1 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,920 The surface of Lake Titicaca covers 5,000 square miles of the Andes. 2 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,400 It's the highest lake in the world. 3 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:57,840 The lakeside town of Copacabana 4 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,040 is a half-day's travel north from the Bolivian capital La Paz. 5 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,440 The Spanish colonised Bolivia 450 years ago. 6 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:15,680 As important as the wealth they took away was the religion they brought with them. 7 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,920 Copacabana is a very important place for Catholics. 8 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:30,800 Miracles happened here. There's a shrine to the Virgin in the cathedral back there. 9 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:34,760 Also you're expected to do a pilgrimage if you come here 10 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:39,840 in honour of the Virgin... past the stations of the cross - 11 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,160 this is number three - up to the top of the hill, Cerro Calvario. 12 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:51,600 And as I started at just over 12,500 feet, it's a test of faith, I tell you. 13 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:58,360 A test of other things, too. My body is not happy living life at two and a half miles above the sea. 14 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,680 At this height, oxygen is less easy to absorb. 15 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:13,480 Every step I take requires 40% more effort than at sea level. 16 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:19,040 The scenery, mind you, is at least 40% more spectacular. 17 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,920 My efforts are rewarded by a personal audience with the Dark Virgin of the Lake. 18 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:38,080 Her miracles brought fame and fortune to Copacabana. 19 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:48,000 The Spanish Catholics were not the first to sense the spiritual qualities of this place. 20 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,720 Before them, the Incas believed that the sun god, creator of the world, 21 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,680 sprang from the bottomless blue waters of Lake Titicaca. 22 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,760 The lake straddles the two countries of Bolivia and Peru, 23 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:13,400 and at San Pablo Tiquina, its narrowest point, there's a ferry service. 24 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,360 Vehicles go on one boat and foot passengers on another, 25 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,120 both under the beady eye of Don Eduardo Avaroa, 26 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:34,760 whose likeness on the quayside must qualify as one of the world's least impressive statues. 27 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,560 It's a gesture of defiance rather than glory, 28 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:44,520 for in the war that it commemorates, Bolivia lost its entire Pacific coastline to Chile. 29 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,480 People here are less Spanish than the Chileans. 30 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,840 More than half the Bolivian population is pure Indian. 31 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,800 0n the other side of the water lies the nerve centre of the Bolivian navy. 32 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:08,480 Undaunted by losing their coastline, 33 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:13,040 they maintain a strong presence on the Bolivian half of the lake. 34 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:22,200 This is the Portsmouth of Lake Titicaca, and some of the fleet, at least, is in. 35 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,640 These patrol boats may only be needed to keep an eye on smugglers, 36 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:35,000 but they're symbols of Bolivian hopes that one day their Pacific property will be returned 37 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,880 and Lake Titicaca will no longer be their only coastline. 38 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:50,360 The boats that have plied the lake for most of its human history were made from totora reeds. 39 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:55,040 They still grow in thick, lush beds around the shoreline. 40 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:14,400 The skills of the Indian boat-builders are kept alive by the Esteban family. 41 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:19,920 The head of the family, Paulino Esteban, helped the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl 42 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:24,360 construct two reed boats which they sailed across the Atlantic. 43 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:29,200 - This is from the reed, as well? - Si. 44 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,920 The same reed that you make the boat from, you make the twine from. 45 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,400 (PAULINO SPEAKS SPANISH) 46 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:45,240 That's the before and after, yeah. 47 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,760 Years of experience. Yeah, that's beautiful. 48 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,640 Strong enough to sail the Atlantic. 49 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:05,800 Normal ships would have rivets, but they just have this twine which holds the whole lot together. 50 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,520 - OK? OK? - Yeah. 51 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,000 Oh, we're going to test it? Yeah. 52 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,160 I ask if I can test-drive one of his boats. 53 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:26,920 We don't have time to cross the Atlantic, but Paulino offers me a trip round the bay. 54 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,040 Here? In about the middle? It's very precarious. 55 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,280 - Bueno? - Si, si. 56 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:47,240 Peru! 57 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,400 It's like being on a great water-borne sofa. 58 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:00,240 A boat like this costs $40 - on the lake, no extras. 