0:00:03 > 0:00:06This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Welcome to the Copper Canyon in the heart of the Sierra Madre mountains of north-west Mexico.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13A stunning wilderness stretching for 900 miles.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19It's crisscrossed by a series of paths and trails.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22Right across the world,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26in far-flung areas like this, there are iconic,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30long distance hikes that provide an enticing challenge for trekkers
0:00:30 > 0:00:33wanting to tackle difficult and remote terrain.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Oops, Oops! Yes, sorry, yes. What was I saying?
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Now, for one week, ex-politician Stanley Johnson...
0:00:39 > 0:00:41A bridge too far, do you think?
0:00:41 > 0:00:43..broadcaster and model, Melanie Sykes...
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Right, focus!
0:00:45 > 0:00:46..and comedian Henning Wehn...
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Can you see them in the green?
0:00:48 > 0:00:50..are taking on Mexico's little-explored,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52but iconic Copper Canyon,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55carving out a route from a network of walking trails...
0:00:55 > 0:00:57HE SHOUTS
0:00:57 > 0:01:01..formed by gold and silver prospectors and indigenous tribes.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02It seems we're welcome.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06They'll discover an area rich in Mexican history
0:01:06 > 0:01:08and walk through breathtaking scenery.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12But to conquer this rugged landscape, they'll need stamina...
0:01:12 > 0:01:14Yeah, it's relentless, really.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15..willpower...
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Cometh the hour, cometh the man.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18..and even a mule or two.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20No need rushing.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Here, it's foot power that rules, not cars and highways.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27I hope we're not going to go to the very top here.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28Oh!
0:01:28 > 0:01:31What will they learn about this part of Mexico?
0:01:31 > 0:01:34About its culture, people and the environment...
0:01:34 > 0:01:36No, I don't think I can watch this.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38I think I gave the impression
0:01:38 > 0:01:40this was just going to be a piece of cake.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42..during A Week In The Wild?
0:01:52 > 0:01:54What was that Piaf song?
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Rien de rien. Je Ne Regret Rien.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Well, of course I regret I'm not Prime Minister.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01That's obvious.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03I always thought I'd get to be Prime Minister,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06but I suppose some of my children will become Prime Minister instead.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10No-one could ever accuse Stanley Johnson of idleness.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Not only has he managed to produce a litter
0:02:12 > 0:02:15of highly successful offspring, he's also been a journalist,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18politician and environmental campaigner.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23I think it's absolutely brilliant to be walking down unexplored canyons.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27There is a metaphorical and symbolic aspect to this, as well.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30I mean, maybe there'll be some spiritual revelations to come.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33As well as, you know, physical revelations.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Maybe we're all going to explore, you know, caverns of the mind.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Who knows?
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Broadcaster Melanie Sykes is more likely to be found
0:02:41 > 0:02:45enjoying a glamorous night with the stars than a cold night under them.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49I'm not really a very outdoorsy person.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I climbed Ben Nevis a couple of years ago and back down
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and it was hell.
0:02:54 > 0:02:55But I did it.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57And it was probably one of the worst days of my life,
0:02:57 > 0:03:02but also one of the best days and it's five days of that.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04So, it's just up a level.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07And as one of the most popular comedians in the UK,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10self-styled German comedy ambassador for London,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Henning Wehn is more used to late night stand up
0:03:13 > 0:03:16than high noon showdowns with the Mexican bandidos.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21As a country, Mexico doesn't generate
0:03:21 > 0:03:24all that much good press overseas, I don't think.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26It's the sort of place you really only hear about
0:03:26 > 0:03:29in a news bulletin, isn't it?
0:03:29 > 0:03:30Cartels, kidnapping.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35All the good stuff, really.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Before they can begin their trek into Mexico's wild heartland,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Henning, Melanie and Stanley take an internal flight from the capital,
0:03:43 > 0:03:48Mexico City, 1,400km north to the town of Chihuahua.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Only 500km south of the US border,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Chihuahua is the gateway to the Copper Canyon.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02And as Henning, Melanie and Stanley prepare to board a tiny plane...
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Hang on a minute, how do you get in? You might as well fly this thing.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09..there's a sense that the real adventure is about to begin.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Oh, my days! It's very bumpy.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21It's a one-hour flight to the town of Batopilas,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24a wild outpost in the south-westerly part of the canyon
0:04:24 > 0:04:27where the three hikers will begin their trek.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Copper Canyon is one of Mexico's natural wonders,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34formed by volcanic eruptions over 100 million years ago.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39A series of rivers have created six interlocking gorges,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41that are at times larger and deeper
0:04:41 > 0:04:44than the Grand Canyon in the United States.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49Wilderness. Wildness. That's what I'm looking forward to, you know?
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Taking oneself a little bit out of time and out of place.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54I love the idea, actually,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58of being completely out of contact with people
0:04:58 > 0:04:59and with the outside world
0:04:59 > 0:05:03and possibly come out of contact really even with oneself.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Famed for the gold and silver deposits
0:05:06 > 0:05:07hidden in its volcanic rock,
0:05:07 > 0:05:12the Copper Canyon is crisscrossed by a series of trails.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16It's fast becoming a magnet for travellers from around the world
0:05:16 > 0:05:19wanting to pit themselves against its rugged wilderness.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26How long is this runway?
0:05:28 > 0:05:29Or how short is it?
0:05:38 > 0:05:42The trio have touched down in the old mining town Batopilas.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Which one is it? Up here, I think.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50When the Spanish conquistadors invaded Mexico over 400 years ago,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54they found silver glistening here on the banks of the river.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58The bonanza that followed over the next three centuries generated
0:05:58 > 0:06:03300 million ounces of native silver from the surrounding hills,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06placing the area around Batopilas on the map
0:06:06 > 0:06:09as one of the most important mining districts in the world.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12This does feel like a Western.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16But it's a far cry from the good, the bad and the ugly of city life
0:06:16 > 0:06:18that our trio have left behind.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21We're the only three people in the whole village that are unarmed.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Do you think that's true?
