0:00:04 > 0:00:09'Imagine a line more than 22,000 miles long, that cuts through
0:00:09 > 0:00:13'some of the most remote regions of the southern hemisphere.'
0:00:13 > 0:00:17Look what's ahead of us. Look at this! Look at this sight!
0:00:17 > 0:00:22'The Tropic of Capricorn marks the southern edge of the Earth's tropical zone.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27'It runs through Southern Africa, Australia and South America.
0:00:27 > 0:00:33'On the final leg of my Capricorn journey, I'm travelling from Chile to the coast of Brazil.
0:00:33 > 0:00:39'It's more than 2,000 miles across the driest desert in the world and over the longest mountain range.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44'Along the way I meet some of the last forest people.'
0:00:44 > 0:00:48I think I prefer the honey to the bee larva!
0:00:48 > 0:00:51'I witness environmental devastation.'
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Just ripping it down. Look at this!
0:00:53 > 0:00:57'And I visit the biggest city in the southern hemisphere
0:00:57 > 0:00:59'where I'll be trying to keep out of trouble.'
0:01:01 > 0:01:02Argh! Bloody hell!
0:01:12 > 0:01:15What a sight!
0:01:15 > 0:01:21I'm here on the coast of Chile beginning another leg of my journey around the Tropic of Capricorn.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25On this bit of the trip, I'll be travelling all the way across South America.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33Just a few miles south of Capricorn is the city of Antofagasta
0:01:33 > 0:01:38where I met up with my Chilean guide and translator, Constanza Mujica.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43What awaits us across Chile?
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Basically the driest desert in the whole world, er...
0:01:47 > 0:01:51and that's an extremely awesome experience.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56How the world would be if everything ended - that's the desert.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58TRAIN HOOTS
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Ahead of us lay the vast Atacama desert. Constanza had arranged
0:02:04 > 0:02:07for us to hitch a ride on a giant freight train -
0:02:07 > 0:02:11the start of my journey zig-zagging along Capricorn.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14- So this is the landscape we are going to be heading into.- Yep.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17It's barren, isn't it? Barren as hell.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Kilometres and kilometres of straight lines.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22That's it.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43This train hauls thousands of tons of copper and supplies to and from Chile's biggest mine.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48It's half a mile long and pulled by three locomotives.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53How important is copper to this part of Chile?
0:02:53 > 0:02:57It's important for the whole of Chile, not just to this part.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01We actually usually say that copper is Chile's salary.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04We all eat from what comes in copper.
0:03:04 > 0:03:0838% of everything we export is copper.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09- 38%?!- Yup.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Chile is the world's biggest exporter of copper.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Rising demand from China has pushed international prices for the metal
0:03:19 > 0:03:24through the roof creating a boom in Chile many hope will continue.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27There's a sense of excitement that great things are going to happen,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31that we will be able to sell each Chinese guy one of our apples
0:03:31 > 0:03:36or one kilo of our copper and become automatic millionaires.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39There's a great sense of expectation of what is going to happen
0:03:39 > 0:03:42with the Chinese demand for our products.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45All the way along the Tropic of Capricorn,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47China has a presence.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52It's buying up natural resources and minerals or it's investing.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55It's there basically and it's here in Chile.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57If you pay the right price, you got it!
0:03:57 > 0:03:58HE LAUGHS
0:04:03 > 0:04:06It's so bright out here.
0:04:06 > 0:04:13I think this is about as bright a light as we've seen while we've been travelling around Capricorn.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16And the heat, as well, is really starting to pick up.
0:04:18 > 0:04:24The Atacama is millions of years old and covers 70,000 square miles.
0:04:24 > 0:04:31It's much more arid even than the Sahara and parts have had no rainfall for hundreds of years.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36But mining companies that work out here need water to extract copper
0:04:36 > 0:04:42and their attempts to find supplies have brought them into conflict with some of the local indigenous people.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48We eventually arrived in the small town of San Pedro de Atacama
0:04:48 > 0:04:53built around an oasis by Spanish Conquistadores in the 16th century.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59Little survives in the desert but the Atacameno people have lived here
0:04:59 > 0:05:03for more than 11,000 years with their herds of llamas.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Many of the Atacameno are now unhappy with the mining firms
0:05:07 > 0:05:10that provide so much of the country's wealth.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16- Hola, good morning. - Rosa, hello, Simon.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20'In San Pedro we met up with community leader and guide Rosa Ramos.'
0:05:20 > 0:05:22- Is this our picnic?- Yes, yes.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Fantastic! We've got bananas...
0:05:24 > 0:05:28'Rosa has been one of the most vocal opponents of the mining companies' plans.'
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Where are we off to today?
0:05:30 > 0:05:37The idea is visit the two lakes in the altiplano, over 4,000 metres.
0:05:37 > 0:05:394,000?!
0:05:39 > 0:05:40To a couple of lakes.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Leaving the desert, Rosa took us up into the altiplano, the high plains of the Andes,
0:05:49 > 0:05:54to show us an unprotected lakeland area she believes is under threat.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Half way up we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn.
0:05:59 > 0:06:05- We've arrived again on the Tropic of Capricorn.- Yes!
0:06:05 > 0:06:08- This is a sort of Capricorn monument, is it?- Yes, yes.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11And my modern GPS tells us
0:06:11 > 0:06:17that we are now 2,505 metres above sea level.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21Two and half kilometres up. Are we going to get ill?
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Am I going to get ill?
0:06:23 > 0:06:25No, please, you need to feel OK.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30I don't want to get ill but I have suffered from altitude sickness in the past.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32You've got something else.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35I'd like to give you some coca leaves because don't feel bad there.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37You put it into your mouth to chew?
0:06:37 > 0:06:42Yes, you put it in your mouth, a little bit. Coca leaves.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44So how much should I take?
0:06:44 > 0:06:455...4.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48'Coca leaves can be used to make cocaine
0:06:48 > 0:06:54'but in their raw form the leaves are widely used as a traditional remedy for altitude sickness.'
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Will I become really overconfident and start talking crap?