59 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:05,720 It doesn't waste fuel, costs nothing to run, and is made from constantly renewable resources, 60 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,240 which I suppose explains why they're dying out. 61 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,880 Unfortunately, there are no boats to take us across to Peru. 62 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:19,320 We shall have to drive to the frontier at Kasani. 63 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:23,880 Then we shall run along the Peruvian shore to catch a train from Juliaca 64 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,040 which will carry us over the Andes to Cuzco. 65 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:57,680 A dirt road gives way to a cobbled road, which vibrates us gently through the village of Kasani 66 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,840 towards our 14th international border. 67 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:11,840 This may look like a farmyard entrance, but this chain separates Bolivia from the world 68 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,560 or, in this case, from Peru. 69 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,560 In all my travelling, it's the least daunting border I've come across. 70 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:23,480 But still, chain or no chain, formalities have to be gone through. 71 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,360 Because we're the only people crossing out of Bolivia, 72 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:33,120 they're delighted to see us and make sure the formalities last as long as possible. 73 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,520 Four hours later, there's nothing more they can think of to keep us here. 74 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:49,480 0ur chain is removed and we're released into Peru. 75 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,720 0ur first stop in Peru is Puno, 76 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,840 home to three of the original Lake Titicaca steamboats. 77 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,360 0ne is being restored by an Englishwoman called Meriel Larkin. 78 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:13,520 Her family were once Clydeside shipbuilders and it's still in the blood. 79 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:17,520 She spends a few months in Peru every year and lives on board. 80 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:19,160 Hello? 81 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,160 - Hello? Anyone aboard? - Hello! 82 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:27,640 - Hello, Meriel. Michael Palin. - Very nice to see you. Welcome aboard. 83 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:32,760 - Thought you might be out on the lake. - Another year and we'll be there. 84 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,800 How did the ship originally get here to Lake Titicaca? 85 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:42,560 It was meant for promoting the area, bringing out the local produce, 86 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:48,880 and they brought it in pieces and each piece had to be designed so a mule could carry it. 87 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,240 The maximum a mule could carry was about 400 pounds. 88 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:56,600 Having built it and packed it in packing cases, they brought it to Arica. 89 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,480 - So that was how many pieces? - 2,766. 90 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:05,280 - All these bits... Very heavy, solid cast iron. - All iron. 91 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,840 - Went over the Andes. How long did that take? - It took about six years. 92 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,600 - Can I have a look around? - Yes, please do. Come up to the bridge. 93 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,160 Meriel hopes that the Yavari, named after a local river, 94 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,840 will soon be restored to her former glories, which were considerable. 95 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,160 I want to show you... This is the original binnacle. 96 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:32,920 - Brass. - Lovely. 97 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,280 The wheel is in the museum in Arequipa. We hope to get that back. 98 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:41,400 And this is the original chain steering. 99 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:47,480 This chain led out through that hole. The other one went out through there and back to the stern. 100 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:51,240 - So the wheel had direct... - Pretty heavy wheel to turn. 101 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,880 - Heavy wheel. - To move that chain each time. 102 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:58,880 - (MICHAEL) Shall we go below? - Yes, let's go below. 103 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:04,880 The machinery is a little more sophisticated in the engine room and only 80 years old. 104 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,760 - Brass and copper fittings. - This was installed in 1913. 105 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,320 It's a Swedish Bolinder four-cylinder. 106 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,000 - Is it a steam engine? - Semi-diesel, actually. 107 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:20,800 It replaced the steam engine that the ship was equipped with originally. 108 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:27,080 That proved so unsatisfactory... It was run on dried llama droppings, the only fuel available. 109 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,000 When the crew reached any little port, 110 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:35,720 they had to hurry ashore with their bags and fill them up and fill up the cargo hold. 111 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,920 - They had to extend the hull... - With llama droppings. Sorry "yama" droppings. 112 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,480 - "Yama" droppings. - Do they still use them in the fires? 113 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:45,640 For fuel? Yes, very much so. 114 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,320 Let me take you to the aft deck. The hull - we're very lucky. 