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I think they've all got access to a gun, yeah.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30Oh, God.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32I think we're doing a serious hike.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35There's going to be no fooling around.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38I have climbed in the Grand Canyon,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40and the Grand Canyon is one mile deep.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44And that, I can promise you, is very much almost a vertical climb.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45Now, by all reckoning,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49this Canyon is meant to be deeper than the Grand Canyon,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52so I guess it must still be pretty steep.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54It's a right palaver, isn't it?
0:06:55 > 0:06:58But this is not just a physical challenge.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Henning, Melanie and Stanley want to learn why this area
0:07:01 > 0:07:03became so important in Mexican history.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07And to understand a little of the culture of the people.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19From Batopilas, a web of walking trails crisscross Copper Canyon
0:07:19 > 0:07:21for hundreds of kilometres.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24You could hike the area for days without meeting a soul.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28But the trail our trio will follow
0:07:28 > 0:07:32is designed to cover just over 60km in four days...
0:07:34 > 0:07:37..while enabling them to meet some of the isolated people living here.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41They're going to be climbing up 2,000-metre peaks
0:07:41 > 0:07:45to meet some of Mexico's most remote cattle ranchers,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48trekking across canyons to treacherous gold mines
0:07:48 > 0:07:51where prospectors still seek out their fortune
0:07:51 > 0:07:53and descending into the deep valleys
0:07:53 > 0:07:56where the indigenous Tarahumara people hide away
0:07:56 > 0:08:00to protect their culture and way of life.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Their goal is an isolated village, Huimayvo,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07to witness one of the most important fiestas, the harvest festival,
0:08:07 > 0:08:08in four days' time.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Is the key to just pace yourself?
0:08:11 > 0:08:15One step at a time. Yes. Yeah.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19And I personally like to walk with my hands behind my back like this.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Oh, yeah? Do you? Like the Duke of Edinburgh?
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Yes, in a very gentle... gentle manner.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29OK, so you're not going to take any poles with you, I mean...
0:08:29 > 0:08:32No, I couldn't do that to my dead father.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Well, that's a silly joke.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36No, it's not. No, it's not even a joke.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39But I know how he got every time really incensed
0:08:39 > 0:08:41when he saw someone with them sticks.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Oh, he didn't like the poles?
0:08:42 > 0:08:44He didn't, no, no. He didn't mind the Poles,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46but he didn't like them walking sticks.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48I thought you were talking about the Polish people...
0:08:48 > 0:08:52No, that's exactly... And I want to clarify that he had nothing but
0:08:52 > 0:08:55admiration for the Polish people. OK, I'm glad you sorted that out.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57But he didn't like the walking sticks.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06It's day one.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10And as the group head out of town,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12it's as though ex-politician Stanley...
0:09:12 > 0:09:13Buenos dias.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15..is on the campaign trail.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Buenos Dias. Buenos Dias.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21He's very social, isn't he, Stanley?
0:09:21 > 0:09:23He likes a chat with the locals.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Yeah. The next baby we see, he'll definitely kiss it.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Honestly, I'm in awe that he's even doing it.
0:09:29 > 0:09:30You know, it is good.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33He's like a father figure, dare I say it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:34Absolutely brilliant.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36He's obviously incredibly fit.
0:09:36 > 0:09:37Or daft.
0:09:49 > 0:09:50We'll do it.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53Bye-bye.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Henning, Melanie and Stanley begin their trail to the north
0:09:56 > 0:10:00of Batopilas and the trek begins with a tough climb.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03They'll hike 10km up a virtually vertical path
0:10:03 > 0:10:06to a plateau 2,000 metres above sea level
0:10:06 > 0:10:09where they'll get an extraordinary view of Copper Canyon.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Here they'll camp for their first night in the wild.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Tell you what, this heat, though. The heat. It's intense, isn't it?
0:10:18 > 0:10:20It's the challenge, isn't it? The heat.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It may be only ten in the morning,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26but already, the temperature is pushing 30 degrees.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29There is a cemetery. It's a good start, isn't it?
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Yeah. Optimistic, then!
0:10:32 > 0:10:34The bourn from which no traveller returns.
0:10:37 > 0:10:38Up into the mountains.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Unfortunately for Henning, Melanie and Stanley,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46the heat is as prickly as the terrain.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48I can see a cactus.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52As this path wasn't cut for comfort.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54It was simply the quickest
0:10:54 > 0:10:58and consequently steepest route to get the precious metals to town.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02It's the perfect definition of an uphill struggle.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04It's not easy, it's not easy at all.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08So, yeah, it's unpredictable ground and it's steep at times.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11And there's a couple of paths that split into two,
0:11:11 > 0:11:12so you've got to be careful
0:11:12 > 0:11:14you don't wander off into the wilderness.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16There probably comes a time
0:11:16 > 0:11:20when you're feeling well enough to enjoy the view.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Two local guides are accompanying them,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26along with three pack mules carrying their tents and supplies.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30I think I gave the impression
0:11:30 > 0:11:33this was just going to be a piece of cake.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36A bit like Oates said to Captain Scott.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38A bit like Oates said to Captain Scott.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Don't hang about waiting for me, you know.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46I may go out into the heat and I may be some time.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55The heat and sheer gradient of the climb is hitting the group hard,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58especially 75-year-old Stanley.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03If you need a rest, just tell them and we can just chill for a bit.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05Yeah, I think I do. Do you want to chill for a minute?
0:12:05 > 0:12:08No, is it all right if I...? It's absolutely fine. OK.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10So, just remember to do it.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Sorry to be mother hen. But I'm being mother hen.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Look, I think there's some shade here.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33That's great.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49So, if we've got 750 metres to climb today...
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Mm-hm.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53..have we done 100 metres, would you say?
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Gosh, I'm trying to do the maths on it.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Because the walk is supposed to be about four hours and we've done...
0:13:01 > 0:13:02About an hour. 20 minutes?
0:13:02 > 0:13:04No, we've done about an hour and...
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Right. 20?
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Should have stopped then, really, shouldn't we? Stopwatch.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Erm...