0:07:00 > 0:07:03And I stuff them into my cheek pouch.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Excuse me! Messy eater.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12And then now relax.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15And after we can walk in the mountains.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19Fortified by Rosa's herbal remedy,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23we drove even higher into the Andes.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28We're now at...just over 4,000 metres
0:07:28 > 0:07:30so we're nearly...
0:07:30 > 0:07:34nearly the equivalent of half way up Everest.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39We've just come round the corner to see this amazing lake out here on the plain in front of us.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46This is just nature showing off!
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Look at this. This is like a Caribbean...
0:07:52 > 0:07:55a Caribbean sea, a tropical sea.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00Four kilometres above sea level, we're up in the High Andes
0:08:00 > 0:08:02and there's a tropical sea!
0:08:04 > 0:08:06It's amazing!
0:08:06 > 0:08:09It actually brings a lump to my throat, it's...
0:08:09 > 0:08:11just so beautiful.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19We're going to try and get to the edge of this beautiful lake over here.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23We also have to go quite slowly because of the altitude we're at.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25There's not much oxygen in the air.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29What a sight!
0:08:29 > 0:08:34The birds that we saw from a distance are actually flamingos!
0:08:36 > 0:08:39I'm absolutely staggered by this.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45What does this lake mean to you and the indigenous people of the area?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Does it hold a special place in your beliefs?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51SHE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:08:55 > 0:09:01TRANSLATION: For us the Andes are the gods who gave us the water in the desert so we could survive.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Our people have lived here for thousands of years.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10We've always respected the environment...
0:09:12 > 0:09:14..but now people are destroying it
0:09:14 > 0:09:17and killing our animals and plants
0:09:17 > 0:09:19and we are very sad.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28The mining companies want to drain water from these high Andean lakes.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Rosa fears the consequences.
0:09:32 > 0:09:33SHE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:09:33 > 0:09:37TRANSLATION: Firstly, even us indigenous people
0:09:37 > 0:09:41understand that mining is important for the country's economy.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45We know this, but we don't think it's necessary to sacrifice
0:09:45 > 0:09:49such a fragile ecosystem for an economic gain
0:09:49 > 0:09:54that could be achieved just as well by bringing water from the sea.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03The lake is unprotected and its future is uncertain.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05On our way back, Rosa took us to a local village
0:10:05 > 0:10:09where they are using their meagre water supplies in a sustainable way.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Until recently, Talabre had only intermittent electricity.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19But the villagers decided to build their own micro-hydroelectric plant
0:10:19 > 0:10:22to harness water that trickles down from the Andes mountains.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30So on this street here, look, they've got electric street lights
0:10:30 > 0:10:32that have been installed quite recently.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38And that makes a huge difference in a community like this because it means life can go on after dark.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43'Rosa took us to meet a friend in the village.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48'The new generator has dramatically improved the lives of Antonia Mondaca and her family.'
0:10:48 > 0:10:54So, look and this is where you see the effect. You see the electric lights, look at this.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58How has the electricity helped and changed lives here?
0:10:58 > 0:11:02TRANSLATION: We only used to have three hours of electricity
0:11:02 > 0:11:04between 6 and 9 at night.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11It's changed everything - the whole atmosphere.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16And it's great for the kids - now they can watch educational programmes on TV.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Let's ask the kids a very important question.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25What is your favourite TV programme?
0:11:25 > 0:11:27ROSA TRANSLATES
0:11:31 > 0:11:33The Simpsons!
0:11:37 > 0:11:40That evening, Rosa invited us to join her and some friends
0:11:40 > 0:11:44for a barbeque in a remote and beautiful part of the desert
0:11:44 > 0:11:46known as the Valley of the Moon.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53There was only main one dish on the menu - barbequed llama.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Rosa, look what you have organised!
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Fantastic.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06This is the ultimate Andean sandwich!
0:12:06 > 0:12:09We've got it here. Llama meat.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Thank you very much.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15So here we go.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17This is the first time...
0:12:17 > 0:12:19I've eaten llama.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Let's just try it like this.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Never mind the bun.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33It's tough but it's good.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35SHE LAUGHS
0:12:35 > 0:12:38- It's good, yeah?- It's good, yeah.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42'Rosa is part of a new generation of politically active
0:12:42 > 0:12:47'indigenous people in South America who are fighting for their rights.'
0:12:47 > 0:12:52- In your lifetime, do you think indigenous people are getting more power?- Yes, it's changed.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Today we think we wake up,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59with reaction. And we say, "stop".
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Our government...
0:13:02 > 0:13:05..prefers here the people
0:13:05 > 0:13:07that have powers.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12Politics no is clean, no is clear.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14I think it happen everywhere but...
0:13:14 > 0:13:17HE LAUGHS
0:13:17 > 0:13:22Well, Rosa, I want to say thank you for showing us
0:13:22 > 0:13:26some of the most amazing places around San Pedro and the Atacama.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28It's an extraordinary place.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31So thank you, and thank you for my llama!
0:13:36 > 0:13:40The next morning we headed even higher into the Andes
0:13:40 > 0:13:42towards the border with Argentina.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46It was a 100-mile climb through a landscape so barren
0:13:46 > 0:13:50it's used by NASA to simulate conditions on Mars.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Running down the length of the continent like a jagged spine,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58the Andes is the longest mountain range in the world.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03We're now really high up in the mountains.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Wow! We're at 4,600 metres now.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10We're still going to be climbing up even higher.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14This is the highest we've been on Capricorn on our journey.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17I'm really feeling it.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19It's harder to breathe.
0:14:21 > 0:14:27And you feel it when you do take a breath, you're not getting enough oxygen into your lungs.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35We climbed to nearly 5,000 metres above sea level
0:14:35 > 0:14:38and crossed the border into Argentina.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43As we descended on the other side, the whole landscape changed.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46After the crossing the driest desert on earth,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49a spot of rain was a welcome sight.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55The Argentinean foothills are lush and fertile.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58We were heading to a valley right on the Tropic of Capricorn.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03I can see a sign, look, just ahead...
0:15:03 > 0:15:04"Vicunas."