115 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:57,240 Being iron, because of the altitude and because of the lake being freshwater, 116 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:02,320 the corrosion is absolutely minimal, so it's in really good condition. 117 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:05,680 0n behalf of all those mules that carried it here, 118 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:11,000 I can only hope Meriel gets the support she needs to relaunch the Yavari. 119 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:14,080 (TRAIN WHISTLE BLARES) 120 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:23,760 The next day we have considerable trouble launching ourselves out of Juliaca station. 121 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:29,400 0ur Cuzco-bound train seems to have been waiting for a long time. Rumours abound. 122 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:33,760 Could be a problem. We've heard there's... not a strike, but a go-slow. 123 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:39,920 If there's a strike, we can all stay at home and go to bed, but it's gonna be a go-slow. 124 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,880 Um... the journey's 12 hours, anyway, so we'll see what happens. 125 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:48,840 It could be a lot longer than that. More information as it arrives. 126 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:55,560 Despite the sunshine, it's midwinter in the southern hemisphere and bitterly cold. 127 00:12:55,720 --> 00:13:01,880 Men wear modern jackets, but the women keep warm with traditional shawls and layers of skirts. 128 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:10,720 An air of lethargy hangs over Juliaca station. Nobody's going anywhere. 129 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,440 Then, suddenly, the stillness is broken by an orgy of shunting. 130 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,160 (HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLE) 131 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:01,880 Hard to tell what's go-slow and what isn't. In this situation, it's do as the Romans do. 132 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:07,560 Climb aboard and hope that the sheer weight of demand will persuade them to run the train. 133 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,800 And it works. A few hours late maybe, but we're on our way to Cuzco. 134 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,680 (TRAIN WHISTLE BLARES) 135 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:25,640 Armed guards are a reminder that terrorism is still taken seriously in Peru. 136 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,960 Shining Path guerrillas were once active here. 137 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,000 You're never far from a market in South America, 138 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,160 and where there's a market, there's usually a fiesta. 139 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:45,320 (TRAIN WHISTLE BLARES) 140 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:45,000 Around lunchtime, we pull into a station and not a moment too soon. 141 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:55,520 This isn't the kind of train with a restaurant. For a hot meal, it has to be platform food. 142 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,120 There doesn't seem to be much around. 143 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:05,840 I've been up since five o'clock. I need more than a stuffed llama. 144 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,080 Feeling a bit hungry now. 145 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:14,960 Asado? 146 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:16,880 Ugh! 147 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,240 Oh, a little tasting first. 148 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:25,000 Perfectly done. Mm. 149 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,200 Very good. Roast lamb. Can I have a little bit? 150 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,440 Don't worry about them, it's me... 151 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:37,080 Roast lamb in brown paper. Oh, thank you! Sunday lunch. How much? Cuánto es? 152 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,720 - Cuánto es? - Cinco. 153 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:44,280 Cinco. There we go. Don't bother them. Hey! Ooh, that's... 154 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:47,480 Very expensive, that! 155 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:52,280 Grabbed by a parrot! 156 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:57,560 He's never been assaulted like that before. There's five. And leave him alone, please. 157 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:11,320 We are climbing steadily now towards the top of the pass - over 14,000 feet above sea level. 158 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,520 The dry grassland may look unexceptional, 159 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:22,640 but, geographically, this is one of the key points in all of South America. 160 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,240 In the marshland here, just at the watershed of the Andes, 161 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,800 is where the Urubamba River rises which becomes the Amazon. 162 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:35,280 It's the river we'll be following for the next three weeks right through Peru 163 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:40,160 and, hopefully, to the borders of Colombia where it is the Amazon River. 164 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,720 This is where the big rivers begin. 165 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,720 We're now in the land once dominated by the Incas. 166 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,880 They were the last of a series of civilisations 167 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,360 that flourished in these mountains hidden from the world 168 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:13,960 until the first Europeans found their way here 450 years ago. 169 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:31,160 ]Cuzco - founded by the Incas who called it "the navel of the earth". 170 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,120 They made it the centre of their sun worship 171 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:39,400 until the Spanish conquerors arrived and stamped their own mark on the city. 172 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:44,080 We've arrived in the middle of the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi. 173 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:46,800 (BRASS BAND PLAYS) 174 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,760 The Spaniards are caricatured as having wide hats, long moustaches, 175 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,640 big noses and drinking problems. 