,
0:48:38 > 0:48:40'was to play a key role in their downfall.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47'Dara and I are meeting two of the fighters
0:48:47 > 0:48:52'who joined the Sandinista uprising against the Somoza regime.'
0:48:53 > 0:48:54- Jorge?- Jorge.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59'Jorge Martinez was just 18 when he joined a small group of guerrillas
0:48:59 > 0:49:02'to confront Somoza's troops on the road leading into the city.'
0:49:02 > 0:49:05Jorge, your role in the battle for Leon
0:49:05 > 0:49:09- started on the Pan-American Highway. - Yeah.- Tell me about that.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12TRANSLATION:
0:49:26 > 0:49:30So you pushed back 300 national guardsmen, three tanks -
0:49:30 > 0:49:31how many of you guys were there?
0:49:41 > 0:49:4545 men repelled 300 national guardsmen with full military gear
0:49:45 > 0:49:47and three tanks. That's amazing.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53'Despite the superior numbers and firepower
0:49:53 > 0:49:57'of the US-trained national guard, Jorge and his fellow revolutionaries
0:49:57 > 0:50:02'managed to pin them down on the Pan-Am Highway for several days.'
0:50:02 > 0:50:03Buenos dias, Senor Sanchez.
0:50:03 > 0:50:08'Juan Jose Sanchez was only 16 when he took part in the battle.'
0:50:08 > 0:50:11- Is your photograph somewhere here? - Si, claro.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14Ah! That's you!
0:50:31 > 0:50:34And you fought in one particular important battle
0:50:34 > 0:50:36on the Pan-American Highway.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53'Juan and his fellow revolutionaries liberated Leon
0:50:53 > 0:50:56'on 21st June 1979.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00'It was the first city to fall to the Sandinistas.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04'Within a month, the Somoza regime had collapsed
0:51:04 > 0:51:07'and the guerrilla army marched down the Pan-American Highway
0:51:07 > 0:51:10'and entered Managua, to be met by cheering crowds.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23'It's taken us three weeks to travel the 3,000 miles to Managua,
0:51:23 > 0:51:25'the capital of Nicaragua.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30'Without the benefit of the Pan-American Highway,
0:51:30 > 0:51:34'the original expedition arrived here on 27th March 1941,
0:51:34 > 0:51:36'four months after leaving Detroit.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41'Despite Nicaragua's turbulent past,
0:51:41 > 0:51:45'today there is hope of a brighter future, and we're meeting a man
0:51:45 > 0:51:47'who symbolises this new era.
0:51:48 > 0:51:53'They call him El Presidente, even though he's never held office.
0:51:55 > 0:52:01'In a country obsessed with baseball, Dennis Martinez is a national hero.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03'Thanks to his extraordinary pitching skills,
0:52:03 > 0:52:06'Dennis escaped poverty in Nicaragua to become
0:52:06 > 0:52:11'one of the greatest Latin American stars in US baseball history.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13'And every young player in his academy
0:52:13 > 0:52:16'dreams of following in his famous footsteps.'
0:52:18 > 0:52:21- Nice to meet you, Dennis, very nice to meet you.- Welcome to Nicaragua.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24How many Nicaraguan kids do you think are going to be
0:52:24 > 0:52:27coming out of this and going into the big leagues?
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Well, this is a game where...
0:52:30 > 0:52:35- It's a game of failure, you know, and not everybody making it.- Yeah.
0:52:35 > 0:52:39Out of thousands and thousands every year, every year,
0:52:39 > 0:52:41maybe one, maybe one.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45So if one out of these guys make it to the big leagues, hey,
0:52:45 > 0:52:47we have that, we have done our job.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51How long were you playing in the States?
0:52:51 > 0:52:53I played 26 years altogether.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56- OK, and...- Three in the minor league and 23 in the big leagues.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59- God, it's a long career in baseball, isn't it?- Yes, yes.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02Listen, you were working in America from the early '70s,
0:53:02 > 0:53:05so through the revolution, through the Somoza era,
0:53:05 > 0:53:08that relationship between Nicaragua and America, you must have had
0:53:08 > 0:53:09a unique viewpoint of that.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12When I left this country, I was 18 years old.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15I'd go, "Oh, my God, my country, they're fighting out there,"
0:53:15 > 0:53:17you know, and I was pitching
0:53:17 > 0:53:20but also I was just thinking about my mum, my family,
0:53:20 > 0:53:22and it was tough, it was tough.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25But baseball, it was great to me.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27- Yeah.- So America was great to me,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30because they gave me the opportunity to be somebody
0:53:30 > 0:53:32and that's why I'm now in my country
0:53:32 > 0:53:34to try to bring there what I learned down there
0:53:34 > 0:53:37- to be able to help here to the people.- Great.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41And hopefully they will understand, because that's the only way.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44- That's what you do.- One of those balls landed perilously close.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46- Very, very close. - I know, I saw! You see?
0:53:46 > 0:53:49'Dennis and his academy are part of a new relationship
0:53:49 > 0:53:51'between Nicaragua and the US.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56'These days, instead of bullets, the former enemies trade goods
0:53:56 > 0:54:00'and baseball players, up and down the Pan-Am Highway.'
0:54:01 > 0:54:03BUGLE CAVALRY CHARGE
0:54:03 > 0:54:08'Before we go, Dennis has agreed to let two absolute beginners play ball
0:54:08 > 0:54:10'with his young academy stars.'