0:15:04 > 0:15:10'I had come in search of a bizarre and secretive creature native to the Andes.'
0:15:10 > 0:15:13They look quite shy and delicate.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16'The Vicuna is a smaller cousin of the llama.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20'Its wool is so valuable it was once hunted almost to extinction.'
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- Hola. Buenos dias, Hugo. Buenos dias.- Benvieniedo.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30'Hugo Robles owns this ranch
0:15:30 > 0:15:33'and I arrived just in time for a vicuna roundup.'
0:15:35 > 0:15:37It's beautiful here.
0:15:40 > 0:15:46A government programme is encouraging ranchers like Hugo to farm vicunas sustainably.
0:15:46 > 0:15:53The population has now recovered from a low of less than 10,000 to around a quarter of a million.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Today they're going to be catching them, or trying to catch them and vaccinating them.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Which, given the fact these are very shy, nervous creatures
0:16:01 > 0:16:05that run away when you're within half a mile of them,
0:16:05 > 0:16:07is going to be a bit of a challenge.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11TRANSLATION:
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Oh, yes, yes, look, there they are!
0:16:14 > 0:16:16The vicunas!
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Look, they're already running away.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Am I coming with you, Hugo, am I your new farmhand?
0:16:26 > 0:16:29So I just climb over?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31I'm not sure I'm too heavy for this!
0:16:31 > 0:16:33No.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36The vicunas have just legged it in this direction.
0:16:36 > 0:16:42What they're trying to do is drive the vicunas down into this corral
0:16:42 > 0:16:46that snakes downs like a tunnel, really.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47And then they can catch them.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Hugo, they're like cheetahs. Look at them!
0:16:50 > 0:16:52How on earth are we going to catch them?
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Hugo's off to chase them.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12What the hell are we doing?!
0:17:12 > 0:17:14- Ooh, we are going to get them! - HUGO SHOUTS
0:17:14 > 0:17:16THEY CHIVVIE THEM ON
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Can you please stand still?!
0:17:21 > 0:17:28Oh, dear! No wonder their fibres are worth so much because nobody can catch them.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33So they've caught two in the funnel.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36No! They're going to escape!
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Oh, bloody hell! Shut the gate!
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Here we go.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Look, they're in...the corral.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Success! Look at them!
0:17:56 > 0:17:58These are the vicunas...
0:17:59 > 0:18:03..and their fibres are finer than cashmere.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07The finest fibre in the world comes from these creatures
0:18:07 > 0:18:11and for that you pay a hefty price.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15A suit made from the fibre from one of these creatures can cost
0:18:15 > 0:18:18about £15,000.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22So they just need to calm down,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25calm down. It's OK, it's OK.
0:18:25 > 0:18:31'With the vicunas finally safe in their corral, it was time for them to have their jabs.'
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Look how cute this creature is.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37So soft, isn't it?
0:18:37 > 0:18:40- Muy suave, no?- Si, si, suave.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42It's like a woolly Bambi.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Very soft.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Oh, look, there's a bit coming off. How much is that worth?
0:18:50 > 0:18:52That's probably worth about £100!
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Hugo, so we put this on the...
0:18:59 > 0:19:01over the head?
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It's all right.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07Poor thing. It's OK.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11They're we are.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14It's OK. Aww.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21There we go. Blindfold comes off.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23There we are.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25It wasn't too bad, was it?
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Run free!
0:19:35 > 0:19:38There goes a very expensive woolly jumper!
0:19:42 > 0:19:45The next morning we set off, travelling east
0:19:45 > 0:19:48across this remote region in the far north of Argentina.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53It had been raining all night and landslides had strewn mud and rocks over the mountain roads.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58There seems to be one person clearing rocks from the road.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Great(!)
0:20:01 > 0:20:05He should have the road cleared by about the middle of next year.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12It looked like we would make it through to our next stop on Capricorn
0:20:12 > 0:20:15but heavy lorries were completely stuck in the mud.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20We were heading for a small indigenous settlement
0:20:20 > 0:20:23just north of the line on the edge of a remote forest.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Traditionally hunter-gatherers,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34the Wichi people have lived in this region for thousands of years.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37But like indigenous communities across South America,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39their way of life is under threat
0:20:39 > 0:20:44as their land is taken over for farming cattle and crops like soy.
0:20:45 > 0:20:52John Palmer is an Oxford-educated anthropologist who has studied and lived among the Wichi for decades.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Hello, John. Simon.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58John's witnessed the destruction of this forest at first hand.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02He's married to Tojweya and they have two children.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07How serious is deforestation in this area?
0:21:07 > 0:21:09What could be the best word? It's...
0:21:11 > 0:21:14..catastrophic. It's...
0:21:14 > 0:21:16very severe.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19What effect is it having on peoples' lives?
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Well, in the immediate sense there's a lot of ill health.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28They've got no chance to be independent economically.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30It's like having your supermarket shut.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33Where do you go for your food?
0:21:35 > 0:21:39'One of the few remaining foods the Wichi can harvest from the forest is honey.
0:21:39 > 0:21:46'Roque Miranda, the leader of this Wichi community, invited us on their daily honey hunt.'
0:21:46 > 0:21:48I'm a bit worried about being stung
0:21:48 > 0:21:51by angry South American bees.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58That's where the bees are?
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Just in here?
0:22:04 > 0:22:07I don't really want to antagonise the bees.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15So a little fire is being lit and smoke will be used, well, really to dull the bees,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19to make them a little bit dozy and discourage them from attacking us.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Roque's getting ready.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23That looks very serious.
0:22:23 > 0:22:29Roque's putting on layer after layer as a protection against the bees,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33which makes me feel a little bit exposed with bare arms.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35I did bring a jacket
0:22:35 > 0:22:37and this bag
0:22:37 > 0:22:40can be used to cover the head.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43So he's wafting some smoke into the hive.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45I'm going to put my head net on.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55And here come the bees.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57BEES BUZZ
0:23:03 > 0:23:06I don't think this smoke is working guys.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Bloody hell! I've just been stung once.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12It's going!