176 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:05,800 The fact remains that fewer than 200 Spaniards overthrew the Inca empire. 177 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:20,960 Now a largely Indian population parades the statues of European saints. 178 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:26,640 This is the most important Catholic celebration in Cuzco, which involves the whole population. 179 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:30,640 - Yeah. - Everybody participates in the celebration. 180 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,840 - They're each bringing their own statues? - Each bring their own statues. 181 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:39,960 They are taken through the main square and then taken to the church, 182 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:43,720 and then brought out in a procession around the square. 183 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:53,720 - (MICHAEL) They look incredibly heavy. - They are. 184 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:57,040 Some of them could weigh almost one ton. 185 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:04,080 - (MICHAEL) What are they made of? - They are made of wood and plaster. 186 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:08,080 But the support is silver. 187 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:10,960 - (MICHAEL) Right. A silver base. - Yes. 188 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,760 - Who carries them? - People from the different parishes. 189 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,120 People who stay close to the church. 190 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:23,760 They think that by participating in this they are going to be blessed and going to be protected. 191 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,920 (MICHAEL) Are they vying with each other? The band seem to be playing... 192 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,480 (MAN) They seem to follow the rhythm of the band. 193 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:36,400 - (MICHAEL) Extraordinary thing to see. - People fight to be one of those. 194 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:42,360 (MICHAEL) Just then we were being pushed out of the way. It's a very serious business. 195 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,800 Ironically, much of the weight that makes these effigies so painful to carry 196 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:57,160 is made up of the precious metals that the Spanish once looted from the city. 197 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,200 When the saints have been paraded to all the churches, 198 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:10,480 my companion Wilbur and I have the square more or less to ourselves. 199 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:16,240 Quite out of breath after all that. That was a great stroke of fortune. 200 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:23,200 But now we can see the square cleared a bit. What does the square sort of mean? 201 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:25,760 - Was this originally Inca? - Yes. 202 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:30,640 - This was the former square of the Incan city. - Yeah. 203 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:33,800 - And, you know, Cuzco was the capital. - Yeah. 204 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:39,520 So the palaces of the Incan rulers were arranged around this square. 205 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:44,360 What we've just seen, the Incas would've made their own ceremonies like that here. 206 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,720 Yes, something similar to what we have seen. 207 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,040 - Different religion. - Different religion. 208 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:55,480 The Spanish not only grafted their festivals onto existing ceremonies, 209 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,840 but built their churches on top of Inca temples. 210 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:06,040 The Inca walls have withstood all the great earthquakes to shake the city 211 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:10,400 and many of Cuzco's streets are still built on Inca foundations. 212 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,400 (CHURCH BELL RINGS) 213 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,520 Spanish colonial architecture is better preserved in Cuzco 214 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,280 than almost anywhere else in South America. 215 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:41,240 I'm leaving all this behind for the day and taking a taxi ride beyond the city 216 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,200 to the old Inca heartlands. 217 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,760 Granjas. Granjas? 218 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,520 - Muchas granjas aqui. - Si. 219 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:02,560 Ah, si. I've got my phrase book working. Granjas. Farms. 220 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:08,080 We're heading towards the Sacred Valley, a fertile buffer zone between Cuzco, 221 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:11,080 the mountains and the jungle beyond. 222 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:18,960 Watered by the Urubamba, fields produce 360 varieties of potatoes 223 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:21,920 and rich crops of maize and barley. 224 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,360 Farming here is not high tech - horses are still used for threshing, 225 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,880 though sheaves of barley have been successfully fitted with legs. 226 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,440 At the end of the valley, where the river disappears into ravines, 227 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,800 the Incas built granaries on the side of the mountains 228 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,920 where the grain would be kept cool, dry and safe. 229 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:08,560 They built a temple, too, and a system of terraces from which, in 1536, 230 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:13,560 the army of Manco Inca gave the Spaniards a rare bloody nose. 231 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:23,240 All this served an empire that lasted little more than a century. 