0:54:10 > 0:54:12OK.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16Yeah, here we go!
0:54:16 > 0:54:19'Somewhat incredibly, it appears that I am a natural.'
0:54:19 > 0:54:21THEY WHISTLE AND CHEER
0:54:23 > 0:54:25I have nothing to prove now.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28- You've even scored. - I have nothing to prove.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31- Is he bragging about it? - He's bragging.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33Easy play.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Now you've got to go hit, and hit it out.
0:54:36 > 0:54:37BUGLE CAVALRY CHARGE
0:54:37 > 0:54:38- Here we go.- Hit it out.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41Ah, come on! I can do this with a hurley.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43I shouldn't... I shouldn't gloat yet.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47Ah!
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Eyes on the prize!
0:54:51 > 0:54:52Attaboy.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56Yeah, go, go, go!
0:54:57 > 0:55:00'And thanks to a youth wasted playing ball games,
0:55:00 > 0:55:02'Dara soon gets into the swing of things.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07'Hot on my heels, he scores a home run.'
0:55:07 > 0:55:09BUGLE CAVALRY CHARGE
0:55:09 > 0:55:10Yes!
0:55:15 > 0:55:19'But I'm not worried - this is Byrne time.'
0:55:21 > 0:55:23Oh!
0:55:24 > 0:55:28- Aw!- Nice hit. Nice hit, though, nice hit.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30THEY CHEER AND WHISTLE
0:55:30 > 0:55:31- Ah.- Good job.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33- Thanks very much, Dennis.- Good job.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36We've had a great time. Thank you for introducing me to the sport.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38- It was a pleasure. - Did you see that last hit?
0:55:38 > 0:55:39I mean, I know he caught it
0:55:39 > 0:55:42- but what a beautiful hit. - It was the hit of the game.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46'As we approach the Costa Rican border,
0:55:46 > 0:55:49'we've got one final stop to make,
0:55:49 > 0:55:53'at the largest freshwater lake in Central America.'
0:55:57 > 0:55:59- SULLIVAN RICHARDSON:- 'Along Lake Nicaragua, we try to follow
0:55:59 > 0:56:01'the hard sand on the water's edge.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04'The first day, we find ourselves stuck many times.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07' "Come on, now, give her the gun," we yell at him.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10' "Come on, come on and don't you dare let that thing stop."
0:56:10 > 0:56:11'The car lurches, bangs,
0:56:11 > 0:56:14'slides sideways, roaring like an aeroplane and the sticks just fly.'
0:56:17 > 0:56:19You're not really going to try to convince me
0:56:19 > 0:56:23- this is actually the exact point. - Yeah, where they stopped.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26You can't tell me that you have narrowed it down to the exact point
0:56:26 > 0:56:30- 74 years later.- Judging by the view that they described,
0:56:30 > 0:56:31this has got to be it.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33Because they even said it was a beach -
0:56:33 > 0:56:35everywhere else is all rocky along this shore.
0:56:35 > 0:56:3874 years, you know, other beaches might have popped up.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40- Well, don't be taking the good out of it.- I won't, I won't.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43It's nice to be here at Lake Nicaragua.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47Seems like a nice place to finish off our journey
0:56:47 > 0:56:51with a little bit of a parallel to the lads.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54'Sullivan, Ken and Arnold reached Lake Nicaragua
0:56:54 > 0:56:58'on 1st April 1941. It was their final stop in the country,
0:56:58 > 0:57:00'and more than 70 years later,
0:57:00 > 0:57:02'it's our final stop too,
0:57:02 > 0:57:06'before we head on south down the Pan-American Highway.'
0:57:09 > 0:57:12Having gone through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras
0:57:12 > 0:57:15and Nicaragua, four places that you haven't been...
0:57:15 > 0:57:18- Yeah!- ..we're now going to Costa Rica, where you have been.
0:57:18 > 0:57:19Oh, so many happy memories.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21So we're going back to "Oh, I remember when I was here!"
0:57:21 > 0:57:24Course it's not the same now, it's gone very commercial now.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26But when I was here once, oh...
0:57:26 > 0:57:29- At least there's the jungle to look forward to.- Is that the same monkey?
0:57:29 > 0:57:31Is that the same monkey I remember from my holiday?
0:57:31 > 0:57:34- You're already boring me, it's not even episode three yet!- I hope it is.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37I remember once, Ed, waking up and there being a spider in the room.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39It was quite a story, let me tell you...
0:57:41 > 0:57:44'Next time, we'll be riding with Costa Rican cowboys...'
0:57:44 > 0:57:45Ed, stop showboating.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48Dirty cow protest, is that what it is?
0:57:48 > 0:57:50'..and crewing on the Panama Canal.'
0:57:50 > 0:57:52Gringo... Wait.
0:57:52 > 0:57:53THEY LAUGH
0:57:53 > 0:57:56'And as we near the end of our adventure,
0:57:56 > 0:57:58'somewhere in the Panamanian jungle,
0:57:58 > 0:58:00'Dara puts his foot in it.'
0:58:00 > 0:58:02CRASH
0:58:02 > 0:58:04Oh!
0:58:04 > 0:58:07Do you know, I recommend a dry rot expert to come in
0:58:07 > 0:58:08and spray this place.