0:23:20 > 0:23:22They're not going to like that, are they?!
0:23:23 > 0:23:27There, he's opening it up and there it is, there's the honey!
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Look at it, glistening. It looks incredible.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Proper wild honey, straight from the forest.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40The bees aren't happy to lose it.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42Ay!
0:23:42 > 0:23:43I've just been bitten again.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48If everyone was to hold one of these then we'd put up more smoke around us.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Let's try some pure honey.
0:23:56 > 0:23:57Oh, fantastic.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04That's amazing.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Perfecto.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11What is this? This is honey and what else is that there?
0:24:14 > 0:24:17So this is the larvae of the bees, ooh.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19And you eat the larvae as well?
0:24:33 > 0:24:35I'm choking on the smoke.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39I think I prefer the honey to the bee larva.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45'But as the forest is cut down, the 50,000 Wichi
0:24:45 > 0:24:49'in northern Argentina are losing their natural food supply.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17'Although the Wichi are the legal owners of much of this forest,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19'this is a remote part of Argentina.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23'They cannot stop the deforestation happening around them.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29'The bulldozers just keep getting closer.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34'A few hundred metres from the village I witnessed the devastation at fisrt hand.'
0:25:39 > 0:25:44So here we've got a really new area of deforestation.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47It's really shocking to suddenly come across this.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Look at this!
0:25:50 > 0:25:52This is being torn out.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59This is forest the Wichi depend on, the rest of the world depends on.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02These are lungs for our earth.
0:26:02 > 0:26:03Look at this round here.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08This is what they use.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12This is what they use to destroy the forest here.
0:26:12 > 0:26:19They put these huge chains between two bulldozers,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21stretch it out,
0:26:21 > 0:26:26and then just run it across the trees, ripping the trees up.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32I can barely lift...
0:26:32 > 0:26:33just this.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Can you imagine the devastation this causes?
0:26:42 > 0:26:46'Just 5 days before our visit, Roque and some of the other villagers
0:26:46 > 0:26:50'had confronted the bulldozer drivers and begged them to stop.
0:26:50 > 0:26:55'But later that same night they heard them felling again.'
0:26:55 > 0:26:58HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:27:02 > 0:27:05TRANSLATION: When we came back at about 11 o'clock
0:27:05 > 0:27:08they had moved to this part of the forest and were cutting it down.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14They must have known we would come back to stop them, so they were in a hurry.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Finally they left the area and headed off over there.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27The land is being cleared for farming cattle and crops like soy.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30The bulldozers have stopped for now
0:27:30 > 0:27:33but the Wichi know they will return.
0:27:33 > 0:27:39You can imagine the scene here the other night when these villagers
0:27:39 > 0:27:45come out of their community and they come to these bulldozers and they say,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49"You are taking away our absolute livelihoods, our absolute being.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51"We can't survive without this."
0:27:56 > 0:27:58INSECTS CHIRP
0:28:02 > 0:28:05'There's no electricity in the village
0:28:05 > 0:28:10'and that night John and I joined Roque around the communal fire.'
0:28:14 > 0:28:22Roque, do you think that Wichi culture can survive the destruction that you're seeing around you?
0:28:24 > 0:28:29TRANSLATION: Well, I reckon that when our forest has gone,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32we'll have nothing to live on.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35As the leader, I'm aware that the Wichi are in dire straits
0:28:35 > 0:28:38because they don't know what's coming to them.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44None of us know what to make of it because it's all so new, this deforestation.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48How can any of us make sense of it?
0:28:48 > 0:28:51I wonder what will become of my children when I'm gone.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02So, quite a depressing day, today.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07Seeing all the destruction of the forest.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10You know, it's the sort of thing you hear about at a distance,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14but then when you see it close up, it really is...
0:29:14 > 0:29:17It really is desperate.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23You can only feel a great sense of sadness for the Wichi,
0:29:23 > 0:29:27I think, because they are a very gentle people
0:29:27 > 0:29:30and gentle people tend to get walked over.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41'The next morning we set off towards Paraguay.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47'It's a 500-mile drive along a relentlessly straight road.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49'In order to cross the border,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52'we had to head south of Capricorn towards the capital, Asuncion.'
0:29:54 > 0:29:56TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:30:02 > 0:30:05'We arrived in Paraguay on one of the biggest days of the year -
0:30:05 > 0:30:07'the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.'
0:30:10 > 0:30:14There's loads of stalls selling all sorts of stuff.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16Some of it's even religious!
0:30:16 > 0:30:20'My guide in Paraguay was journalist Andrea Machain.'
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Balloons, sunglasses, flowers,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27there's a collection of ceramic frogs here.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29Look, we've got statues here...
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Baby Jesus with gold pants on.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37So it's not just a religious festival or pilgrimage?
0:30:37 > 0:30:40No, no. It's a gathering where people come from all over.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42It's like a national party.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44For the whole of Paraguay?
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Yes. Even more important than Christmas, I would say.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49More important than Christmas?!
0:30:49 > 0:30:50- Yes.- Surely not!
0:30:52 > 0:30:56'Religion has always been a powerful force in Catholic Paraguay.'
0:30:56 > 0:31:01These people are broadcasting live, the mass. And it's on national TV.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04'Today, Paraguay's a democracy,
0:31:04 > 0:31:09'but from the 1950s until 1989, the country was ruled
0:31:09 > 0:31:13'by Alfredo Stroessner, a brutal dictator,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15'even by South American standards.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19'Paraguay was so isolated from the outside world that it became
0:31:19 > 0:31:22'a haven for notorious Nazi war criminals like Josef Mengele.
0:31:24 > 0:31:30'The next morning, Andrea took me to a cafe in the capital, Asuncion,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32'which was a clandestine meeting place
0:31:32 > 0:31:34'for those brave enough to oppose Stroessner.'
0:31:34 > 0:31:40What was happening to people who spoke out or expressed an opinion against the regime?
0:31:40 > 0:31:41Nothing good.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45The Stroessner dictatorship didn't go against you personally
0:31:45 > 0:31:48if you said something against it,
0:31:48 > 0:31:51but against your whole family even your children.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54So even the bravest people would take the danger
0:31:54 > 0:31:57and the risk for themselves,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01but couldn't cope taking the risk for the people they loved.