232 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:34,360 Up a side valley, a road laid less than two years ago 233 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:38,920 leads to villages where the purest descendants of the Incas still live. 234 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,280 They raise llamas or "yamas", as I must learn to call them. 235 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,400 They live in stone-walled houses with thatched roofs. 236 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:05,160 They dress as they have done for hundreds of years and speak the language of the Incas. 237 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:14,640 This must have been how it was before the Spaniards came. 238 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,600 (DOGS BARKING) 239 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,880 The women here use modern dyes to enrich the colours, 240 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:41,840 though the method of spinning and weaving hasn't changed for centuries. 241 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,440 Things will change faster now the road is built. 242 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:57,280 Electricity has arrived and a new school is promised. 243 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:01,440 The outside world has found them out and for the people here, 244 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,600 the future could be different. 245 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,480 The Pacific coast of Peru is largely barren 246 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,920 and thick with cold sea mist at this time of year. 247 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,080 So we've chosen to go north by an inland route. 248 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:23,440 It will take us up the Amazon River system to the jungle city of lquitos 249 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,600 and from there, by boat, to Colombia's borders. 250 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:32,200 Then we'll cross the Andes one last time to reach the north coast of South America. 251 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:34,960 We're going to need a lot of help. 252 00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:49,360 I've been given the address of a pub in Cuzco run by an Englishman living in Peru. 253 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,720 In between pulling pints, Barry Walker runs a travel outfit, 254 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,440 and he's prepared to take us on. 255 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:58,800 What are we in for? 256 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:03,360 A lot of adventure. It's going to be a bit arduous, I think. 257 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:08,360 We've been in mountains up to now almost all the way up from Cape Horn. 258 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:10,520 I suppose we're going down to sea level? 259 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:15,560 We're going to slide over the east slope down through the cloud forest. 260 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:21,920 A major Amazon tributary, but it's very little travelled. Very few foreigners do the route. 261 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:26,840 - And what are conditions like? - Hot, humid, sticky, buggy. 262 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,440 - You know it well? - But beautiful. 263 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:35,600 Well, no. I've never been down that river before and I'm quite looking forward to it. 264 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,360 - It'll be a new experience for me. - I've been here before. 265 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:43,320 This is someone who's never been there. Well, cheers, anyway. 266 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:49,240 - Here's to it. We'll both learn something. - If the boat doesn't turn over, we'll make it. 267 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:03,800 0ur adventure begins - almost conventionally - on a train out of Cuzco bound for Quillabamba 268 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:05,960 a hundred miles north. 269 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:09,600 (TRAIN WHISTLE BLARES) 270 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:14,040 Not that any train in the Andes is ever conventional. 271 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,360 The line runs out of Cuzco in a series of zigzags, 272 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:21,800 for the sides of "the navel of the earth" are very steep. 273 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:37,160 The city itself lies at 11,000 feet and we have to climb another 1,000 feet just to get out of it. 274 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:44,960 0ur speed is so leisurely, local children have time to get on and off and work the coaches. 275 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:53,600 The city slips away and village life takes over. 276 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,440 (PERUVIAN MUSIC) 277 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,240 All human life is here, Barry, on this train. 278 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:14,520 Local train to Quillabamba - everyone uses it. It's the only means of transport on this stretch. 279 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:20,440 I wish they had smella-vision. There's a wonderful sort of odour of onions pervading the coach. 280 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:23,040 Why's that? Is it a local speciality? 281 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:28,200 We've come through the onion town, Antor, which is famous for the onions it produces. 282 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:32,800 - They're loaded on here to go down the line. - Most of them are up here. 283 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:37,960 - I think most of them are around our seats. - So we go on to Quillabamba? 284 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:44,080 Yep, end of the train line is Quillabamba. That's where we leave the train. 285 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:49,360 After that, we've got seven or eight hours on very rough roads to get to our boats. 286 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,880 You say that with a slight smile, Barry. 