0:13:10 > 0:13:13And it doesn't help one jot, does it? Knowing.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Every break increases the journey time to their overnight camp.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26The worry is that they may not get there before nightfall
0:13:26 > 0:13:27if they take too long.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33You've got to keep drinking water, Stanley. Oh, yes.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Yes, all right, I'll do that.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40Well, I'm sorry, I...
0:13:40 > 0:13:42You're not in the shade. Are you in the shade, you lot?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45It's fine. No, no, no, it's fine.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47It's fine. You must get in the shade, come on.
0:13:47 > 0:13:48Come on, get right under.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54Poor Stanley. I think he's surprised at how hard it is for him.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57I mean, the boys kept saying before, it's one step at a time,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59and you really do have to do that.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Really steep and just way too hot.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06It's amazing, though, he still wants to keep going.
0:14:06 > 0:14:07You know, he's not giving up,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10he's just going to have to take it a bit easier.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12But I am a bit worried about him, yeah.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Stanley may be determined to keep going,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19but it's not long before he has to rest again.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24You know, I'm going to get ten minutes snooze
0:14:24 > 0:14:26if that fits in with the schedule.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29What do you say in German for snooze?
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Nickerchen. Nickerchen? Nickerchen.
0:14:31 > 0:14:32Nothing to do with knickers?
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Nothing, no. Odd. No.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I don't think I could sleep out here. Good man.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46While Stanley dreams of reaching the summit,
0:14:46 > 0:14:51his lack of stamina is creating a dilemma for his new companions.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55How far have we got to go, do you think?
0:15:01 > 0:15:02Oh, gosh.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07For the collective good, there's only one option.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Got it.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13This is getting me up the hill a bit faster today,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16but maybe tomorrow someone else will.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Yeah, it might be me tomorrow, you never know.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Oh, maybe it's not going to be straightforward.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27I think age probably does play a factor.
0:15:27 > 0:15:33None of us are immortal and it is probably true that I don't bounce up
0:15:33 > 0:15:38these things as fast as I might have done once before.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41You know, maybe the good thing about today
0:15:41 > 0:15:44is that I've, you know, sort of said,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47"OK, look, what are you trying to prove?"
0:15:47 > 0:15:51It's not in total dishonour at the age of 75
0:15:51 > 0:15:56to take a lift on a mule for the last couple of hours.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Can I just give you those? Yes, yes. Oh, God.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03I can't even see me surviving to 75, let alone do a trek.
0:16:03 > 0:16:04I mean, it's just...
0:16:04 > 0:16:06God, I sound really awful, because it's...
0:16:06 > 0:16:08You know, it's a good age, isn't it?
0:16:08 > 0:16:12How is the backside feeling? Backside seems fine.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Actually, it's rather different from...
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Not long before sunset, the trio finally reach the isolated plateau
0:16:18 > 0:16:23that will be their home for the night.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25That was quite an intense stroll.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29In hindsight, two or three benches would have been nice.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34And a hut halfway. Some nice hut.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Selling you a Cornetto, or something.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Oh, gosh. Look at that.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Centuries of erosion by rivers now far below created these vast valleys
0:16:45 > 0:16:46and high plateaus.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Isn't that amazing? This is wild country, isn't it? It is.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52They stretch as far as the eye can see.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Across an undulating landscape that makes up the seemingly bottomless
0:16:56 > 0:16:59interlocking gorges of the Copper Canyon.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02It's very hard to get your head around.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04It's just so vast.
0:17:07 > 0:17:08I've never seen a view like this.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13It's just so beautiful and it is mind-blowing.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15It is just so hard to take in.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Oh!
0:17:18 > 0:17:22But there's no spa, Wi-Fi or minibar at this hotel
0:17:22 > 0:17:26and certainly no flushing toilets or showers.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29For Mel, Henning and Stanley, it's back to basics.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34This is not very straightforward, is it?
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Yeah, that seems to be the door... No, it's not the door!
0:17:37 > 0:17:38Oh, it is the door, it is the door.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42It is the door. So, I want the door sort of...
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Here. OK, right. So...
0:17:47 > 0:17:50But I tell you what, I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep well, I think.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53It won't be keeping me up.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Oh...
0:17:58 > 0:18:00I'll be sleeping like this, with the door open.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06And shoes on, saves me putting them on again tomorrow morning.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11Good night.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19MELANIE SNIFFS I've got a runny nose, sorry.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24It was freezing last night, I really didn't sleep very well.
0:18:24 > 0:18:25Erm...
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Obviously, because we're so high up, I suppose, it's just freezing.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33But, yeah, looking forward to the day.
0:18:40 > 0:18:41Sorry, I haven't got a mirror.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54A lovely sight, this, isn't it? With the mules.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58I know. It wasn't when I went to the loo in the morning.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02There was one standing right outside the door.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05And the torch was not even bothering him, he just stood there,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08looking at me like, come on, what have you got?
0:19:08 > 0:19:11If these three are going to survive in the outdoors,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13they're going to have to go a bit native.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Do you think we're self-cleaning after a while?
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Yeah. Yeah. I should think so. Like hair.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Hair apparently is. I've never tested the theory.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Three years it takes.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28You know what it's like.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Scott going on the Great Exploration.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36It is the greatest challenge mankind has ever tried to master.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37And will we succeed?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39It's too early to say, but I'm feeling good.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42It's day two.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44And having mastered yesterday's steep ascent,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47they are now 50km from their destination,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50an indigenous village with its unique harvest festival,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53deep on the other side of the valley.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Today, they plan to push on a further 18km
0:19:56 > 0:19:59up a path that zigzags its way to the top of the canyon.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Here in the lush cool of a pine forest,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07the Spanish conquistadors and their descendants created extraordinarily
0:20:07 > 0:20:09remote cattle ranches.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13One of them is where they're headed today.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Oh, careful. Sorry. Excuse me.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18After Stanley struggled to cope with the rugged terrain yesterday...
0:20:18 > 0:20:20It's actually nice to know we're going to have help.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22..today they all decide to saddle up.
0:20:22 > 0:20:28And with a little bit of delicate manoeuvring, Henning's hot to trot.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31It's quite funny, the ratio of you to the animal is extraordinary.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34It's all wrong, isn't it? It's all wrong! It's all wrong!