0:32:06 > 0:32:12We're here at the museum of... Well, it says memories, really,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15but it's a museum of torture almost.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Here with Dr Filartiga,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21who we will ease out of his car.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24'Andrea introduced me to one of the most prominent victims
0:32:24 > 0:32:27of the 'Stroessner regime, Dr Joel Filartiga.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31'We met at a museum which documents some of the worst excesses
0:32:31 > 0:32:33'of Stroessner's secret police.'
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Just on the way here,
0:32:36 > 0:32:40the doctor was saying that he was tortured four times by the regime.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42That's part of the reason
0:32:42 > 0:32:45he needs a little bit of assistance now
0:32:45 > 0:32:47from his grandson.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51So the history of state terrorism
0:32:51 > 0:32:53in three languages.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57So here, this is the man himself.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59This is Stroessner.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04- What did he say? - The tyrant.- The tyrant.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10Can we see any specific case here? This looks like a child...
0:33:10 > 0:33:15TRANSLATION: 'She's little girl who was tortured and raped.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19'She was about 12 or 13 years old.'
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Can you see the picture here?
0:33:22 > 0:33:25This is a regime that would torture children.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32'These records were discovered by chance in a suburban police station.
0:33:32 > 0:33:38'They document the fate of 400,000 people who were imprisoned and 50,000 who were murdered.'
0:33:40 > 0:33:43It's an extraordinary place.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49It can't be easy for people to come back here and see what happened.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52This is a mock-up,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56but even as a mock-up, it's really quite unsettling.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58This is what happened here, Doctor.
0:33:58 > 0:34:05TRANSLATION: The dead were wrapped in barbed wire when they were finished with.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09They were packaged up and thrown away from a helicopter,
0:34:09 > 0:34:11dumped in a river or buried.
0:34:14 > 0:34:19'Dr Filartiga's crime was to run a free clinic treating political dissidents.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24'He was tortured in a bath with electric shocks
0:34:24 > 0:34:27'in this very cell, but he survived.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31'But what haunts him most is that the regime then went after his son.'
0:34:32 > 0:34:34It must be incredibly painful
0:34:34 > 0:34:38for you to think back to that time, but can you tell us
0:34:38 > 0:34:42a little bit about what happened to your son, how he was killed?
0:34:45 > 0:34:49TRANSLATION: They hung him from his ankles.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53They tortured him with electrical equipment, with shocks.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57Stroessner himself was listening on the radio to my son's answers.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00He dictated the questions.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06I lived in fear of it.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09I told my son not to go out.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12I had an idea it might happen.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Every day I suffer.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17I can't sleep at night.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26'Stroessner was overthrown in 1989 and died in exile.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29'Today, Paraguay is free from tyranny.'
0:35:31 > 0:35:37You've lost as much as anyone has in getting rid of the old regime.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Are you happy with the Paraguay of today?
0:35:43 > 0:35:46TRANSLATION: I am satisfied, but sadly,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48another form of oppression has appeared.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51There's a new demon now.
0:35:51 > 0:35:5493% of our country is deforested.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58There is a culture of death which prefers money to life.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05'We flew north, back towards the Tropic
0:36:05 > 0:36:10'to investigate the deforestation that so angered Dr Filartiga.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13'In the last 50 years,
0:36:13 > 0:36:16'nearly all of Paraguay's forest has been destroyed.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20'We were heading towards the Mbaracayu Reserve,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23'one of the last pockets of forest in Paraguay.'
0:36:25 > 0:36:30'The once mighty Atlantic forest used to cover almost all of eastern Paraguay.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35'In its place now are endless fields of cash crops, especially soy.'
0:36:39 > 0:36:40Aargh!
0:36:40 > 0:36:45There was a sheep on the runway. We just missed it. It was close.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47He was a quick runner!
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Lucky for us.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56- HE GROANS - Like a cork from a bottle!
0:36:59 > 0:37:03- So this is almost the entrance then to the forest?- Yes.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07'I met up with Rene Palacios,
0:37:07 > 0:37:10'the head ranger at the Mbaracayu Reserve,
0:37:10 > 0:37:12'who showed me this unique habitat.'
0:37:12 > 0:37:16So here we are, we're entering the forest...
0:37:16 > 0:37:18- The Atlantic Forest. - The Atlantic Forest.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22It used to extend over an area much larger than Paraguay, didn't it?
0:37:22 > 0:37:27Oh, yes. It came all the way from the Brazilian coast,
0:37:27 > 0:37:33the Atlantic coast, down to Paraguay and North Argentina.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37Tell us what the Atlantic Forest actually is.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39Because not many people have heard of it.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44Well, we have many, many species of plants, more than 2,000.
0:37:44 > 0:37:50A lot of birds. You can find here the big mammals, like...
0:37:50 > 0:37:52Have you heard about jaguars?
0:37:52 > 0:37:56- I have heard about jaguars. Do you have them here?- Yeah.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58What other animals have you got?
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- We have pumas too.- Pumas?- Yeah.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04And do you know about the tapirs?
0:38:04 > 0:38:06It's almost a bit like a pig.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Yeah, but big. 300 kilos of mammal.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12- A giant pig!- Aw, yeah.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15'Back at his headquarters, Rene explained
0:38:15 > 0:38:19'that the forest has been cut down to make way for crops like soy.'
0:38:21 > 0:38:25We've had a huge deforestation in Paraguay, in the Atlantic Forest.
0:38:25 > 0:38:31And most of the deforestation was made for agriculture.
0:38:31 > 0:38:38The land in Paraguay is a very low price, so many people came, especially from Brazil.
0:38:38 > 0:38:44They bought land and plant soy because the soil here is very good.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46They have very good production.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48The productivity is very high.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53'Soy now accounts for nearly half of Paraguay's exports.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57'In one of the poorest countries in South America,
0:38:57 > 0:39:01'many people see this cash crop as Paraguay's economic salvation.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05'But there's a growing campaign against soy.'