287 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,040 (BARRY) It's a rough road. It's a rough road. 288 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,440 (RHYTHMIC PERUVIAN MUSIC) 289 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:32,640 The railway runs alongside the Urubamba River, following its twisting course 290 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:36,200 through gorges that grow steeper and steeper. 291 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,480 70 miles from Cuzco, there rises above us one of the great cities of the world. 292 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:48,680 A city where no one lives. 293 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,280 This is the Inca stronghold of Machu Picchu, 294 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:57,160 hidden beneath the forest for hundreds of years until an American, Hiram Bingham, 295 00:30:57,320 --> 00:30:59,520 stumbled across it in 1911. 296 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:03,560 - Incredible location. - Certainly is. 297 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,880 Why did they build up here? Extremely difficult to get everything up here. 298 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:12,200 One reason is because the sacred Urubamba River down here 299 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,960 does almost a complete loop right around the ruins here. 300 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:21,360 This promontory looks out over this astounding mountain scenery in the cloud forest. 301 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:30,440 What are we standing on now? Would these terraces have been used for growing food? 302 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:33,520 It's not really sure what was grown here. 303 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:39,400 It's presumed that the sacred foods were here. For example, maize for brewing sacred chicha. 304 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:45,320 Chicha being the corn alcoholic beverage of the Incas, which is still drunk today. 305 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:51,800 Take a look at this wall here. This is some of the finest stonework you can find. 306 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:57,560 If you look down the course of it, it's flared out at the bottom, which is an anti-seismic device. 307 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:01,320 Yeah. So obviously they live in an earthquake zone. 308 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,680 That's right. They were very conscious of it and all their buildings reflect it. 309 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:11,200 - What was this the wall of? - Behind here is what is called the "torreón". 310 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:17,680 It's the only round building in the complex, which was an astronomical observation centre. 311 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:22,240 Machu Picchu has a powerful presence, 312 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:27,120 a sense of mystery that makes the hairs stand up on your neck 313 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:32,400 as you walk amongst living quarters that seem so recently abandoned. 314 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:41,280 No one knows for sure what happened here, why the city was built 315 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:43,560 and why it was deserted so soon. 316 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:51,920 It's quite dizzying up here. This is the classic picture-postcard view. 317 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:56,720 - How much of what we can see is restored? - In fact, quite a lot. 318 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:02,400 When Bingham found it, many of the walls were tumbled down and they've been reconstructed. 319 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:07,360 - Did the Spaniards ever find it? - That's the most important thing about this site. 320 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,520 It's the only large Inca archaeological site known 321 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,440 that the Spanish, in fact, did not find. 322 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:16,600 The existence of the Intihuatana, 323 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,800 the ceremonial stone that measured the position of the sun, 324 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:23,040 is taken as proof that the Spaniards never came here. 325 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:26,680 Every other one they found in Peru, they destroyed. 326 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:33,320 The mountains that surround Machu Picchu are good at keeping secrets. 327 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:38,280 0nly the cloud on their summits indicates the rainforest that lies beyond. 328 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:50,560 The railway ended at Quillabamba. We're now on our way to Kiteni, where the road ends. 329 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:01,480 Alongside us, the Urubamba is wider and stronger. 330 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:14,080 As we drop down into the foothills of the Andes, the bare fields of the high plateau 331 00:34:14,240 --> 00:34:18,240 are a fast-receding memory, and the heat is back. 332 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:49,080 At the end of a long day, we reach the end of the trail. 333 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:59,560 The grubby little settlement of Kiteni, where the main street is a patch of waste ground 334 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:02,520 and there's a whiff of sewage in the air. 335 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:09,600 Kiteni is the highest navigable point of the Urubamba. 336 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:14,320 From here, the river makes a sharp right turn and flows due north. 337 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:20,280 About 50 miles upstream, it passes out of the Andes and into the Amazon Basin, 338 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:25,720 but first we must negotiate rapids that run through a ravine known to the Indians 339 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:28,280 as the Pongo de Manaique. 340 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:38,880 We've watched the Urubamba growing from a muddy bog in a mountain field 341 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:41,800 to a river that will be our way home. 342 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:46,240 The hand-picked boatmen pack all we need to be self-sufficient. 