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Hellfire. MELANIE LAUGHS
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Oh, gosh, I hope mine doesn't do that!
0:20:43 > 0:20:48I can ride to the same degree that someone that goes to the funfair
0:20:49 > 0:20:53and sits on a horse on a carousel and goes round.
0:20:53 > 0:20:54Ay, ay, ay.
0:20:59 > 0:21:00No.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02No, no need rushing. MELANIE LAUGHS
0:21:08 > 0:21:12I haven't got the first idea how to stop, steer or anything.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14I just hope it stops when we're at the top
0:21:14 > 0:21:16and doesn't go straight down again.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21We're the magnificent three, what do you think?
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Yes, we are.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25The slightly out of their depth three!
0:21:30 > 0:21:34The not-so-competent cowboys plough onwards along the rugged trail.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38And like the prospectors who came before them,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41they are alone in an overwhelming landscape
0:21:41 > 0:21:44where a feeling of isolation can quickly take hold.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47I just looked out there then,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50I suddenly realised how far away I am from my kids.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Oh, dear. Yeah, just a little moment then.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54No, I do see that.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56I mean, it's just vast, isn't it?
0:21:59 > 0:22:02After three hours in the saddle, the three muleteers have arrived
0:22:02 > 0:22:07at one of Mexico's most remote cattle ranches.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Owned by Jesus and his wife Perfecta...
0:22:11 > 0:22:14..it's an opportunity for the group to hitch up their mules.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17And for Stanley, a reminder of his life back home.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I'm really interested in this ranch idea.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I want to know how they ranch animals here.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Because you are a farmer, aren't you?
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Well, I have a farm, put it that way.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Well, that goes a long way towards it.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35It does so, it's half the battle.
0:22:35 > 0:22:36Buenas dias. Buenas dias.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40What a beautiful place you have.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44I'd love one, thank you.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Thank you. Si? Yes, thank you, si.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Jesus and Perfecta have a home in Batopilas,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52but spend the hot summer months up here
0:22:52 > 0:22:55in this two-roomed dwelling tending to their 60 cattle.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10I have a farm, also, in England,
0:23:10 > 0:23:12which I had from my father.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15I hope to pass it on to my children.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20I have six children, but not all of them are going to be farmers.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Well, we have mainly sheep.
0:23:30 > 0:23:31Wow!
0:23:34 > 0:23:35I'll give it a go.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Rodeo is a proud part of Mexican history.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43So much so, it is now considered the country's national sport,
0:23:43 > 0:23:45even more so than football.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49And these cattle, known as corrientes,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51brought here by the Spanish...
0:23:51 > 0:23:52Stanley!
0:23:52 > 0:23:54..are athletic and lean.
0:23:54 > 0:23:55Wow!
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Ideal for rodeo.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Rough, hard-working vaqueros like Jesus
0:24:01 > 0:24:04are descendants of these original cowboys who developed
0:24:04 > 0:24:08extraordinary rope skills to control these wild animals.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Yeah, how do we get it off again?
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Looks easier in the movies, doesn't it?
0:24:20 > 0:24:21It certainly does.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Stand-up comedian Henning is more adept at hitting a punch line
0:24:27 > 0:24:28than hitting a bull's-eye.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31I'm not sure this looks right.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33No, that is rubbish.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36I grew up totally differently.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41I simply haven't got the skills to survive in any shape or form.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Like, put me out there in the wild on me own.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Well, I'm dead in a day.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52But at 65, Jesus is literally an old hand at this.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54No way! Wow!
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Gosh, they don't give up, do they?
0:25:01 > 0:25:04For Melanie, this rugged life
0:25:04 > 0:25:06is utterly different from what she's used to.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11It's quite hard to watch that for me.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16I didn't realise how soft I am.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20It's almost that motherly thing comes in
0:25:20 > 0:25:22and you see a young animal...
0:25:22 > 0:25:23struggling.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25It gets me and I... It was just...
0:25:25 > 0:25:28But that's his job and that's what he does.
0:25:38 > 0:25:39It may seem brutal to Mel,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42but Stanley's got no problem with it at all.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47It's basically like, you know, sending your kids off to school.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52It's not quite like that! It is, I tell you! I'm sorry.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56I blooming hope not or else I'm going to see the headmaster
0:25:56 > 0:25:57as soon as I get back.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01I tell you, my education was exactly like that.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04I mean at school. And you turned out all right, didn't you? Yeah.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08So, there is no reason why that cow shouldn't one day be in Parliament?
0:26:11 > 0:26:12Good one. Good one, Henning!
0:26:15 > 0:26:21I like the ranch, the ranch is a wonderful way of farming cattle.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23It's the more humane way.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26You know, we've got to go back, you know,
0:26:26 > 0:26:31to a farming system which is much more in tune with the land itself.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34It's wonderful to find parts of the world where, you know,
0:26:34 > 0:26:38human beings don't screw everything up.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Stanley's time on the ranch has revived him
0:26:41 > 0:26:43and maybe he has more in common
0:26:43 > 0:26:47with his four-legged travelling companions than he first thought.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48How old is that mule?
0:27:02 > 0:27:05It's quite like a human being, really, isn't it?
0:27:05 > 0:27:08When they get a bit older then they walk more slowly.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15I find I walk a bit more slowly than I used to.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Hi, Perfecta.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Can I help you with the tortillas?
0:27:29 > 0:27:31So, Perfecta, how long have you lived up here?
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Do you feel lonely sometimes?
0:27:44 > 0:27:46And do your grandchildren come and visit here?
0:27:49 > 0:27:50What would you like for them?
0:27:50 > 0:27:52What would you like for them to do in the future?
0:28:00 > 0:28:02You don't want the ranch for them?
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Well, we've spent two days here and I...
0:28:13 > 0:28:16She's the only woman I've seen, actually, thinking about it.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22You do really only see men knocking about...
0:28:23 > 0:28:26..so it must be lonely in terms of that as well, actually.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Yeah, it is really country for old men, isn't it?
0:28:38 > 0:28:40I've absolutely had it for the day.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45Don't be too long, Henning,
0:28:45 > 0:28:50because we are pretty anxious to taste this lechecillas.