0:39:05 > 0:39:09It really is just a sea of soya.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13'Activist Diego Segovia took me to the soy fields
0:39:13 > 0:39:15'on the edge of the reserve.'
0:39:15 > 0:39:18When you see these huge fields of soy
0:39:18 > 0:39:23where there used to be great forests, what do you feel?
0:39:23 > 0:39:28I mean the forests have been lost in your lifetime, haven't they?
0:39:28 > 0:39:32TRANSLATION: We say they've become a green desert
0:39:32 > 0:39:35because there is no other form of life that isn't soy,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38nothing but soy and the herbicides they use
0:39:38 > 0:39:40kill everything else. They kill the soil,
0:39:40 > 0:39:43they kill the water, they kill the rural communities.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47'Soy is high in protein
0:39:47 > 0:39:50'and most of Paraguay's harvest goes to China and Europe
0:39:50 > 0:39:55'to feed our pigs and cattle. But it's also now being used to make biofuel,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58'a replacement for fossil fuels like petrol.'
0:39:58 > 0:40:05But surely, biofuel, it's seen as something that might save us from climate change.
0:40:05 > 0:40:06Isn't it good a thing?
0:40:08 > 0:40:11TRANSLATION: We think this is a myth, it's a lie,
0:40:11 > 0:40:16because to produce biofuels you need to cut down the forest.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20You have to get rid of the trees
0:40:20 > 0:40:24and the trees are the living things that absorb the most carbon.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29I think it's madness, converting our fields
0:40:29 > 0:40:32into fuel for cars.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36'Just a few decades ago,
0:40:36 > 0:40:41'the Paraguayan forest was home to dozens of indigenous communities,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43'like the Wichi we met in Argentina.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47'But most of them have now been displaced.'
0:40:48 > 0:40:52'We were heading south to the border crossing with Brazil.
0:40:52 > 0:40:57'All we could see on the drive were endless fields of soy,
0:40:57 > 0:40:59'much of it destined for Europe
0:40:59 > 0:41:01'to fatten livestock and put meat on our tables.'
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Our world is so globalised now, it's extraordinary that we have
0:41:09 > 0:41:13such little connection now in Europe with the food that we eat.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15We just don't realise
0:41:15 > 0:41:19where the different elements that make up our plate are coming from.
0:41:19 > 0:41:24When you come out here and see the damage that soya is doing
0:41:24 > 0:41:29to the forest and the people who live in the forest,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32it really does make you think more than twice about it.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37'Just as the sun was setting,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41'we finally reached Ciudad Del Este right on the border with Brazil.'
0:41:50 > 0:41:53'A city of more than a quarter of a million people,
0:41:53 > 0:41:57'Ciudad Del Este is a giant, crowded claustrophobic cash-and-carry.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00'Deep in the heart of South America,
0:42:00 > 0:42:04'this is the third largest tax-free zone in the world
0:42:04 > 0:42:07'after Miami and Hong Kong.'
0:42:09 > 0:42:15'Shoppers flock here from across the region, keen to pick up a bargain.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20'There's only one way to travel in Ciudad del Este - motorbike taxi.'
0:42:22 > 0:42:24VAN HORN BLOWS
0:42:24 > 0:42:26Ooh, we're about to get smashed up...
0:42:31 > 0:42:35'The turnover in all manner of tax-free goods in the city
0:42:35 > 0:42:39'is a major contributor to Paraguay's national economy.'
0:42:39 > 0:42:43It's quite weird to come from rural Paraguay
0:42:43 > 0:42:47and come here and see all this going on.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51Look, you've got inflatable beach stuff,
0:42:51 > 0:42:56tents, even though we're maybe 1,000 kilometres from the sea.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Shops here sell clothes, umbrellas, pirate CDs,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05medicines, power tools and car parts.
0:43:05 > 0:43:11It's a dirty, dusty shopping centre but with an edge.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Look, a huge, inflatable Father Christmas.
0:43:16 > 0:43:22There's a man there with an AK47 guarding a shop selling children's rucksacks.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28The lawless atmosphere and tax-free status
0:43:28 > 0:43:32has made the city a hotbed of counterfeiting and smuggling.
0:43:32 > 0:43:38It's a crazy, duty-free, anything goes, cash town.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40Eehh!
0:43:42 > 0:43:45Gracias, gracias, gracias.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48So now we need to head to Brazil.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54So here we go. We're crossing now the Rio Parana.
0:43:54 > 0:44:00The Parana River from Paraguay on that side, to Brazil on this.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05You get the feeling there is a greater degree of order here and look, we've come to a very smart,
0:44:05 > 0:44:07huge immigration, customs point.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13'The border was packed with Brazilians
0:44:13 > 0:44:17'returning from Ciudad Del Este with their duty-free shopping.'
0:44:20 > 0:44:24- Keep this paper, OK?- OK. Fantastic. Thank you.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28'But not everyone was bringing in goods legitimately.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31'We'd only been at the border a few moments
0:44:31 > 0:44:34'when the police stopped a man smuggling packages from Paraguay.'
0:44:34 > 0:44:38So this is the bag the guy had.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Just cutting it open.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Ooh, look at that.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49Inside you've got 20, 25 bullets.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51And this is one of the great problems
0:44:51 > 0:44:54for Brazilian police and customs in this area
0:44:54 > 0:44:58because just across the border, you've got a completely lawless city
0:44:58 > 0:44:59that we've just come from
0:44:59 > 0:45:02and people are able to buy things like this fairly openly.
0:45:05 > 0:45:11'On the other side of the border is the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14'Brazilian photographer Fernando Cavalcanti
0:45:14 > 0:45:18'was to be my guide through the last country on my Capricorn journey.'
0:45:18 > 0:45:22You could say that this city was built on smuggling money.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Well, all this illicit stuff.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27But now it's changed, you know,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30it's likely swinging towards tourism
0:45:30 > 0:45:33and the waterfalls and stuff like that.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37Now we're here, we've got to go and see the waterfall.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43'We headed for the breathtaking Iguacu Falls.'