343 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:52,840 For the next eight days, we will be eating, sleeping and tackling the white water together. 344 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:57,880 So is he taking our boat? 345 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,880 - (BARRY) Yes, he's driving us. - Two men per boat? 346 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:06,480 Two men per boat. One on the front indicating the tricky bits of the route. 347 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:08,320 Right, yeah. 348 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:15,080 (BARRY) Got the spare motors, I'm glad to see. One for each boat plus two spares, just in case. 349 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,640 - (MICHAEL) Spare outboards? - Yeah. 350 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:23,240 - Really? Where are they? - Under that green tarp there. 351 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:32,760 Nearly there, Barry. The water is only about 10 yards away now. 352 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:38,200 This is the most nervous part of the trip for me. I've read so many accounts of early explorers. 353 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:42,920 I'm a bit nervous, going down here, but the boatmen say it'll be OK. 354 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:46,080 - Well, I'm excited. I am excited! - So am I. 355 00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:48,280 Closer and closer. I just wanna go. 356 00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:57,840 Soon after ten in the morning on a grey, rain-beckoning day, my wish comes true. 357 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:15,000 We set out on what are for most of us completely uncharted waters. 358 00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:19,520 Just to make me feel more nervous, Barry makes me don a life jacket. 359 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:22,680 It's very narrow. 360 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:27,240 Landslides come in here, so this is a bit... a bit dodgy here. 361 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:29,600 - Yeah. - Here we go! 362 00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:31,160 Ohhh! 363 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,880 That's the side that's just come away. 364 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,800 Look at this! Whoa! Big wave! 365 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:01,880 Conditions on the river can change quickly from docile to lethal. 366 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,720 If there's too much water, boats can be swept out of control. 367 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:16,240 If there's too little, rocks and shoals close to the surface can flip us over. 368 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:22,680 (BARRY) Wow! We just missed a rock by the skin of our teeth there. 369 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:42,600 Whatever the state of the water, Gustavo looks reassuringly calm. 370 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,600 A tiger heron couldn't care less. 371 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,080 There seem to be a few more rapids than we were promised. 372 00:38:57,240 --> 00:38:59,280 When I ask if we've reached the Pongo, 373 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:02,640 Gustavo smiles inscrutably and shakes his head. 374 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:22,360 Halfway through the day, we pass into the territory of the Machiguenga Indians. 375 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:29,920 They stand and watch us from villages built where the rainforest has been cleared. 376 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:33,080 I wave, but they don't wave back. 377 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:41,120 Maybe it's understandable - on tributaries higher up the river, 378 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:46,280 there are Indian tribes who've only just come into contact with white men. 379 00:39:56,480 --> 00:40:00,960 As we draw closer to the Pongo, the clouds build up, the trees grow taller, 380 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:04,640 and Barry comes over all ornithological. 381 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:08,360 It's a bit of a bird safari for you. 382 00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:13,080 Is that the main reason you're so excited about doing this new bit of river? 383 00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:17,720 Not particularly the birds, doing a new river, but the birds are very interesting. 384 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:24,320 Right here, there are more species of bird per square mile than anywhere else on the planet. 385 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:26,760 Peru has about 1,700 species 386 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:30,840 and a lot of them are concentrated in this forest here. 387 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:37,960 Are there any bird species that are "intelligent" in the sense that they interact with man? Is it... 388 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:42,120 Perhaps the parrot family are more intelligent than the rest. 389 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:45,600 They seem to catch onto things pretty quickly. 390 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:51,680 Hello, miss. I 'ave this parrot that I bought not 'alf an hour ago in this very boutique. 391 00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:53,960 Yeah, we know all about that. 392 00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:02,840 Ahead of us, the Pongo looks more and more like the entrance to a dark, threatening tunnel. 393 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:15,920 The river turns from glassy smooth to fast and slippery, as the level falls sharply 394 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:20,080 and we begin to slide down the last few miles of the Andes. 395 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:38,600 Then, just as I think we're being incredibly brave... 396 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:45,240 (BARRY) That's the way to go! 397 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:52,680 Look at that. We've taken the soft option. 398 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:55,800 - He almost went down. - It's probably our wake. 399 00:41:55,960 --> 00:42:01,440 He's completely unanchored just on a four-pole balsa raft. 400 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,280 I don't think I'd like to go that way. 401 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,760 Just balancing himself. 402 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:10,840 Well... 403 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:14,200 ...I feel more secure now in a wooden boat. 404 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:16,360 I'm glad YOU do! 405 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:19,080 Oh, no! 406 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:31,400 - These are still the approaches, is that right? - (BARRY) Yeah. 407 00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:37,360 (BARRY) And it's like this. 15 minutes of whirlpools and turbulence. 408 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:47,600 (MICHAEL) Here we go. This is the start now. These great, tall, sheer walls. 409 00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:53,480 It is extraordinary. It's a sudden change of the landscape. It's suddenly sheer and it's raining. 410 00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:56,360 Look at that. Isn't it incredible? 411 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:08,040 As if to offer us one last warning of mortality, one final reminder of who's boss, 412 00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:13,600 the elements mix together a fierce cocktail of wind, rain and foaming current. 413 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:20,640 Glistening granite walls loom ahead like slowly closing doors. 414 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:24,440 - Tricky one. - He's got to get it just right. 415 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:27,680 If he messes up, we could be into that rock or that rock. 416 00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:45,240 Very narrow now. This whole river just squeezed in. 417 00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:48,480 - It's getting narrower up ahead, too. - Yeah. 418 00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:53,400 This must be just incredible in the rains. 419 00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:57,560 (MICHAEL) The rock is black, the weather's clouded over, it's drizzling. 420 00:43:57,720 --> 00:44:01,120 Someone described them as the gates of hell. 421 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:11,080 I expected the Pongo to be dangerous, but never to be so beautiful. 422 00:44:11,240 --> 00:44:14,240 Rocks, which look as if they've been blasted apart, 423 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:19,360 rise from the river like the buttresses of some half-submerged cathedral. 424 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:39,800 After the noise and chaos of the rapids, the river has fallen still and quiet. 425 00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:43,320 The only sound is from the water pouring out of the jungle, 426 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:47,880 carving a weird and wonderful architecture on the canyon walls. 427 00:44:52,720 --> 00:44:59,040 In the Pongo de Manaique, I feel I've come as close as I ever will to a lost world. 428 00:45:14,720 --> 00:45:19,160 The dramatic beauty of the Pongo passes in less than half an hour. 429 00:45:22,560 --> 00:45:28,560 The current that was so angry now sweeps us imperiously past the last two granite portals 430 00:45:28,720 --> 00:45:31,080 and out of the Andes. 431 00:45:37,600 --> 00:45:42,400 Gustavo, magnificently unimpressed, is already looking for a campsite. 432 00:45:43,640 --> 00:45:45,640 I'm afraid I'm not much help. 433 00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:05,040 A sandbank, hopefully free of jungle creepy-crawlies, 434 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:07,920 is chosen as our home for the night. 435 00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:15,480 River travel, I've decided, is one per cent beauty and 99 per cent practicality. 436 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:20,280 The need to eat, sleep and dry out plays havoc with your sense of wonder. 437 00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:28,920 As darkness wraps itself around us 438 00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:33,400 and our camp seems to shrink to a tiny speck in the Amazon rainforest, 439 00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:37,040 I feel a distinct need for the cocktail cabinet. 440 00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:44,240 Barry, let's celebrate the passing of the dreaded Pongo. 441 00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:49,240 - Yes, indeed. - You know how things are built up in your mind. 442 00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:53,120 I've been worrying about it for the last three nights. Ridiculous. 443 00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:57,320 For a while, I labour under the delusion that I'm through the worst, 444 00:46:57,480 --> 00:46:59,480 then the doubts come flooding in. 445 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:05,680 Are there any nasty things lurking about in the bushes or in the forest? 446 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:09,320 Wild animals. Crocs, anything like that here? 447 00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:15,440 Yeah, we have caimans here, which are members of the alligator family. 448 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:21,040 But they're normally in the water in the evening and come out on the beaches during the day. 449 00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:25,600 - And I definitely wouldn't provoke any jaguars. - How do you not provoke a jaguar? 450 00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:31,760 Hello, you're an extremely nice jaguar. Of all the animals, I think you're severely underrated. 451 00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:36,400 Leopards get all... Panthers get all the publicity. Black panthers, leopards. 452 00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:41,160 All you've got is a car firm that almost went into liquidation - saved by Ford. 453 00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:46,560 Or now sold to BMW. I don't know, maybe it's sold to McDonald's since I was away. 454 00:47:46,720 --> 00:47:48,440 (BUZZING) 455 00:47:50,240 --> 00:47:52,440 It's like "Insect Corner" in here! 456 00:47:52,600 --> 00:47:57,000 Hello. On "Insect Corner" tonight, we have 43 types of moth, four bugs... 457 00:47:57,160 --> 00:47:59,640 Anyway... cheers. 458 00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:05,200 - Here's to a good first day's travel. - Here's to getting through the Pongo. 459 00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:11,160 Ooh, actually, rum and horsefly's damn good.