0:28:50 > 0:28:51As night falls,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Jesus hangs up the lasso and invites his new friends
0:28:54 > 0:28:56to join him for a nightcap.
0:28:56 > 0:28:57Salut. Is it salut? Yeah.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Salut. Salut.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02HENNING SPEAKS GERMAN Good.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04I'm going to taste this.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Exhausted after a long day of riding and wrangling,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11it doesn't take long for the Mexican moonshine to raise the spirits.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14# Du Roi de France
0:29:14 > 0:29:18# Et merde pour le Roi d'Angleterre
0:29:18 > 0:29:21# Qui nous a declare la guerre. #
0:29:21 > 0:29:24And do you know when I first learnt that song?
0:29:24 > 0:29:28I learned it... MELANIE STIFLES LAUGH
0:29:28 > 0:29:32..in the summer of 1959. Sorry. Did you really?
0:29:32 > 0:29:37I was taking an iron ore carrier from Workington to Brazil...
0:29:37 > 0:29:40I think I'm drunk already!
0:29:40 > 0:29:44What? I think I'm drunk already!
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Sorry, sorry.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48It was a fascinating afternoon.
0:29:48 > 0:29:54You know, in that short space of time I felt to see something really,
0:29:54 > 0:29:58you know, true, truthful about the way at least, you know,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01one farmer and his family lived here
0:30:01 > 0:30:04in a pretty remote part of north-west Mexico.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06We shall see more tomorrow.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Maybe not of a farmer, but I think we're going to see a silver mine.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Well, roll on the next adventure.
0:30:29 > 0:30:30How do I look?
0:30:31 > 0:30:32Morning, Stanley.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39It's day three, and today the trio want to go in search
0:30:39 > 0:30:42of the very thing that has drawn people to the Copper Canyon
0:30:42 > 0:30:44for centuries.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46Gold and silver.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50But to get to the mines on foot would involve an arduous all-day
0:30:50 > 0:30:5415km hike over the lip of the canyon and down to the valley floor.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57The harvest festival begins in two days.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Before that, Henning, Melanie and Stanley are hiking for two hours
0:31:01 > 0:31:04down to a dirt road and then taking a 4x4
0:31:04 > 0:31:06to enable them to reach one of the two mining
0:31:06 > 0:31:08communities left in the area.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10There's the church, the mission.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12After being dropped off in this small hamlet,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15Melanie takes charge and leads the group the rest of the way
0:31:15 > 0:31:18to the mines that surround the village.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Do you know where you're going, Mel? I don't know. Now I'm lost.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23Is it maybe down there and then onto that path?
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Yeah. Do you think? Yeah, go on, then.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Oh, here we go.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32What have you found? We've got a bridge here, guys.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34That looks rickety for sure.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36A bridge too far do you think?
0:31:38 > 0:31:42Our three prospective prospectors want to get to Cerro Colorado...
0:31:42 > 0:31:45This is wobbly. It is.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48..a working gold and silver mine.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52Cerro Colorado literally means red hill or mountain.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56The colour itself stems from iron deposits contained within the rocks.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58MAN SHOUTS
0:31:58 > 0:31:59And as the conquistadors knew,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02where there's iron, there could well be gold.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04MAN SHOUTS
0:32:04 > 0:32:07And in the gold rush that followed, the mines of Copper Canyon
0:32:07 > 0:32:10became some of the most productive in the world.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14But these days only a few families of gold-diggers remain,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17working mines dug into the sheer face of the mountain.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22And as the only one with a head for heights, Melanie joins Irma,
0:32:22 > 0:32:24one of the few female miners,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27to make the steep ascent in search of gold.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Right, focus.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31MELANIE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY
0:32:35 > 0:32:36OK.
0:32:42 > 0:32:43Whoa.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47I'm not even looking over there.
0:32:50 > 0:32:51Whoa!
0:32:58 > 0:33:00These tunnels, how far back do they go?
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Irma works these mines along with her husband and her father,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Santiago, and they still dream of striking it rich.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Do you spend hours here? Si.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Do you find gold every day?
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Si. Oh, you do?
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Wow. Let's see if we get lucky with this batch.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04I'm actually really willing there to be gold in there.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Irma and her family do the hard work solely by hand.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10It's been that way for the past four centuries.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Santiago, how many people in this area are working in the mines?
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Is this your family business?
0:34:31 > 0:34:32So, it's a great family tradition.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37What was the biggest nugget of gold you ever found?
0:34:37 > 0:34:40I mean, was it this big, this big, this big?
0:34:48 > 0:34:48OK.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54That would be fantastic.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58With 80g of gold fetching as much as ?2,000,
0:34:58 > 0:35:00there's still treasure hidden within the Copper Canyon.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04Oh, yes, look at that!
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Amazing! Absolutely amazing!
0:35:09 > 0:35:10So beautiful.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I am partial to a bit of gold, it has to be said.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15That is lovely.
0:35:15 > 0:35:16Wow!
0:35:16 > 0:35:20It's obviously hard work and long, long hours,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23but she's a happy girl.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26When you sift through that white powder and then, all of a sudden,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30I mean, it's just glittery and gorgeous.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32It's actually better than anything they make it into,
0:35:32 > 0:35:35that's how mad it is, just in its pure form like that,
0:35:35 > 0:35:36it's just stunning.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42It really is gold fever.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45I can't explain how satisfying it is to see it like that.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48And I'd just keep going until I found more.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55As tempting as it may be to stay, the trail awaits.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00This afternoon, they're heading round the back of the Red Mountain
0:36:00 > 0:36:03to a small, indigenous community who live on the edge
0:36:03 > 0:36:06of one of the deepest canyons in the area.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08They aim to meet members of a tribe
0:36:08 > 0:36:10determined to preserve their culture.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Here, they will camp for the night before making a final push to the
0:36:14 > 0:36:17harvest festival in the canyon below.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22I think we're absolutely at our limit. Yeah.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25But Stanley doesn't seem to care one bit, he's just running off.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31The Tarahumara are one of the largest indigenous peoples
0:36:31 > 0:36:35in North America with over 50,000 living here in Copper Canyon.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40But ever since the Spanish combed the area for gold and silver,
0:36:40 > 0:36:42their way of life has been under threat.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45Can you see them in the green?
0:36:46 > 0:36:50Oh, yeah! They have bright colours.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Mining, deforestation and now drug trafficking
0:36:53 > 0:36:57have all taken their toll on the culture of the Tarahumara.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00They have been here for God knows how many centuries.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03The more the outside world encroaches,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07the more they move up into the valleys,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11so they try to stay as clear of it as they can, I suppose.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Oh, come on. This is fantastic.
0:37:14 > 0:37:15Look at this.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20The shy, retiring Tarahumara live in small, isolated communities,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23often a day or more's walk from each other.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26If I look around, almost everyone's watching us.
0:37:29 > 0:37:30Here, a community of 80 people
0:37:30 > 0:37:33live in basic dwellings made of clay bricks.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35They're largely self-sufficient,
0:37:35 > 0:37:38growing their own crops and tending cattle and goats.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40Hello, hello.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42What is the name of your village?
0:37:49 > 0:37:52It's an opportunity to see a culture that existed even before the
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Spanish conquest of South America.
0:37:55 > 0:38:00Until now, the whole of Mexico, the people are very familiar to us.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05This now is the first time where I really feel like this is different.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Hello. I'm Melanie.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Hello. What's your name?
0:38:12 > 0:38:15SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:38:15 > 0:38:17And what are all the children doing here today?
0:38:22 > 0:38:24So, is it boys against girls or...?
0:38:24 > 0:38:25All mixed?
0:38:31 > 0:38:33Can I.. Can we see?
0:38:33 > 0:38:34Si. Yeah.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40With settlements widely disbursed throughout the Copper Canyon,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44the Tarahumara have had to become extraordinary endurance runners.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50It's the way the communities keep connected to each other
0:38:50 > 0:38:53and running huge distances has become a defining part
0:38:53 > 0:38:55of their way of life.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58These races are seen as a means of passing that tradition
0:38:58 > 0:39:00onto the next generation.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24100km a day?
0:39:25 > 0:39:26Oh, come on!
0:39:28 > 0:39:30100km a day?
0:39:30 > 0:39:32So, you could run to Mexico City in...
0:39:33 > 0:39:35In two weeks?
0:39:36 > 0:39:38That is just amazing!
0:39:41 > 0:39:44Look, have you seen where they are?
0:39:44 > 0:39:46How did they get there? They're so fast.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50Like a deluded dad on sports day,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Henning decides to channel his inner Mo Farah
0:39:53 > 0:39:57and joins the boys in their race.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Oh, are we running? Oh.
0:40:01 > 0:40:02I mustn't trip over any of them.
0:40:04 > 0:40:05As they run around the village,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08the boys kick a small wooden ball called a rarajipari
0:40:08 > 0:40:11in front of them. It's a sort of incentive.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Made a massive mistake volunteering for this.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21They are so sure-footed, it's unreal.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Phenomenal skill, they'd do it in flip-flops.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26And they don't even need those.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28Is that him? Yeah.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31Well, good for Henning, he's still going.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35He's got all the way up there. I didn't think he had it in him.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43The man of the hour. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46No surrender, I always say.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49Well done.
0:40:49 > 0:40:50Oh!
0:40:52 > 0:40:53Surely that was the finish?
0:40:53 > 0:40:56No, they're going again!
0:40:56 > 0:40:59Well, they've got to stop by sundown, haven't they?
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Surely they can't do it in the dark?
0:41:03 > 0:41:07Although history has taught the Tarahumara to be wary of outsiders,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10tonight village elder Lorenzo extends a warm welcome
0:41:10 > 0:41:12to the three strangers in town.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14You know, what I really like about this
0:41:14 > 0:41:18and it's like a local drink and it's alcohol free.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20That is so rare, because, usually, everyone prides themselves
0:41:20 > 0:41:25on how strong their alcohol is and that is a really nice change.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34The Tarahumara are classed as some of the poorest people in Mexico,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37yet they measure their own wealth not in monetary terms,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41but in the size of their family and in the closeness of their community.
0:41:41 > 0:41:42Someone on the dole in the UK
0:41:42 > 0:41:45will have a lot more disposable income than them,
0:41:45 > 0:41:46but they won't be happier.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48They will be a lot unhappier,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50because they're the bottom end of the pecking order.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53That doesn't seem to be an issue here.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57I have to be ready nice and early for another walk.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Buenas noches. See you tomorrow.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Gracias. Gracias.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13I feel like I've been away from home for absolutely ages.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Seriously missing my children today.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22When we arrived here, in this village,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25obviously there was just children everywhere and, all of a sudden,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28I thought, "Gosh, I've been trying to not think of mine."
0:42:28 > 0:42:31Because that's the only way to sort of survive being away from them
0:42:31 > 0:42:37and then I see a sea of children and, wow, I miss my boys.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40But we've got tonight and then we've got another night and I think we've
0:42:40 > 0:42:44got a good day ahead of us tomorrow and then I shall be homeward bound.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Did you hear the animals last night around the tent?
0:42:59 > 0:43:00No, I didn't. No, I didn't. No.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Yeah, there was a few bits of snuffling going on.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05No, I missed that. Yeah. Yeah. I wish I had kept me door open.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09It's day four of the trek
0:43:09 > 0:43:12and having broken the back of their journey,
0:43:12 > 0:43:16today, they have a final 10km push to reach the harvest festival
0:43:16 > 0:43:19in the village of Huimayvo, nestled deep in the valley below.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23But to get there, it's a gruelling six-hour trek
0:43:23 > 0:43:26down through some of the steepest and deepest gorges
0:43:26 > 0:43:28they've encountered so far.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Good gosh. I hope we're not going to go to the very top here.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36I think the worst is behind us.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40Good. And that's based on absolutely nothing, me saying that.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43You feel like you could just be enveloped by the mountain
0:43:43 > 0:43:45and that's the end of you.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47It's harsh.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49The heat is intense.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51You could call this one never rest.