0:45:43 > 0:45:46In front of us we can see what looks to me
0:45:46 > 0:45:49as though it's smoke rising from the forest.
0:45:49 > 0:45:54But in fact, it's water vapour coming off a huge waterfall.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59We're approaching one of the most extraordinary natural sights on Earth.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03Look at this! Look at this sight!
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Oh, my God!
0:46:07 > 0:46:09We're just flying into the vapour now.
0:46:09 > 0:46:14But below us, it's as if there's a giant tear in the earth.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18'Brazil has nearly 20% of the world's fresh water.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21'It's one of the country's greatest natural resources.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25'At its peak flow, 6.5 million litres of water per second
0:46:25 > 0:46:27'cascade over these falls.'
0:46:27 > 0:46:30I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt when she first saw
0:46:30 > 0:46:35these waterfalls, she just looked at it and said, "Poor Niagara".
0:46:35 > 0:46:38I've never seen a sight like this.
0:46:38 > 0:46:43This, for me, is one of the most extraordinary natural sights
0:46:43 > 0:46:45on this planet.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51'It was time for the last stage of my journey.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55'We flew to Sao Paolo, back on the Tropic of Capricorn.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58'With a population of at least 20 million,
0:46:58 > 0:47:02'it's the biggest city in the southern hemisphere.'
0:47:02 > 0:47:07Here we are. So we're just crossing the Tropic of Capricorn now.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10- Well done! - Thank you. Well done to you.
0:47:10 > 0:47:11THEY LAUGH
0:47:11 > 0:47:14- And we're heading into Sao Paulo. - Yes.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17Man, it's huge. I'm sure you're going to be impressed.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19It's the biggest city in the country.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22It's where the money is.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27'Sao Paulo is the commercial centre
0:47:27 > 0:47:30'of Brazil's rapidly developing economy.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33'It's home to a new class of the super rich.'
0:47:33 > 0:47:35This is quite a wealthy area.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40Quite wealthy?! It looks ferociously wealthy to me.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43Luxury, huge mansions, almost.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47It looks like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Look at it.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51BMW to the left, Mercedes in front of you...
0:47:51 > 0:47:54On the right here, you could see some Porsches.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56Look at this.
0:47:56 > 0:48:01Brazil is a developing country but you wouldn't know it around here.
0:48:01 > 0:48:02'The rich in Sao Paulo
0:48:02 > 0:48:07'are going to extraordinary lengths to protect their wealth.'
0:48:07 > 0:48:08See...
0:48:08 > 0:48:12Electric fences on top of every wall.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14This one has infra-red as well.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16Bloody hell, it has as well.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21You have to hide your wealth behind the walls. That's not much fun.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28'Living just minutes away from the wealthy in their gated mansions
0:48:28 > 0:48:30'are Brazil's urban poor.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33'The huge gulf between the haves and the have-nots
0:48:33 > 0:48:37'has helped create a frightening rate of violent crime.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39'Last year, there were 3,000 murders
0:48:39 > 0:48:42'and 70 kidnappings in Sao Paulo alone.'
0:48:43 > 0:48:45'Perhaps not surprisingly,
0:48:45 > 0:48:49'the city has more private security guards than any other in the world.'
0:48:53 > 0:49:00'Fernando took me to a company that is making a fortune supplying bodyguards to wealthy Brazilians.'
0:49:03 > 0:49:07'Jose Neto is the vice-president of the firm.'
0:49:07 > 0:49:10Jose, so how's business going?
0:49:10 > 0:49:16TRANSLATION: We're the biggest security company in Brazil
0:49:16 > 0:49:23with over 14,000 employees, 500 of whom are close protection bodyguards.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26The demand for our services is very high
0:49:26 > 0:49:30because the problem of crime is very severe in Brazil.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35OK, let's see what your men do.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37- Come on!- OK.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43'Jose suggested I play the role of a VIP
0:49:43 > 0:49:46'in one of the training exercises.'
0:49:49 > 0:49:50This is my cue.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57OK, so I'm walking to the shops.
0:49:58 > 0:49:59GUNFIRE
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Oh, bloody hell!
0:50:05 > 0:50:10I've no idea what happened to the kidnappers, but I've got away.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12One minute I was walking towards
0:50:12 > 0:50:15three plates on the wall and the next,
0:50:15 > 0:50:19I was being picked up, chucked in the back of the car and we were off.
0:50:19 > 0:50:20Very dramatic.
0:50:21 > 0:50:22Oh!
0:50:28 > 0:50:32We're leaving the wealthy part of Sao Paulo now and we're heading
0:50:32 > 0:50:36towards the suburbs and then, into what in other countries
0:50:36 > 0:50:38would be called the shantytowns.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40Here, they call them the favelas.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44And we're heading to one favela in particular, which used to have
0:50:44 > 0:50:47the reputation of being the most dangerous place on the planet.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01'Just a few years ago, the murder rate in Jardim Angela was the highest of any
0:51:01 > 0:51:05'neighbourhood in the world with drug massacres almost every week.'
0:51:10 > 0:51:15'Community worker Osni Santos offered to take us on a tour of the favela.'
0:51:16 > 0:51:20'He insisted that it wasn't safe to take our shiny new hire car
0:51:20 > 0:51:22'so we've travelled in his van.'
0:51:24 > 0:51:28Quite a squeak on the brakes there.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30Has this car had its MOT recently?!
0:51:30 > 0:51:32THEY LAUGH
0:51:32 > 0:51:35- Not sure!- There's no MOT here!
0:51:35 > 0:51:38I can see, clearly.
0:51:38 > 0:51:39THEY LAUGH
0:51:52 > 0:51:53Why is it called the Quiet Hill?
0:52:04 > 0:52:08'As in developing cities across the planet,
0:52:08 > 0:52:11'many people here have been moved off rural areas
0:52:11 > 0:52:13'to make way for huge industrial farms,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16'so they come here in search of work.'
0:52:16 > 0:52:19I mean, do most people have jobs?