0:43:53 > 0:43:54It's relentless, really.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01As they move down the path from the relative cool of the mountains,
0:44:01 > 0:44:02the temperature's climbing.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07While their Tarahumara guides think nothing of it,
0:44:07 > 0:44:08after four days of trekking,
0:44:08 > 0:44:12this arid landscape is beginning to take its toll on Melanie.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18Are you guys missing home and creature comforts, or not?
0:44:18 > 0:44:19Is it just me? I'm not, no.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23You're not? No, I'm just enjoying it.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28I think, you know, the actual pleasure of being out where we are
0:44:28 > 0:44:31outweighs any possible discomforts. Yeah, yeah.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36No, I mean, I don't want to be not here.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40But you know, I'm just missing home a bit.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49My struggles with it are very different to theirs, I suppose.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Oh, God, I feel like I keep going on about it, but it's just, you know,
0:44:52 > 0:44:57keeping clean and feeling fresh and all of that sort of stuff.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59They don't care. I mean, Stanley said to me this morning,
0:44:59 > 0:45:02he's not looked in a mirror for four days and I just think,
0:45:02 > 0:45:04"Oh, my God, I always have to have a little look,
0:45:04 > 0:45:06"to see if I look all right."
0:45:06 > 0:45:10And I'm not even a vain person, but it's just natural, I suppose.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13There's some shade coming up, folks.
0:45:13 > 0:45:14That's good to know.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16Shall we pause for a break in the shade?
0:45:16 > 0:45:19I think we should, yeah, this is a very good spot.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21Oh. Yeah, that's better.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29First time in days we see water and, before you know it,
0:45:29 > 0:45:31we might even be able to have a dip in.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33I'd love to get a bar of soap now
0:45:33 > 0:45:36and just get in that and have a good old wash.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38Just even getting the boots off and the socks off
0:45:38 > 0:45:40and stand in it would do me.
0:45:40 > 0:45:41It would be lovely.
0:45:42 > 0:45:47Down here in the valley, the landscape has changed dramatically.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51The barren peaks have given way to lush lowlands.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53And after making their descent,
0:45:53 > 0:45:57our three hikers are rewarded with the sight of water.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00Here, then. Yeah, I'll follow you. Yeah. Look's good.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03One of them pools has got my name written all over it.
0:46:03 > 0:46:04Careful, careful!
0:46:07 > 0:46:10This is their first proper wash in four days.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24It's just it's so needed right now.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27I just don't feel human, I feel like an animal, it's disgusting.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30I'm filthy, I am absolutely filthy.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33Have a wash of them pits, boys.
0:46:38 > 0:46:39I'm bloody freezing, I'll tell you.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42My left foot was feeling extremely sore
0:46:42 > 0:46:44and now it's feeling a great deal better.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56But the respite doesn't last long.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00Soon, they're back on the dusty trail and onto the harvest festival
0:47:00 > 0:47:01deep in the valley.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06Well, here we are. Journey's end.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09After an arduous four-day journey,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12they arrive at their final Copper Canyon destination.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16I'm very intrigued by this.
0:47:18 > 0:47:19Wow.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22Well, it's going to be very different to sleep here.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26We're surrounded by mountains instead of on the top of one.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28Wow, look at this. Look at this.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31More than any other community in this part of the canyon,
0:47:31 > 0:47:35the people of Huimayvo have kept themselves isolated
0:47:35 > 0:47:39by hiding away in the shadow of these steep gorges.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined.
0:47:45 > 0:47:52This is just the most culturally far away place I've ever been to.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56It's just so outer worldly.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00It's just somewhere very, very far away.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05It feels much deeper into the land than where we've been before.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09I'm slightly nervous and I don't even know why,
0:48:09 > 0:48:12because we're in no danger and no threat.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16It's a feeling of being really in it, deep.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21While Melanie and Henning appear lost in their new surroundings,
0:48:21 > 0:48:25seasoned explorer Stanley steps forward to announce their arrival.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28Hello, hello.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30How very nice to see you.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32We are very pleased to be here.
0:48:51 > 0:48:52It seems we are welcome.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54I think so. OK, good.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Thank you very much. Gracias. Gracias.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00The harvest festival is one of the most important days of the year
0:49:00 > 0:49:01for the people of Huimayvo
0:49:01 > 0:49:03and the celebrations are just about to begin.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05I like it when parties start early.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08But it's not just a party.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10It is a necessity.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15A poor harvest would be devastating for this fragile community.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18Tarahumara religion is a mixture of Christian beliefs
0:49:18 > 0:49:22brought here by the missionaries and indigenous customs.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27At the heart of the festival is an age-old tradition of offering up
0:49:27 > 0:49:28an animal to the gods.
0:49:30 > 0:49:31Oh, gosh.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38He knows what's coming, I bet.
0:49:38 > 0:49:44In Tarahumara culture, to create new life,
0:49:44 > 0:49:46another must be given in exchange.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51I don't know if I can watch this, actually, thinking about it.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57Oh, my God, I don't think I can watch this.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00No, I don't think I can watch this.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04They believe that they're returning a little of what God has given them.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11This ceremony with its purification rituals is called konema,
0:50:11 > 0:50:14which means literally, feeding God.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18Look how calm they've gone, they know what's coming.
0:50:19 > 0:50:20Maybe.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36Well, it's probably pretty painless.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40I know, but it's an image that I don't want to live with in my head.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42No, no.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45There's enough crap in the world, I can't, I can't...
0:50:49 > 0:50:50GOAT SHRIEKS
0:50:59 > 0:51:01Oh, God, these animals...
0:51:01 > 0:51:02I'm a massive meat eater, as well.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05So, I can't... I don't know why I'm reacting like this.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13Animal sacrifice happens.
0:51:13 > 0:51:14I know it does. Do you see?
0:51:14 > 0:51:18I know. So, that is what we have to recognise. Yeah.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27For Henning, too, a strict vegan, it's uncomfortable viewing.
0:51:29 > 0:51:30It's not good to see.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35But if you want to eat meat,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38someone somewhere has to die.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43And in Europe, any slaughterhouse is a lot worse I guess
0:51:43 > 0:51:45than what we're seeing here,
0:51:45 > 0:51:49because they put on a festival to celebrate the death
0:51:49 > 0:51:52of the goat and it's an occasion.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56They lived with the goat and
0:51:56 > 0:52:00now the goat comes to its end
0:52:00 > 0:52:04and, look, all the kids are looking on and...
0:52:04 > 0:52:07I think the really positive of this
0:52:07 > 0:52:11is then everyone in the community understands, when they eat meat,
0:52:11 > 0:52:15where it comes from and then a fellow creature
0:52:15 > 0:52:19they used to play with had to pack it in for it.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26Goat meat is a luxury the villagers rarely get to eat.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29It'll be divided equally amongst the entire community.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34At the heart of Tarahumara culture is sharing.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Can I help? Yes.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38I've got clean hands.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41They share food, chores and their lives together.
0:52:41 > 0:52:46It's what helps them survive here in the inhospitable Copper Canyon.
0:52:46 > 0:52:50They know how to grow plants, how to make their own clothes,
0:52:50 > 0:52:54how to build their own houses and what plants can you eat,
0:52:54 > 0:52:55which ones can't you eat.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58They understand all those things.
0:52:58 > 0:52:59They're actually one with nature
0:52:59 > 0:53:03and their bond even reaches through to the animals.
0:53:04 > 0:53:05Everything's easy for us.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09You want something, you go down the shop for it, no great shakes.
0:53:09 > 0:53:10You hungry, you get food.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14We are bloody wet blankets, really, aren't we? Compared to them.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17What am I doing here?
0:53:22 > 0:53:25THEY SING IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:53:28 > 0:53:30To pray for rain and a good harvest,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33the day's festivities end with a traditional dance.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40And if the Tarahumara can dance for as long as they can run,
0:53:40 > 0:53:41this could turn into an all-nighter.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46When they started the song, it was bright sunshine.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48There'll still be singing when dawn breaks.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55To keep the festivities going, a home-made corn beer, Tesguino,
0:53:55 > 0:53:57is first offered to the gods
0:53:57 > 0:54:00and then passed around from person to person.
0:54:04 > 0:54:05That is a lovely drop, yeah.
0:54:05 > 0:54:10Is it good? Yeah. Can I taste? Gracias.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14Tesguino is the glue that helps bind Tarahumara society together.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, second helping.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20In fact, about 100 days of the year are spent preparing,
0:54:20 > 0:54:24drinking and, of course, recovering from this drink of the gods.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27One of the things I've never done in my life is get drunk.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29What do you mean, you'd never got drunk?
0:54:29 > 0:54:32I never did. Have you ever been drunk?
0:54:32 > 0:54:36Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've passed out right, left and centre.
0:54:36 > 0:54:37Have you? Have you been? Yeah.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40If I'm not the son-in-law of the chieftain, then that was
0:54:40 > 0:54:42a disappointing evening.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44Come on, Henning, let's go and do this.
0:54:46 > 0:54:51Ritual drinking of corn beer is such a key part of Tarahumara culture...
0:54:51 > 0:54:54STANLEY SINGS
0:54:54 > 0:54:57..that Stanley doesn't want to risk causing offence.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02This is the most delicious stuff with absolutely no alcohol in it,
0:55:02 > 0:55:03except for quite a lot.
0:55:05 > 0:55:06Mmm.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11Not even at the beginning of the end.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14But it may be the end of the beginning.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21The festivities continue into the night.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24And are still in full swing when our trio,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27a little worse for wear, emerge from their tents the next morning.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45It's like a rave in the middle of nowhere at home.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48It's just so mad.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50After their wild last night in the wilderness,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53it's time for one last trek out of this isolated canyon
0:55:53 > 0:55:57to the nearest road. It's a tough six-hour walk away.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00Muchos gracias, amigos. Gracias. Gracias.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Hasta la vista.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04Whoops! I'm sorry!
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Hasta la vista. What a way to leave!
0:56:09 > 0:56:11From the road, they'll be driven back to Batopilas
0:56:11 > 0:56:15and, tomorrow, they'll leave Copper Canyon for good
0:56:15 > 0:56:17and head for home.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20Well, I shall be very sad to go home today, you know.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23It's wonderful to be absolutely out in the wild,
0:56:23 > 0:56:24wonderful to be out of touch.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28I don't think I want to be back in touch.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31That's a very good point.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36I think you could say one of the real problems about our day-to-day
0:56:36 > 0:56:39existence nowadays is we are constantly in communication.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45How wonderful it would be to be in a space where, at least for
0:56:45 > 0:56:50several months, there definitely wasn't any communication
0:56:50 > 0:56:52with the outside world.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54We're being drummed out of town.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56We are! That's a good joke!
0:56:56 > 0:56:58I doubt if I'll make it here again!
0:56:58 > 0:57:01HENNING LAUGHS
0:57:01 > 0:57:03It was a phenomenal experience.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06It exceeded all expectations on a physical level,
0:57:06 > 0:57:09because it was a lot more demanding than I expected it to be,
0:57:09 > 0:57:11and it has been a fascinating experience
0:57:11 > 0:57:15getting a bit of an insight into a completely different society.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18Well, I wonder what the odds would have been
0:57:18 > 0:57:20of the three of us getting here in the first place?
0:57:20 > 0:57:21Well, that's a very good point.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25Yeah, we've got a long way out, as well. We have.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28The things we've seen, the people that we've met and how they live,
0:57:28 > 0:57:30the stamina of them, it's just been mind-blowing.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32I've never seen anything like it
0:57:32 > 0:57:35and I'm so glad I've been here to see it.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42There is that Western arrogance, isn't there?
0:57:42 > 0:57:48Of pitying them and I think that would be totally unjustified.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52What can we pity them for?
0:58:00 > 0:58:02Bloody Nora, I'm absolutely cream crackered.
0:58:06 > 0:58:07Oh, I see a car coming.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11I feel like I'm in a movie.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Oh-ho. Hola. Gracias.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16Fantastic, we leap in the... Do we leap in the back?
0:58:16 > 0:58:19Yeah, definitely. Let's go. Cool.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21MUSIC: Can't Get Away by Rodriguez