0:52:23 > 0:52:26- 60% are unemployed?!- 60%.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33'Life in Jardim Angela IS starting to improve
0:52:33 > 0:52:36'and with leadership from the Catholic Church,
0:52:36 > 0:52:39'the community is taking back streets from drug dealers and gangs.'
0:52:41 > 0:52:46'We visited a church community project where youngsters are now taught skills
0:52:46 > 0:52:47'like cooking and hairdressing,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49'to keep them on the straight and narrow.'
0:52:49 > 0:52:52Is that all right? Is that OK?
0:52:52 > 0:52:54I'm ready to make pizzas!
0:52:54 > 0:52:59'My cookery teacher is teenager, Luis Fernando.'
0:52:59 > 0:53:02I'm really bad at all forms of cooking and I burn toast.
0:53:02 > 0:53:07So I'm very keen to learn how to make a pizza, particularly the Brazilian way.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12What do we start with?
0:53:14 > 0:53:16Is that all right?
0:53:19 > 0:53:20More or less.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23- More or less!- Very good.
0:53:23 > 0:53:29'Luis is only 17, but he's already had a chequered past.'
0:53:33 > 0:53:37- TRANSLATION:- I was in the wrong life.I did lots stuff I shouldn't.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40My dad got very worried.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42I thought there was something there for me,
0:53:42 > 0:53:46because I wanted to fill that emptiness I felt inside.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52And what age did you get involved with drugs?
0:53:52 > 0:53:54- TRANSLATION:- 14 years old.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58First, it was weed, and then, the flour.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00But not this flour...the other one.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03- Cocaine?- Yeah.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05- TRANSLATION:- Bit by bit
0:54:05 > 0:54:09I got out of drugs, and now I don't take anything any more.
0:54:09 > 0:54:15I'm here, steady, strong, learning with them.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17'With little formal education in the favela,
0:54:17 > 0:54:22'the teenagers are now learning skills that will improve their chances of finding a job.'
0:54:22 > 0:54:26I don't understand what I'm doing wrong, apart from everything.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Look at the state of mine compared to his.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32- Why is mine like that? - THEY LAUGH
0:54:32 > 0:54:34What's going on? What have I done wrong?
0:54:34 > 0:54:38- Unbelievable.- Because you're crap.
0:54:38 > 0:54:39Because you're crap.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42THEY LAUGH
0:54:44 > 0:54:46It's like that, is it? I see!
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Joking apart, the sense that I really have here,
0:54:51 > 0:54:54I don't know whether you feel this, but there's just...
0:54:54 > 0:54:56These kids have got incredible potential.
0:54:56 > 0:55:01There's so much potential in a place like this and for so long it's just gone to waste.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03They've been neglected for too long.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09'It was time for us to leave Sao Paulo
0:55:09 > 0:55:12'on the very last leg of the journey.'
0:55:13 > 0:55:16We're coming to the coast now
0:55:16 > 0:55:21and we're heading to a town called Ubatuba, which is right on Capricorn,
0:55:21 > 0:55:26right at the point where Capricorn leaves South America
0:55:26 > 0:55:29and heads out across the Atlantic Ocean.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32'The Tropic of Capricorn is the most southerly point on the planet
0:55:32 > 0:55:36'where the sun can appear to be directly overhead.
0:55:36 > 0:55:41'We were arriving at the coast on the day when this happens - the solstice.'
0:55:43 > 0:55:47What are the chances that we're going to see the sun,
0:55:47 > 0:55:49on the solstice on Capricorn?
0:55:49 > 0:55:53- I would say very slim.- Oh, really? - Yes.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57Ubatuba has a reputation of being a very rainy place.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01We actually joke that Ubatuba should be called Ubashuva -
0:56:01 > 0:56:06shuva meaning rain - because it rains a lot down here.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09Look at this.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11Mmm, I smell fish.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25'Ubatuba was once just a small fishing village, but today,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29'it's a busy holiday resort for Brazil's burgeoning middle-classes.'
0:56:29 > 0:56:33It's supposed to be somewhere around here, huh?
0:56:33 > 0:56:36We think we're coming up to Capricorn.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38Well, that's the airport
0:56:38 > 0:56:42and I heard the monument was just by the airport...
0:56:42 > 0:56:43Oh, maybe it's that. Look!
0:56:43 > 0:56:46That's the monument, I think.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49- Well, that's a skate park and that looks like a globe.- Yes!
0:56:49 > 0:56:54I think we got to Capricorn. Finally!
0:56:54 > 0:56:56Amazing!
0:56:57 > 0:57:01We're at the Capricorn monument on the coast of Brazil.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04This is it. This is really the end!
0:57:04 > 0:57:06This is where we started our journey
0:57:06 > 0:57:10months and months ago on the coast of Africa in Namibia.
0:57:10 > 0:57:16We went across Africa, across Madagascar, which they seem to have forgotten on this globe!
0:57:16 > 0:57:19Across the middle of Australia, that's Australia there.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22Round here, round the world.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25And then we hit the coast of South America in Chile.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28We've gone across South America...
0:57:28 > 0:57:31Look, Brazil is outlined here.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34We've come across Brazil and look, there we are now.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38A little hole's been drilled for Ubatuba.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40I feel a bit odd about this, actually.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43I mean, I didn't think I'd feel
0:57:43 > 0:57:48quite as, almost emotional as I do, but honestly,
0:57:48 > 0:57:52it's been such a long journey and this is it.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55Here we are.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59The sun's come out just at this final second. Look at that!
0:57:59 > 0:58:02On the solstice at midday.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06The sun is overhead, the shadow falls underneath.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09We're at the southern point, the southern border of the tropics.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11We've travelled all the way round.
0:58:11 > 0:58:17We've seen so much on the way from the rise of China in Africa, to deforestation in South America.
0:58:17 > 0:58:22It has been an amazing journey. I've got a huge lump in my throat now.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27We've made it!
0:58:32 > 0:58:35Come on. Let's have a drink.
0:58:35 > 0:58:37- Yeah, you're right.- We deserve one.
0:58:37 > 0:58:39- We do.- One for Capricorn!
0:58:44 > 0:58:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:47 > 0:58:50Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk