1 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:11,380 I'm on a huge journey. 2 00:00:11,380 --> 00:00:13,460 I'm travelling the length of the Americas, 3 00:00:13,460 --> 00:00:16,060 the two continents that together form 4 00:00:16,060 --> 00:00:18,900 more than a quarter of Earth's land surface. 5 00:00:21,460 --> 00:00:24,780 On this adventure, I'm travelling down through South America. 6 00:00:28,260 --> 00:00:31,300 We're in such a remote part of planet Earth. 7 00:00:34,860 --> 00:00:37,980 It's a journey of more than 4,000 miles, 8 00:00:37,980 --> 00:00:40,420 through some of the world's greatest landscapes. 9 00:00:44,660 --> 00:00:47,340 Encountering spectacular wildlife. 10 00:00:47,340 --> 00:00:48,780 The cat is on the move. 11 00:00:50,780 --> 00:00:53,620 From its iconic cities 12 00:00:53,620 --> 00:00:55,460 to the Andes Mountains, 13 00:00:55,460 --> 00:00:58,700 it's a continent of dramatic extremes. 14 00:00:58,700 --> 00:00:59,980 Down. 15 00:00:59,980 --> 00:01:01,980 EXPLOSION 16 00:01:03,180 --> 00:01:06,540 Along the way, I meet the inspiring... 17 00:01:06,540 --> 00:01:07,860 Yolanda! 18 00:01:07,860 --> 00:01:09,620 SHE GREETS HIM 19 00:01:09,620 --> 00:01:11,260 ..and the surprising people... 20 00:01:11,260 --> 00:01:14,340 These guys are Mennonites. 21 00:01:14,340 --> 00:01:17,380 ..who make South America so extraordinary. 22 00:01:17,380 --> 00:01:19,220 THEY WHOOP 23 00:01:19,220 --> 00:01:21,260 There's Wi-Fi here. 24 00:01:21,260 --> 00:01:24,500 Nowhere else for miles around, apparently. 25 00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:27,780 We do our own thing. We're happy here, man. 26 00:01:41,180 --> 00:01:42,940 The Andes Mountains. 27 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:49,300 On this part of my journey, I'll be up at altitude 28 00:01:49,300 --> 00:01:53,140 with the people of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia. 29 00:01:53,140 --> 00:01:55,220 I'll be exploring among the peaks 30 00:01:55,220 --> 00:01:59,260 that stretch for thousands of miles down the length of South America. 31 00:01:59,260 --> 00:02:01,820 They're the spine of the continent. 32 00:02:01,820 --> 00:02:05,340 I'm high up in the Andes Mountains in Peru, 33 00:02:05,340 --> 00:02:07,580 and I'm beginning this leg of my journey at one of 34 00:02:07,580 --> 00:02:11,020 the great remaining wonders of the world - 35 00:02:11,020 --> 00:02:12,380 Machu Picchu. 36 00:02:15,780 --> 00:02:19,340 Machu Picchu was built more than 500 years ago 37 00:02:19,340 --> 00:02:22,860 by what was once the most powerful civilisation in the Americas - 38 00:02:22,860 --> 00:02:24,420 the Inca. 39 00:02:25,980 --> 00:02:29,060 Now, the Inca ruled what was, at the time, 40 00:02:29,060 --> 00:02:32,980 the greatest empire on planet Earth, 41 00:02:32,980 --> 00:02:36,060 bigger than Ming Dynasty China, 42 00:02:36,060 --> 00:02:38,980 bigger than the empire of any European state. 43 00:02:40,460 --> 00:02:45,540 The Inca empire spanned 32 degrees of latitude. 44 00:02:45,540 --> 00:02:48,220 If that was transplanted to Europe, it would be the equivalent 45 00:02:48,220 --> 00:02:52,500 of an empire ruling from Stockholm to Cairo, 46 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:55,100 covering every conceivable ecosystem. 47 00:02:56,540 --> 00:02:59,180 No-one's certain why the Incas built Machu Picchu 48 00:02:59,180 --> 00:03:00,780 a mile and a half above sea level 49 00:03:00,780 --> 00:03:03,020 on a ridge in the middle of the jungle. 50 00:03:03,020 --> 00:03:06,700 Perhaps it was a place of worship or an emperor's pleasure palace. 51 00:03:06,700 --> 00:03:08,940 Either way, I found it stunning. 52 00:03:08,940 --> 00:03:13,380 And Machu Picchu is a complete triumph of engineering, 53 00:03:13,380 --> 00:03:14,980 especially for a civilisation 54 00:03:14,980 --> 00:03:17,620 that didn't have draught animals like horses, 55 00:03:17,620 --> 00:03:20,220 didn't have cement, didn't even have the wheel. 56 00:03:20,220 --> 00:03:22,940 Trying to build this place without the wheel 57 00:03:22,940 --> 00:03:27,820 is like trying to build the Eiffel Tower without a crane. 58 00:03:27,820 --> 00:03:29,220 But the Incas did it. 59 00:03:31,060 --> 00:03:34,020 I think this is the Sacred Stone, 60 00:03:34,020 --> 00:03:36,340 and I'm looking for a bloke in orange. 61 00:03:36,340 --> 00:03:38,580 Local mountaineer Alex Estrada had agreed to be my guide. 62 00:03:38,580 --> 00:03:40,700 Hey! Hello, mate. Simon. How are you, Simon? 63 00:03:40,700 --> 00:03:43,460 It's very lovely to see you. What do we do? Do we do this? 64 00:03:43,460 --> 00:03:45,500 Do this, yes. Can we do a little bit of this now? 65 00:03:45,500 --> 00:03:47,700 We can do this. We're free of Covid, 66 00:03:47,700 --> 00:03:49,460 so don't worry about it. 67 00:03:49,460 --> 00:03:53,380 Thank you, mate, for waiting here for us. This is the Sacred Stone? 68 00:03:53,380 --> 00:03:55,020 This is the Sacred Stone, yeah. 69 00:03:55,020 --> 00:03:58,620 This is a very special place for me, actually, Machu Picchu. 70 00:03:58,620 --> 00:04:02,340 I'm really connecting with this history, basically, 71 00:04:02,340 --> 00:04:05,180 you know, by Inca, seeing all this stuff. 72 00:04:05,180 --> 00:04:09,260 Like, I cannot believe this is my country, you know? 73 00:04:09,260 --> 00:04:13,140 Not just your country, but your culture. 74 00:04:13,140 --> 00:04:15,140 Oh, yes, I will say my culture, yes. 75 00:04:15,140 --> 00:04:16,380 Is that fair to say? 76 00:04:16,380 --> 00:04:19,300 Because I think one thing that strikes me 77 00:04:19,300 --> 00:04:22,460 is we think of the Inca as... 78 00:04:22,460 --> 00:04:25,300 ..the Inca civilisation as being a lost civilisation, 79 00:04:25,300 --> 00:04:28,860 but the people, the Inca people are still here. 80 00:04:28,860 --> 00:04:32,260 Do you feel yourself maybe you are one of the Inca? 81 00:04:32,260 --> 00:04:34,900 I... I believe... 82 00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:38,100 ..in another life I'm coming from this, 83 00:04:38,100 --> 00:04:43,180 because I really have a connection with this culture. 84 00:04:43,180 --> 00:04:45,260 The Inca weren't keen on money or writing, 85 00:04:45,260 --> 00:04:47,500 and sacrificed children to the gods, 86 00:04:47,500 --> 00:04:50,220 but they created a sophisticated world. 87 00:04:50,220 --> 00:04:53,540 Their cities were connected by 25,000 miles of roads 88 00:04:53,540 --> 00:04:55,740 and were as large as the capitals of Europe, 89 00:04:55,740 --> 00:04:58,820 but better run, with better sanitation. 90 00:04:58,820 --> 00:05:02,580 Some argue, by building huge grain stores, they eradicated hunger. 91 00:05:02,580 --> 00:05:04,500 And boy, could they build. 92 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:05,900 God, look at the... 93 00:05:05,900 --> 00:05:08,140 How did they do this? HE CHUCKLES 94 00:05:08,140 --> 00:05:09,900 It's so beautiful. 95 00:05:09,900 --> 00:05:12,420 You couldn't even get a credit card between there. 96 00:05:12,420 --> 00:05:15,660 There we go. There's no cement, there's no mortar, is that right? 97 00:05:15,660 --> 00:05:20,220 It's because, like, inside here is pieces like this 98 00:05:20,220 --> 00:05:23,140 and this has like the hole, so they're gripping here. Oh, really? 99 00:05:23,140 --> 00:05:25,020 The same all these ones. 100 00:05:25,020 --> 00:05:27,660 So, almost like a Lego block, they've got... There we go. 101 00:05:27,660 --> 00:05:29,420 ..pieces on the top. There we go. 102 00:05:29,420 --> 00:05:33,140 When the Earth moves, they're never getting all of this 103 00:05:33,140 --> 00:05:35,900 getting into this side nor this side. 104 00:05:35,900 --> 00:05:37,620 They like... HE CLICKS 105 00:05:37,620 --> 00:05:41,140 You know? They almost dance when there is an earthquake 106 00:05:41,140 --> 00:05:43,700 and then they settle back down? 107 00:05:43,700 --> 00:05:46,260 Yes. It's like that. Inca Lego. 108 00:05:46,260 --> 00:05:49,980 It's Inca rocks Lego. OK. 109 00:05:49,980 --> 00:05:52,500 After Europeans arrived in South America, 110 00:05:52,500 --> 00:05:56,260 the Spanish brought guns, steel and horses here to the Andes. 111 00:05:56,260 --> 00:05:58,580 The Inca were fearsome warriors, 112 00:05:58,580 --> 00:06:01,620 but the Spanish assault on their empire in the 1500s 113 00:06:01,620 --> 00:06:06,100 became an annihilation, because they brought strange European diseases 114 00:06:06,100 --> 00:06:09,420 which killed up to nine out of ten Peruvians. 115 00:06:09,420 --> 00:06:11,820 The great Inca civilisation collapsed. 116 00:06:16,940 --> 00:06:20,060 Today, Machu Picchu faces a new invasion. 117 00:06:20,060 --> 00:06:24,340 It's thought 90% of all tourists who come to Peru come here, 118 00:06:24,340 --> 00:06:29,540 and that's hundreds of thousands of visitors flocking here every year. 119 00:06:29,540 --> 00:06:31,980 This is very much a tourist site and... 120 00:06:33,060 --> 00:06:35,300 ..they lay on the cliches. 121 00:06:35,300 --> 00:06:37,340 It's a llama. 122 00:06:37,340 --> 00:06:39,940 In the Andes. With a very itchy nose. 123 00:06:44,020 --> 00:06:45,660 Before the pandemic, 124 00:06:45,660 --> 00:06:50,140 Machu Picchu was getting up to 5,000 visitors a day in peak season. 125 00:06:50,140 --> 00:06:52,700 Tourism here is, again, big business for Peru, 126 00:06:52,700 --> 00:06:55,660 raking in millions of dollars each year for the government. 127 00:06:55,660 --> 00:06:57,900 It is rammed with tourists. 128 00:06:57,900 --> 00:07:00,060 I'm quite...taken aback. 129 00:07:01,900 --> 00:07:04,140 Travellers are clearly returning. 130 00:07:04,140 --> 00:07:08,940 And before the pandemic, there were concerns about safety 131 00:07:08,940 --> 00:07:12,260 and the future of Machu Picchu because of the thousands 132 00:07:12,260 --> 00:07:15,140 upon thousands of people who were visiting here every day 133 00:07:15,140 --> 00:07:17,740 and the fear that they were eroding the paths 134 00:07:17,740 --> 00:07:19,380 and undermining the very stability 135 00:07:19,380 --> 00:07:22,220 of this most famous ruin on the planet. 136 00:07:27,580 --> 00:07:29,940 Yes, it is very touristy. 137 00:07:29,940 --> 00:07:31,540 Yes, it is quite strict here - 138 00:07:31,540 --> 00:07:33,980 you have to follow a very specific route, 139 00:07:33,980 --> 00:07:36,060 do not deviate from the path, 140 00:07:36,060 --> 00:07:41,100 but nothing can detract from what an astonishing, 141 00:07:41,100 --> 00:07:44,580 wondrous place this actually is. 142 00:07:44,580 --> 00:07:46,620 It's impossible to be here 143 00:07:46,620 --> 00:07:50,060 and not be in utter awe of what the Incas achieved. 144 00:07:51,260 --> 00:07:53,900 All this history still really matters. 145 00:07:53,900 --> 00:07:57,500 Peru's indigenous people, many the descendants of the Inca, 146 00:07:57,500 --> 00:08:00,780 have long felt marginalised by Europeans who colonised 147 00:08:00,780 --> 00:08:03,220 and controlled them for centuries, 148 00:08:03,220 --> 00:08:04,740 and Peru is the country 149 00:08:04,740 --> 00:08:07,580 with the largest indigenous population in South America. 150 00:08:10,380 --> 00:08:12,740 Right, so we've got to mask-up now. 151 00:08:12,740 --> 00:08:15,860 They're taking Covid very seriously in Peru. 152 00:08:15,860 --> 00:08:18,780 Peru was hit exceptionally hard by the pandemic. 153 00:08:18,780 --> 00:08:20,940 In relation to the size of its population, 154 00:08:20,940 --> 00:08:24,740 it had by far the highest number of deaths in the world. 155 00:08:24,740 --> 00:08:27,940 Two masks... 156 00:08:27,940 --> 00:08:29,460 ..plus this. 157 00:08:32,300 --> 00:08:36,580 The railway here ferries hundreds of thousands of tourists a year. 158 00:08:36,580 --> 00:08:38,900 My train was running a couple of hours late, 159 00:08:38,900 --> 00:08:41,020 but they know how to keep the passengers happy. 160 00:08:41,020 --> 00:08:43,220 TRILLING MUSIC 161 00:08:43,220 --> 00:08:47,140 I've got so many masks on, I have no idea if you can hear me, but... 162 00:08:47,140 --> 00:08:49,140 ..it just got weirder. 163 00:08:49,140 --> 00:08:51,180 HE PLAYS JAUNTY TUNE 164 00:08:51,180 --> 00:08:53,740 The Saqras are humanised parodies of the Devil, 165 00:08:53,740 --> 00:08:56,060 according to the Mestizo belief. 166 00:08:56,060 --> 00:08:58,500 The word Saqra comes from the Quechua language 167 00:08:58,500 --> 00:09:01,340 and means "naughty, bouncy, cheerful and joker". 168 00:09:02,980 --> 00:09:05,020 THEY PLAY LIVELY MUSIC 169 00:09:06,420 --> 00:09:08,660 This is now properly bonkers. 170 00:09:11,540 --> 00:09:13,140 Ah, but we all loved it, 171 00:09:13,140 --> 00:09:15,620 and it was definitely one way of stopping us passengers 172 00:09:15,620 --> 00:09:19,420 from grumbling, even as our much-delayed train crawled along 173 00:09:19,420 --> 00:09:21,380 the tracks long into the night. 174 00:09:25,100 --> 00:09:27,060 MUSIC STOPS CHEERING 175 00:09:32,260 --> 00:09:34,820 It was time to head off the tourist trail 176 00:09:34,820 --> 00:09:37,820 into some of the more forgotten corners of the Andes region. 177 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:42,740 But first, a bed for the night. 178 00:09:42,740 --> 00:09:44,220 So, it's very late 179 00:09:44,220 --> 00:09:48,500 and Alex has brought us to stay somewhere 180 00:09:48,500 --> 00:09:51,700 which seems to involve getting dressed up in a harness... 181 00:09:53,740 --> 00:09:55,620 ..and wearing a helmet. 182 00:09:55,620 --> 00:09:56,860 Do you see the cable? 183 00:09:56,860 --> 00:09:58,820 Yes, I see the cable. All right. 184 00:09:58,820 --> 00:10:01,660 So, this is called a karabiner, right? Yes. 185 00:10:01,660 --> 00:10:03,100 Do you have questions? 186 00:10:03,100 --> 00:10:05,740 Yeah...where the hell are we going? 187 00:10:05,740 --> 00:10:07,580 Don't worry about it. 188 00:10:07,580 --> 00:10:10,980 You will love the place where I bring you to. 189 00:10:10,980 --> 00:10:13,980 Believe me, you'll... I want you to just believe me. 190 00:10:15,500 --> 00:10:17,020 Whose idea was this?! 191 00:10:17,020 --> 00:10:18,740 ALEX CHUCKLES 192 00:10:18,740 --> 00:10:19,940 God. 193 00:10:20,980 --> 00:10:22,980 Completely bloody bananas. 194 00:10:28,900 --> 00:10:30,580 Amazing. 195 00:10:30,580 --> 00:10:31,820 OK. 196 00:10:33,380 --> 00:10:34,660 I'll go on with Alex. 197 00:10:34,660 --> 00:10:37,100 He's just going to show me where I'm staying 198 00:10:37,100 --> 00:10:40,140 and, um...hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight 199 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:43,140 and, in the morning, I might have a clearer idea 200 00:10:43,140 --> 00:10:45,540 of where on Earth we are. HE LAUGHS 201 00:10:45,540 --> 00:10:46,700 Goodnight! 202 00:10:53,900 --> 00:10:56,020 BIRDS CHIRP 203 00:10:56,020 --> 00:10:58,100 Oh, my goodness. 204 00:10:58,100 --> 00:10:59,900 I've pulled the curtains back... 205 00:11:02,420 --> 00:11:04,260 ..and it's completely bonkers. 206 00:11:05,820 --> 00:11:08,500 I'm halfway up a mountain, 207 00:11:08,500 --> 00:11:10,940 tethered to the side of the cliff 208 00:11:10,940 --> 00:11:12,980 by pieces of steel string. 209 00:11:18,060 --> 00:11:20,780 This is Starlodge - 210 00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:25,740 a series of cosy aluminium cabins, more like mini submarines, 211 00:11:25,740 --> 00:11:28,020 which Alex, my guide and expert climber, 212 00:11:28,020 --> 00:11:30,300 actually helped haul up here. 213 00:11:30,300 --> 00:11:33,500 They certainly offer stunning views of this valley 214 00:11:33,500 --> 00:11:35,340 at every stage of your stay. 215 00:11:38,620 --> 00:11:40,420 Peru is a vast country 216 00:11:40,420 --> 00:11:42,820 and travellers here tend to stick to a few of the safer 217 00:11:42,820 --> 00:11:46,020 and wealthier areas, which make a good income from tourism. 218 00:11:49,060 --> 00:11:51,140 But many regions of Peru struggle 219 00:11:51,140 --> 00:11:53,300 with ingrained poverty and lawlessness. 220 00:11:56,260 --> 00:11:59,500 I headed to an area of Peru called VRAEM, 221 00:11:59,500 --> 00:12:01,740 which the state has long struggled to control. 222 00:12:07,620 --> 00:12:10,060 I'm now heading into quite a tricky area 223 00:12:10,060 --> 00:12:13,500 on my journey down through South America. 224 00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:17,980 This region is known as Peru's cocaine valley. 225 00:12:17,980 --> 00:12:20,620 So it has the acronym VRAEM. 226 00:12:20,620 --> 00:12:24,020 It's a big region. It's roughly the size of Ireland. 227 00:12:24,020 --> 00:12:27,940 And it's said to have more production of coca 228 00:12:27,940 --> 00:12:31,180 and cocaine laboratories than anywhere in the world. 229 00:12:33,020 --> 00:12:37,260 For more than 40 years, the cocaine trade has ravaged Latin America. 230 00:12:37,260 --> 00:12:39,740 Countries like Colombia, El Salvador and Honduras 231 00:12:39,740 --> 00:12:41,940 have been pushed close to collapse. 232 00:12:41,940 --> 00:12:45,020 Huge drug gangs and cartels have emerged. 233 00:12:45,020 --> 00:12:47,780 South America now has some of the highest rates in the world 234 00:12:47,780 --> 00:12:49,860 for violent crime and murder. 235 00:12:49,860 --> 00:12:53,900 And for cocaine production, I was heading to ground zero. 236 00:12:53,900 --> 00:12:57,540 Neighbouring Colombia is generally more associated with cocaine, 237 00:12:57,540 --> 00:13:01,660 but Peru now rivals Colombia as the world's leading producer 238 00:13:01,660 --> 00:13:04,700 and this area, VRAEM, is plagued by narco gangs. 239 00:13:06,060 --> 00:13:07,420 Checkpoint. 240 00:13:14,580 --> 00:13:16,260 Oh, yeah, yeah. 241 00:13:27,620 --> 00:13:29,460 So that was a group of... 242 00:13:29,460 --> 00:13:31,100 Were they auto-defences? 243 00:13:31,100 --> 00:13:32,740 Auto-defences, exactly. 244 00:13:32,740 --> 00:13:37,580 Um, which is basically local vigilantes. 245 00:13:37,580 --> 00:13:40,220 Even before narco violence took hold, 246 00:13:40,220 --> 00:13:42,660 VRAEM suffered from conflict. 247 00:13:42,660 --> 00:13:45,140 For more than 20 years, the government fought a bitter war 248 00:13:45,140 --> 00:13:47,740 against a terror group called Shining Path, 249 00:13:47,740 --> 00:13:49,620 which wanted to overthrow the government 250 00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:51,820 and establish a communist state. 251 00:13:51,820 --> 00:13:53,260 As they battled the army, 252 00:13:53,260 --> 00:13:56,300 horrific atrocities were committed by both sides 253 00:13:56,300 --> 00:13:58,540 and tens of thousands of innocent people died. 254 00:13:59,820 --> 00:14:01,780 I'd come to the centre of the conflict. 255 00:14:01,780 --> 00:14:05,220 Like many indigenous communities in Peru, it's desperately poor. 256 00:14:06,940 --> 00:14:10,100 There's not much of a government presence 257 00:14:10,100 --> 00:14:13,580 in this quiet, dusty little community. 258 00:14:13,580 --> 00:14:15,180 But we've been asked to wait here 259 00:14:15,180 --> 00:14:17,220 to meet the people who provide security. 260 00:14:24,660 --> 00:14:26,540 Buenas tardes, senor. 261 00:14:33,940 --> 00:14:35,300 Buenas tardes. 262 00:14:54,140 --> 00:14:59,180 Oscar Cardenas is the President of the Self-Defence Committee here. 263 00:14:59,180 --> 00:15:01,380 Oscar, what are the auto-defences? 264 00:15:05,300 --> 00:15:08,620 Now, I know this region suffered terribly 265 00:15:08,620 --> 00:15:12,060 during the time of the Shining Path. 266 00:15:12,060 --> 00:15:15,900 What happened here when Shining Path were attacking? 267 00:15:35,820 --> 00:15:38,060 After years of fierce fighting, 268 00:15:38,060 --> 00:15:40,740 the guerrillas from Shining Path have been pushed back 269 00:15:40,740 --> 00:15:42,740 to a few isolated jungle areas. 270 00:15:44,580 --> 00:15:46,940 But communities here are now facing another threat. 271 00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:23,980 The narcos, the drug gangs, now terrorise communities like this. 272 00:16:23,980 --> 00:16:27,220 Financial muscle and weaponry has given them a stranglehold 273 00:16:27,220 --> 00:16:30,260 over this poor, forgotten corner of Peru, 274 00:16:30,260 --> 00:16:34,540 where many communities lack basic infrastructure like proper roads, 275 00:16:34,540 --> 00:16:37,220 regular electricity, clean water, 276 00:16:37,220 --> 00:16:40,820 and most people earn less than $10 a day. 277 00:16:40,820 --> 00:16:44,740 After his shift, Oscar offered to take me to the farm where he works, 278 00:16:44,740 --> 00:16:47,540 which is owned by another member of his vigilante group. 279 00:16:52,420 --> 00:16:54,220 Oh, wow. 280 00:16:54,220 --> 00:16:55,580 Buenos dias. 281 00:16:58,340 --> 00:17:02,780 So this is a huge pile of coca leaves drying in the sun. 282 00:17:05,100 --> 00:17:08,420 This is coca, the raw ingredient, 283 00:17:08,420 --> 00:17:11,300 the leaf from which cocaine is made. 284 00:17:11,300 --> 00:17:14,340 And it's the main crop for almost all farms in the area. 285 00:17:16,060 --> 00:17:17,540 Oscar, what's happening now? 286 00:17:55,100 --> 00:17:58,220 Poverty here seems to breed contradictions. 287 00:17:58,220 --> 00:18:00,860 Oscar is terrorised by the drug cartels, 288 00:18:00,860 --> 00:18:02,460 but helps grow coca for them. 289 00:18:25,860 --> 00:18:28,700 Four times a year you can harvest coca? 290 00:18:28,700 --> 00:18:30,940 That must make a massive difference to you as a farmer. 291 00:18:43,340 --> 00:18:45,100 When the leaves are ready for harvest, 292 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:47,580 the whole community turns out. 293 00:18:47,580 --> 00:18:51,260 Coca's been cultivated in the Andes for more than 8,000 years 294 00:18:51,260 --> 00:18:53,460 and it's still sacred to many indigenous people. 295 00:19:17,660 --> 00:19:19,260 It looks like hard work. 296 00:19:22,980 --> 00:19:25,580 You still move with lightning speed. 297 00:19:26,980 --> 00:19:28,420 I hope you don't mind me asking, 298 00:19:28,420 --> 00:19:31,380 but how much money will you get for picking 28 kilos of the leaves? 299 00:19:52,900 --> 00:19:58,700 That's just over £3.50 for a full day's work under the baking sun. 300 00:20:00,300 --> 00:20:02,900 The could grow coffee or fruit here, 301 00:20:02,900 --> 00:20:05,620 but that takes more knowledge, time and money, 302 00:20:05,620 --> 00:20:08,620 and poor roads would make it hard to get crops to market. 303 00:20:08,620 --> 00:20:12,500 This all helps trap locals into farming coca. 304 00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:16,020 Some can be sold legally for traditional medicines, 305 00:20:16,020 --> 00:20:18,860 but it's thought up to 95% of coca from here... 306 00:20:20,820 --> 00:20:23,260 ..goes into the illegal production of cocaine. 307 00:20:27,940 --> 00:20:31,580 Oscar, with the greatest respect, 308 00:20:31,580 --> 00:20:34,420 do you feel a connection 309 00:20:34,420 --> 00:20:37,260 to what happens as coca is turned into cocaine? 310 00:20:37,260 --> 00:20:38,900 Do you feel... 311 00:20:38,900 --> 00:20:42,740 Do you have moral doubts about your connection to cocaine? 312 00:21:00,860 --> 00:21:03,460 Are you saying you don't really want to grow coca? 313 00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:22,660 This is an appalling situation. They themselves, in many a way, 314 00:21:22,660 --> 00:21:25,380 have become addicted to growing this plant 315 00:21:25,380 --> 00:21:29,060 because it offers them something that other plants do not. 316 00:21:29,060 --> 00:21:32,500 It offers them many more harvests per year 317 00:21:32,500 --> 00:21:35,900 and, crucially, the buyer will actually come to their door 318 00:21:35,900 --> 00:21:40,020 to buy it off them. But yet, it's not making them rich. 319 00:21:40,020 --> 00:21:42,500 There is no great wealth here in this community. 320 00:21:42,500 --> 00:21:47,140 These are poor, poor farmers on the very edge of survival. 321 00:21:48,340 --> 00:21:51,100 The Peruvian authorities have been criticised 322 00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:52,660 for failing to tackle cocaine 323 00:21:52,660 --> 00:21:54,860 and reduce poverty in indigenous communities. 324 00:21:56,100 --> 00:21:59,540 But the government says it spent £40 million in recent years 325 00:21:59,540 --> 00:22:03,180 encouraging farmers here to grow alternative crops to coca. 326 00:22:03,180 --> 00:22:06,660 So far, it's had little impact on cocaine production. 327 00:22:06,660 --> 00:22:10,020 It's estimated 200 to 400 tonnes of cocaine 328 00:22:10,020 --> 00:22:12,460 are exported from VRAEM each year, 329 00:22:12,460 --> 00:22:14,580 with a potential UK street value 330 00:22:14,580 --> 00:22:17,420 of more than a staggering £30 billion. 331 00:22:17,420 --> 00:22:20,260 There are fields and fields, 332 00:22:20,260 --> 00:22:23,700 hillsides of coca growing around here. 333 00:22:24,820 --> 00:22:27,100 In Colombia, just next door, 334 00:22:27,100 --> 00:22:29,860 coca tends to be grown a little bit further from towns 335 00:22:29,860 --> 00:22:32,500 and a little bit further from roads. 336 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:35,700 It's something that's more secretive, 337 00:22:35,700 --> 00:22:41,180 because there are quite sophisticated eradication efforts. 338 00:22:41,180 --> 00:22:42,820 That doesn't seem to be happening here. 339 00:22:42,820 --> 00:22:45,780 It's growing by the side of the road. It's growing near towns. 340 00:22:45,780 --> 00:22:47,460 I think we should go and see the police. 341 00:22:49,740 --> 00:22:52,700 Neighbouring Colombia has received billions of dollars 342 00:22:52,700 --> 00:22:55,780 from the United States to fight drug trafficking 343 00:22:55,780 --> 00:22:58,940 because cocaine from Colombia goes to the US. 344 00:22:58,940 --> 00:23:01,700 Cocaine from Peru is trafficked more widely, 345 00:23:01,700 --> 00:23:03,380 including to Europe, the UK. 346 00:23:04,540 --> 00:23:06,980 Compared to Colombia, drug enforcement efforts here 347 00:23:06,980 --> 00:23:09,620 have been held back by a lack of funding and also corruption. 348 00:23:11,260 --> 00:23:14,700 The Peruvian army has thousands of troops station in VRAEM, 349 00:23:14,700 --> 00:23:16,540 but elements in the army have been accused 350 00:23:16,540 --> 00:23:18,540 of direct involvement in the drugs trade. 351 00:23:19,580 --> 00:23:20,980 Pretty serious. 352 00:23:22,100 --> 00:23:25,620 There's also several hundred elite anti-narcotics police here. 353 00:23:27,340 --> 00:23:30,340 I went to their main operations centre in the valley. 354 00:23:30,340 --> 00:23:34,460 Here's a big new base to tackle a colossal problem. 355 00:23:36,020 --> 00:23:40,060 Comandante Jorge Barrantes leads a police unit ready for combat. 356 00:24:05,260 --> 00:24:08,740 Can we just ask, what is the mission of your base here? 357 00:24:08,740 --> 00:24:10,140 What are you here to do? 358 00:24:34,580 --> 00:24:36,660 HE CALLS ORDERS IN SPANISH 359 00:24:44,060 --> 00:24:46,660 He's saying these four officers here are just going to provide us 360 00:24:46,660 --> 00:24:49,740 with security, because it's really needed, apparently. 361 00:24:49,740 --> 00:24:52,380 The other worrying thing he's saying is that they don't really bother 362 00:24:52,380 --> 00:24:54,540 wearing body armour, flak jackets, 363 00:24:54,540 --> 00:24:57,660 because the people they're up against have got weapons 364 00:24:57,660 --> 00:25:00,180 firing bullets that will go straight through most flak jackets. 365 00:25:03,580 --> 00:25:06,260 The moment this police unit sets foot outside the base, 366 00:25:06,260 --> 00:25:09,060 they're in hostile territory. I was heading out with them 367 00:25:09,060 --> 00:25:11,620 on what the Comandante called a search and destroy mission. 368 00:25:11,620 --> 00:25:12,780 Bloody hell. 369 00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:18,420 Many locals support the narcos and are up to their necks in the trade. 370 00:25:18,420 --> 00:25:20,980 Shoot-outs and sudden attacks are a constant threat. 371 00:25:25,100 --> 00:25:27,380 They've told us they want to move quickly 372 00:25:27,380 --> 00:25:31,580 and they're wary of us going slowly through even urban areas 373 00:25:31,580 --> 00:25:34,220 because they've come under attack in the past. 374 00:25:35,420 --> 00:25:38,900 That's not to suggest the entire local population is against them, 375 00:25:38,900 --> 00:25:42,500 but this is a country where tens of thousands of people, 376 00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:46,220 perhaps as many as two million people make their living 377 00:25:46,220 --> 00:25:47,860 from the drugs trade. 378 00:25:51,940 --> 00:25:54,220 Comandante, do you still feel nervous 379 00:25:54,220 --> 00:25:55,780 before an operation like this? 380 00:26:33,140 --> 00:26:34,980 My God, look at all the coca. 381 00:26:38,220 --> 00:26:39,460 Go, go, go. 382 00:26:48,580 --> 00:26:51,020 WHISPERS: There could be a whole bloody gang, 383 00:26:51,020 --> 00:26:52,660 of narco traffickers just... 384 00:26:54,260 --> 00:26:58,140 ..I was going to say ten metres, it's more like ten feet to one side, 385 00:26:58,140 --> 00:26:59,780 and I wouldn't see them. 386 00:27:02,180 --> 00:27:03,820 Down, down. 387 00:27:05,340 --> 00:27:07,260 Oh, look, there's guys down there. Over there. 388 00:27:34,700 --> 00:27:37,620 It's almost completely impossible for them to move through 389 00:27:37,620 --> 00:27:40,780 this sort of terrain without being seen or heard. 390 00:27:42,820 --> 00:27:44,700 There's people everywhere. There's dogs. 391 00:27:47,100 --> 00:27:49,580 SIMON GASPS Blue plastic sheeting, 392 00:27:49,580 --> 00:27:50,980 which I think he's saying might be 393 00:27:50,980 --> 00:27:53,500 part of the first stage of a cocaine factory. 394 00:27:59,460 --> 00:28:01,460 Go. Go, go, go. Follow me. 395 00:28:01,460 --> 00:28:02,740 OK. 396 00:28:03,740 --> 00:28:05,020 We're going in. 397 00:28:07,860 --> 00:28:10,260 So we're just coming up on something now. 398 00:28:10,260 --> 00:28:12,260 I think it's the target. It's hard to tell. 399 00:28:13,860 --> 00:28:15,540 It doesn't look like much... 400 00:28:17,180 --> 00:28:18,780 ..but maybe that's the point. 401 00:28:26,060 --> 00:28:28,940 What have we got here? What on Earth is going on? 402 00:28:52,140 --> 00:28:55,700 So how much cocaine could that actually be turned into? 403 00:29:01,420 --> 00:29:06,060 But by the time that cocaine has reached the streets 404 00:29:06,060 --> 00:29:10,780 of the UK, Italy, wherever it's going, Rio, 405 00:29:10,780 --> 00:29:13,380 it is worth a staggering sum, 406 00:29:13,380 --> 00:29:15,860 more than people here could ever imagine, I would have thought. 407 00:29:32,100 --> 00:29:37,180 South America, Europe and the UK are major markets for cocaine from Peru. 408 00:29:38,540 --> 00:29:42,500 Cocaine that fuels teenage gangs and violence in British cities 409 00:29:42,500 --> 00:29:44,740 starts life right here in pits like this. 410 00:29:46,300 --> 00:29:48,180 It's just desperate to see this 411 00:29:48,180 --> 00:29:51,900 and to see how difficult it is for the police to operate here, 412 00:29:51,900 --> 00:29:57,300 but also to know how little the European Union 413 00:29:57,300 --> 00:30:02,540 and the UK, as well, frankly, are doing to combat cocaine, 414 00:30:02,540 --> 00:30:05,660 narcotics here at source in Peru 415 00:30:05,660 --> 00:30:08,740 compared to what the Americans are doing in Colombia. 416 00:30:10,340 --> 00:30:12,940 These guys are operating on a relative shoestring. 417 00:30:12,940 --> 00:30:18,020 They don't have the access to advanced intelligence gathering, 418 00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:21,900 to Black Hawk helicopters, to as much satellite information. 419 00:30:23,820 --> 00:30:27,380 And combating the narcos in Peru is bloody hard. 420 00:30:45,580 --> 00:30:49,100 This police unit destroyed more than 100 jungle labs 421 00:30:49,100 --> 00:30:51,140 and pits like this in the past year alone. 422 00:30:52,340 --> 00:30:54,780 This is whack-a-mole. It really is. 423 00:30:55,820 --> 00:31:01,060 If that maceration pit could create a couple of kilos of cocaine 424 00:31:01,060 --> 00:31:05,300 and anything between 200 and 400 tonnes of cocaine 425 00:31:05,300 --> 00:31:07,380 comes out of this area, 426 00:31:07,380 --> 00:31:11,620 that means there must be hundreds and hundreds of other pits like it. 427 00:31:13,340 --> 00:31:14,820 Two detonations. 428 00:31:16,660 --> 00:31:18,740 EXPLOSIONS 429 00:31:22,220 --> 00:31:25,220 I felt these guys are fighting a losing battle. 430 00:31:25,220 --> 00:31:26,500 In Colombia, 431 00:31:26,500 --> 00:31:30,140 the authorities intercept up to half the cocaine produced. 432 00:31:30,140 --> 00:31:33,220 In Peru, just a fraction of the cocaine is seized. 433 00:31:33,220 --> 00:31:35,540 Some fear for the country's future. 434 00:31:35,540 --> 00:31:38,900 Coca production has increased dramatically in Peru 435 00:31:38,900 --> 00:31:43,100 over the last decade, and there are now fears here 436 00:31:43,100 --> 00:31:45,780 amongst senior people in the government 437 00:31:45,780 --> 00:31:50,420 that Peru is on its way to becoming a narco state. 438 00:31:50,420 --> 00:31:53,660 I mean, nobody is immune from corruption, 439 00:31:53,660 --> 00:31:55,300 even at the very highest level. 440 00:32:10,380 --> 00:32:14,380 I headed on south through the lush jungle of the Andes lowlands. 441 00:32:16,340 --> 00:32:19,220 Wow, that's a fast-flowing river. 442 00:32:25,980 --> 00:32:28,540 Peru has some of the most spectacular 443 00:32:28,540 --> 00:32:31,660 and varied landscapes on the planet - 444 00:32:31,660 --> 00:32:34,500 vast tropical river systems, 445 00:32:34,500 --> 00:32:36,340 rainforest, 446 00:32:36,340 --> 00:32:38,780 parched coastal desert, 447 00:32:38,780 --> 00:32:40,620 high grasslands, 448 00:32:40,620 --> 00:32:43,460 and the rugged frozen peaks of the Andes. 449 00:32:46,300 --> 00:32:49,260 It has almost every climate and ecosystem. 450 00:32:55,020 --> 00:32:57,740 My journey was taking me to southern Peru 451 00:32:57,740 --> 00:32:59,700 and towards an indigenous area 452 00:32:59,700 --> 00:33:03,260 that's one of the most extreme environments in South America. 453 00:33:07,020 --> 00:33:10,020 Peru is really a continent in a country. 454 00:33:10,020 --> 00:33:12,780 It has some of the highest, driest, wettest 455 00:33:12,780 --> 00:33:15,540 and most inhospitable terrain on the planet, 456 00:33:15,540 --> 00:33:18,380 and yet it's been home to sophisticated civilisation 457 00:33:18,380 --> 00:33:20,020 for thousands of years. 458 00:33:26,420 --> 00:33:29,300 I was back in the mighty Andes. 459 00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:31,140 The Incas were among the first people 460 00:33:31,140 --> 00:33:33,660 to conquer these colossal peaks, 461 00:33:33,660 --> 00:33:35,860 scaling their heights to make offerings 462 00:33:35,860 --> 00:33:37,860 and sacrifices to their gods. 463 00:33:40,940 --> 00:33:43,220 This is a harsh environment. 464 00:33:43,220 --> 00:33:46,220 There are savage storms, freezing temperatures, 465 00:33:46,220 --> 00:33:48,260 and thin air lacking oxygen. 466 00:33:55,460 --> 00:33:59,220 So we've just stopped by the side of the road at around 5,000 metres up. 467 00:34:00,700 --> 00:34:03,700 That's just over the height of Mont Blanc, 468 00:34:03,700 --> 00:34:05,700 Western Europe's highest mountain. 469 00:34:05,700 --> 00:34:08,340 We've got three vehicles with us, 470 00:34:08,340 --> 00:34:13,420 partly because we might need to evacuate one of the team 471 00:34:13,420 --> 00:34:15,700 back down the mountain... 472 00:34:15,700 --> 00:34:17,900 STUMBLES OVER WORDS: ..and we've got to be prepared. 473 00:34:19,140 --> 00:34:21,700 We've got to be prepared to do that at any time. 474 00:34:21,700 --> 00:34:24,380 I'm really feeling it in my...in my head. 475 00:34:27,380 --> 00:34:30,420 Altitude sickness can be dangerous. 476 00:34:30,420 --> 00:34:33,140 We had medication to combat the effects, 477 00:34:33,140 --> 00:34:36,180 and bottled oxygen in the vehicles in case of emergency. 478 00:34:39,860 --> 00:34:42,700 But even up here, there are people eking out a living. 479 00:34:46,140 --> 00:34:48,940 So this is Rinconada. 480 00:34:48,940 --> 00:34:53,220 It is the highest permanent human settlement on planet Earth. 481 00:34:54,620 --> 00:34:57,100 It's also said to be one of the very toughest 482 00:34:57,100 --> 00:34:59,740 and harshest towns in the world. 483 00:35:03,860 --> 00:35:07,260 La Rinconada is more than three miles above sea level. 484 00:35:10,700 --> 00:35:13,540 The first hardy settlers arrived here 50 years ago, 485 00:35:13,540 --> 00:35:15,180 seeking their fortune. 486 00:35:17,820 --> 00:35:21,740 Today, it's a sprawling ramshackle home to some 50,000 people. 487 00:35:23,300 --> 00:35:25,820 Rinconada is an informal... 488 00:35:27,180 --> 00:35:30,860 ..which basically means sort of illegal mining settlement 489 00:35:30,860 --> 00:35:36,460 that has sprung up on the edge or near a gold mine. 490 00:35:36,460 --> 00:35:38,820 Most people aren't registered to live here 491 00:35:38,820 --> 00:35:41,380 and many tend not to pay taxes, 492 00:35:41,380 --> 00:35:44,580 so the town is largely ignored by the Peruvian state. 493 00:35:44,580 --> 00:35:48,460 The cables across the road are not cables. They're water pipes. 494 00:35:48,460 --> 00:35:52,260 There isn't sanitation and sewage here, really, 495 00:35:52,260 --> 00:35:55,980 the normal elements of a town. 496 00:35:57,300 --> 00:35:59,900 No, people have got to look after themselves. 497 00:36:01,260 --> 00:36:05,620 There were putrid streams of raw sewage flowing through the streets. 498 00:36:05,620 --> 00:36:07,820 The smell was overpowering. 499 00:36:07,820 --> 00:36:10,260 The town's only water sources are contaminated 500 00:36:10,260 --> 00:36:14,380 with a poisonous cocktail of mercury and cyanide used to process gold. 501 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:19,180 We're stuck in a Rinconada traffic jam. 502 00:36:19,180 --> 00:36:21,020 You know what's caused it? 503 00:36:21,020 --> 00:36:23,340 There's been an explosion up ahead. 504 00:36:24,420 --> 00:36:26,060 This place is completely mad. 505 00:36:28,860 --> 00:36:31,580 So you can see the machinery over there. 506 00:36:31,580 --> 00:36:35,980 They're crushing rock to look for gold. 507 00:36:40,740 --> 00:36:42,940 While we waited for the road block to clear, 508 00:36:42,940 --> 00:36:44,980 I wandered into a crushing yard, 509 00:36:44,980 --> 00:36:47,860 and goldminer Felix Esquivies agreed to chat. 510 00:36:47,860 --> 00:36:51,900 How much rock do you need to crush 511 00:36:51,900 --> 00:36:54,740 to find enough gold to make a ring? 512 00:37:07,300 --> 00:37:08,540 Oh, my goodness. 513 00:37:09,940 --> 00:37:11,300 Can I hold some? 514 00:37:15,260 --> 00:37:17,500 It's heavy! 515 00:37:17,500 --> 00:37:22,140 And even in this form, I have to be honest, 516 00:37:22,140 --> 00:37:24,580 I do have a bit of a sense of the allure. 517 00:37:41,860 --> 00:37:43,820 Is it... Is this dangerous work? 518 00:37:47,700 --> 00:37:49,020 Forgive me for asking, 519 00:37:49,020 --> 00:37:52,220 I notice that you've had perhaps an accident with your ear. 520 00:38:09,860 --> 00:38:14,380 We'd been warned that after dark the town can become lawless and chaotic. 521 00:38:14,380 --> 00:38:17,020 There's a shocking number of stabbings and assaults. 522 00:38:17,020 --> 00:38:18,700 La Rinconada is said to have 523 00:38:18,700 --> 00:38:22,140 one of the highest number of murders per capita in the world. 524 00:38:22,140 --> 00:38:24,100 Despite the conditions and violence, 525 00:38:24,100 --> 00:38:26,460 thousands more people are drawn up here each year 526 00:38:26,460 --> 00:38:30,260 to the roof of the continent, lured by Rinconada's gold. 527 00:38:30,260 --> 00:38:32,460 Many because they have no choice. 528 00:38:32,460 --> 00:38:36,420 Of course, for a lot of the people who work here, this is income, 529 00:38:36,420 --> 00:38:40,740 this is home, this is a car, this is life. 530 00:38:40,740 --> 00:38:42,860 But I really worry 531 00:38:42,860 --> 00:38:45,740 that every single person I've seen here 532 00:38:45,740 --> 00:38:48,260 is of indigenous origin, 533 00:38:48,260 --> 00:38:51,980 and it really makes me feel that the indigenous... 534 00:38:51,980 --> 00:38:55,940 I think the indigenous community, the people of Peru 535 00:38:55,940 --> 00:38:58,460 have been pushed somewhat to the margins. 536 00:38:58,460 --> 00:39:00,860 They are the only people who work up here. 537 00:39:02,100 --> 00:39:05,940 Indigenous Peruvians comprise almost half the country's population. 538 00:39:07,740 --> 00:39:09,820 Tens of thousands now live and work 539 00:39:09,820 --> 00:39:13,700 in informal, crime-ridden mining settlements like La Rinconada. 540 00:39:16,100 --> 00:39:17,780 Senna Ochochoque grew up here. 541 00:39:19,940 --> 00:39:21,780 Senna, was it a happy place to grow up? 542 00:39:55,700 --> 00:39:59,380 Senna suggested taking me high above the town to the mining area. 543 00:40:05,900 --> 00:40:09,140 Peru is the biggest gold producer in South America. 544 00:40:11,060 --> 00:40:14,180 Minerals are the country's leading export 545 00:40:14,180 --> 00:40:17,020 and mining its main source of foreign currency. 546 00:40:18,820 --> 00:40:20,780 SPEAKS SPANISH 547 00:40:25,380 --> 00:40:30,460 But the unregulated mines around La Rinconada are incredibly dangerous. 548 00:40:30,460 --> 00:40:32,900 Some are said to be three miles deep. 549 00:40:32,900 --> 00:40:37,980 Explosions and shaft collapses kill around 30 miners each year. 550 00:40:37,980 --> 00:40:42,020 A miner's life expectancy here is just 35 years, 551 00:40:42,020 --> 00:40:44,860 around half the national average. 552 00:40:44,860 --> 00:40:47,700 Senna wanted me to meet some of the women who work up here 553 00:40:47,700 --> 00:40:49,540 in this brutal environment. 554 00:40:51,580 --> 00:40:52,580 My God. 555 00:40:53,620 --> 00:40:55,420 Look above us. The glacier. 556 00:41:00,100 --> 00:41:02,140 Look at this. 557 00:41:02,140 --> 00:41:04,780 Oh, my God, I can smell sulphur. 558 00:41:04,780 --> 00:41:07,340 It's like the gates of hell are opening up. 559 00:41:08,980 --> 00:41:10,700 Wow. 560 00:41:10,700 --> 00:41:12,780 Sulphur? Volcan? 561 00:41:12,780 --> 00:41:15,140 Not very good for you, the smoke. 562 00:41:15,140 --> 00:41:16,540 It's not very good. 563 00:41:16,540 --> 00:41:21,020 Even the people here, then, are saying that isn't good for us. 564 00:41:21,020 --> 00:41:23,980 I could smell sulphur in the air, volcanic sulphur. 565 00:41:25,300 --> 00:41:27,140 Bowels of the Earth sort of stuff. 566 00:41:29,940 --> 00:41:31,180 Oh, my God. 567 00:41:33,260 --> 00:41:34,740 Look at the ladies working here. 568 00:41:36,260 --> 00:41:39,700 These women are known as pallaqueras. 569 00:41:39,700 --> 00:41:42,780 Julia Pomalique has worked up here for 20 years. 570 00:41:44,220 --> 00:41:45,980 What is a pallaquera? What do you do? 571 00:42:06,340 --> 00:42:08,780 Why are women... Why do you work out here? 572 00:42:08,780 --> 00:42:10,420 Why don't you work in the mines? 573 00:42:33,980 --> 00:42:37,620 In winter, the temperature out on this exposed mountainside 574 00:42:37,620 --> 00:42:40,260 can drop to minus 40 degrees centigrade. 575 00:42:59,740 --> 00:43:01,580 Can you give me a rough idea, 576 00:43:01,580 --> 00:43:07,060 how much does one of the women in your association, on average, make 577 00:43:07,060 --> 00:43:08,780 in a day or a week or a month? 578 00:43:22,540 --> 00:43:25,940 This sounds and it looks like... 579 00:43:25,940 --> 00:43:27,980 ..like a tough...a tough life. 580 00:43:34,500 --> 00:43:38,980 There could be up to 100,000 informal goldminers in Peru 581 00:43:38,980 --> 00:43:42,900 and an estimated 15,000 pallaqueras scraping a living 582 00:43:42,900 --> 00:43:45,580 working through the rocks around their illegal gold mines. 583 00:43:47,060 --> 00:43:49,300 Senna says she's one of the lucky few 584 00:43:49,300 --> 00:43:51,140 who managed to escape La Rinconada. 585 00:43:54,020 --> 00:43:56,420 How did you get out and what do you do now? 586 00:44:14,060 --> 00:44:15,940 Is Rinconada... 587 00:44:15,940 --> 00:44:19,580 Do you think it is a trap for the people who work here? 588 00:44:34,580 --> 00:44:36,620 VOICE BREAKS 589 00:44:59,380 --> 00:45:01,420 Oh, Senna. HE SNIFFS 590 00:45:07,820 --> 00:45:09,620 God bless you, Senna. 591 00:45:09,620 --> 00:45:12,180 I'll remember this place and these people 592 00:45:12,180 --> 00:45:15,100 the next time I think I'm having a tough day. 593 00:45:15,100 --> 00:45:17,060 You know, I can normally find the positive 594 00:45:17,060 --> 00:45:20,300 in almost anywhere I've been, but I really struggle here. 595 00:45:20,300 --> 00:45:21,540 This is... 596 00:45:22,540 --> 00:45:26,380 This is definitely a place I won't be sorry never to come back to. 597 00:45:26,380 --> 00:45:28,860 As we came down from the mine, the atmosphere changed. 598 00:45:36,300 --> 00:45:38,620 We've been told unless we go now, 599 00:45:38,620 --> 00:45:40,700 people here are going to really BLEEP! us up. 600 00:45:40,700 --> 00:45:43,460 We were told it really explicitly. 601 00:45:43,460 --> 00:45:46,140 Some of the miners were angry with our presence. 602 00:45:46,140 --> 00:45:48,780 It was no longer safe for us to stay in La Rinconada. 603 00:45:59,220 --> 00:46:02,980 Well, I'm very relieved to say that we've got out of Rinconada safely. 604 00:46:02,980 --> 00:46:04,700 We need to find somewhere to overnight, 605 00:46:04,700 --> 00:46:07,860 and then we're going to head to the Bolivian border. 606 00:46:07,860 --> 00:46:11,060 I travelled south through the high plains of the Andes 607 00:46:11,060 --> 00:46:13,540 towards the landlocked country of Bolivia. 608 00:46:18,860 --> 00:46:22,460 We're getting close to the border between Peru and Bolivia now. 609 00:46:22,460 --> 00:46:25,420 The border's been closed during Covid, 610 00:46:25,420 --> 00:46:27,580 as have many land borders in South America, 611 00:46:27,580 --> 00:46:30,420 but we've been given a special permission to cross. 612 00:46:30,420 --> 00:46:34,180 We have, of course, been fairly endlessly tested for Covid. 613 00:46:34,180 --> 00:46:38,500 We've all been jabbed and jabbed and jabbed again. 614 00:46:38,500 --> 00:46:40,060 Is this the border? 615 00:46:44,660 --> 00:46:46,460 That's Bolivia just up ahead. 616 00:46:46,460 --> 00:46:48,500 SHEEP BLEAT 617 00:46:50,900 --> 00:46:52,900 It's still quite rare for people to cross, 618 00:46:52,900 --> 00:46:56,980 so this gentleman has seized his business opportunity. 619 00:47:00,740 --> 00:47:03,740 I have to say, in all the world, 620 00:47:03,740 --> 00:47:07,980 I have never seen people having a football match in no-man's-land. 621 00:47:10,940 --> 00:47:12,220 That's proper bizarre. 622 00:47:13,700 --> 00:47:17,700 And don't forget, they're at nearly 4,000 metres. 623 00:47:19,100 --> 00:47:21,060 MAN PUFFS You OK? 624 00:47:24,020 --> 00:47:27,020 I feel a bit better if he's out of breath as well. 625 00:47:27,020 --> 00:47:28,900 Honestly, it's the altitude. 626 00:47:28,900 --> 00:47:30,900 Yolanda! 627 00:47:30,900 --> 00:47:31,940 Hola! 628 00:47:34,060 --> 00:47:36,180 I can't quite believe something has worked. 629 00:47:36,180 --> 00:47:38,820 SHE GREETS HIM 630 00:47:38,820 --> 00:47:41,420 My guide in Bolivia was Yolanda Mamani. 631 00:47:44,180 --> 00:47:45,540 Gracias. 632 00:47:52,060 --> 00:47:55,300 Bolivia is home to 12 million people, 633 00:47:55,300 --> 00:47:58,540 and around 60% have indigenous heritage - 634 00:47:58,540 --> 00:48:01,220 the highest proportion of any South American country. 635 00:48:04,860 --> 00:48:08,660 Yolanda took me to Bolivia's capital, La Paz, 636 00:48:08,660 --> 00:48:11,740 a journey she first made as a child at the age of ten. 637 00:48:15,700 --> 00:48:17,860 So one of the best ways of getting around the city 638 00:48:17,860 --> 00:48:21,700 and seeing a bit of it as well is the cable cars. 639 00:48:23,140 --> 00:48:27,060 Quick fact for your next pub quiz is that La Paz has the world record 640 00:48:27,060 --> 00:48:31,260 for the largest public transport cable car system on the planet. 641 00:48:31,260 --> 00:48:33,740 It's also the highest capital city in the world. 642 00:48:36,060 --> 00:48:39,260 Oh, my good Lord. 643 00:48:39,260 --> 00:48:40,780 That is quite a sight. 644 00:48:42,420 --> 00:48:44,460 HE GASPS 645 00:48:45,460 --> 00:48:49,100 La Paz is in, like, a giant bowl, 646 00:48:49,100 --> 00:48:52,780 and it is occupied and spread 647 00:48:52,780 --> 00:48:55,860 and sprawled throughout this... 648 00:48:55,860 --> 00:48:59,500 ..throughout this enormous area. It looks... 649 00:48:59,500 --> 00:49:01,100 It looks ginormous. 650 00:49:02,740 --> 00:49:07,020 For centuries, La Paz was a largely white European city. 651 00:49:07,020 --> 00:49:10,140 Indigenous people mostly lived in the countryside. 652 00:49:10,140 --> 00:49:12,860 Yolanda is among thousands of indigenous Bolivians 653 00:49:12,860 --> 00:49:14,860 who've migrated here in the last few decades. 654 00:49:16,140 --> 00:49:18,980 Referred to disdainfully as "Cholas," 655 00:49:18,980 --> 00:49:23,260 for generations, indigenous women had been forced into servitude 656 00:49:23,260 --> 00:49:27,540 and denied a real opportunity to vote, own land or have an education. 657 00:49:30,140 --> 00:49:34,100 Yolanda, when you came to La Paz, what did you do? What happened? 658 00:49:46,420 --> 00:49:50,020 Did you experience racism, discrimination? 659 00:50:17,140 --> 00:50:21,660 What was the reaction from people employing you as a child cleaner 660 00:50:21,660 --> 00:50:23,500 when you said you wanted to go to school? 661 00:50:39,020 --> 00:50:42,060 Yolanda fought hard for her right to go to school 662 00:50:42,060 --> 00:50:43,900 and went on to university. 663 00:50:45,940 --> 00:50:49,140 Bolivian society has been changing fast, 664 00:50:49,140 --> 00:50:52,060 even electing the nation's first-ever indigenous president. 665 00:50:54,420 --> 00:50:56,300 Things are far from perfect here, 666 00:50:56,300 --> 00:50:58,940 but after a hard struggle, more indigenous Bolivians 667 00:50:58,940 --> 00:51:02,580 do now have access to education and jobs previously denied them. 668 00:51:05,460 --> 00:51:07,460 Yolanda? 669 00:51:07,460 --> 00:51:09,500 What's happening... What's going on here? 670 00:51:41,380 --> 00:51:44,820 The market mashes up indigenous traditions, Christianity 671 00:51:44,820 --> 00:51:47,060 and a hefty dollop of consumerism. 672 00:51:47,060 --> 00:51:50,220 You can buy miniature versions of the things you want in real life, 673 00:51:50,220 --> 00:51:52,740 of just about anything your heart desires. 674 00:51:52,740 --> 00:51:56,620 How about a surprise for your dodgy uncle who's been away for a while? 675 00:51:56,620 --> 00:51:58,340 Oh, my goodness! 676 00:51:58,340 --> 00:52:00,300 Here's a certificate 677 00:52:00,300 --> 00:52:02,900 to get your relative out of prison. 678 00:52:02,900 --> 00:52:05,500 Literally a get-out-of-jail card! 679 00:52:06,780 --> 00:52:09,620 It's fun, but serious as well. 680 00:52:09,620 --> 00:52:13,260 A new indigenous middle class is emerging in Bolivia, 681 00:52:13,260 --> 00:52:16,740 and they've got ambitions, aspirations and goals. 682 00:52:16,740 --> 00:52:18,700 You've got a house in there, money. 683 00:52:20,180 --> 00:52:23,220 I'm sure there's some science 684 00:52:23,220 --> 00:52:26,700 about the psychology of actually possessing something 685 00:52:26,700 --> 00:52:30,100 that you want and giving you a tangible target to aim towards. 686 00:52:30,100 --> 00:52:31,860 I'm sure it must help. 687 00:52:42,940 --> 00:52:44,420 What are you going for? 688 00:52:59,900 --> 00:53:01,820 So this is going to help you get your degree? 689 00:53:02,820 --> 00:53:04,740 SHE CHUCKLES 690 00:53:04,740 --> 00:53:06,500 It's quite comprehensive, isn't it? 691 00:53:06,500 --> 00:53:08,740 And it comes with a laptop as well. 692 00:53:27,220 --> 00:53:31,020 Indigenous women like Yolanda still have a long way to go. 693 00:53:31,020 --> 00:53:35,340 Their iconic pollera skirts and bowler hats, once denigrated, 694 00:53:35,340 --> 00:53:37,580 are becoming a symbol of national pride. 695 00:53:38,900 --> 00:53:43,660 Cholas are increasingly prominent in the media, industry and government, 696 00:53:43,660 --> 00:53:47,220 but the battle's not yet won. They're still facing discrimination. 697 00:53:47,220 --> 00:53:49,900 HORN HONKS 698 00:53:49,900 --> 00:53:53,620 Yolanda took me to see where she spreads her message of defiance. 699 00:53:58,940 --> 00:54:01,740 Yolanda, do you still work as a cleaner now? 700 00:54:10,300 --> 00:54:12,100 OK. 701 00:54:32,420 --> 00:54:35,700 Yolanda now has her own weekly radio show, 702 00:54:35,700 --> 00:54:39,060 as well as being an activist and campaigner for indigenous rights. 703 00:54:41,540 --> 00:54:43,580 UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS 704 00:56:50,340 --> 00:56:51,780 Gracias, Sonia! 705 00:57:17,020 --> 00:57:21,180 I'd come to the end of this leg of my South American journey. 706 00:57:21,180 --> 00:57:23,660 It had been fascinating and exhausting. 707 00:57:23,660 --> 00:57:25,500 The high altitude had been brutal. 708 00:57:26,860 --> 00:57:29,220 But it had given me at least a little insight 709 00:57:29,220 --> 00:57:32,180 into the lives of indigenous people in the Andes. 710 00:57:34,620 --> 00:57:39,700 I've been quite shocked on this trip at just how marginalised still 711 00:57:39,700 --> 00:57:43,140 many indigenous people are in Peru and Bolivia. 712 00:57:43,140 --> 00:57:45,820 Of course, it's been that way for hundreds of years, 713 00:57:45,820 --> 00:57:49,860 but now many people like Yolanda are saying 714 00:57:49,860 --> 00:57:51,380 they're not going to take it any more. 715 00:57:53,820 --> 00:57:55,300 Next time... 716 00:57:56,900 --> 00:57:59,700 There's nowhere else quite like this on planet Earth. 717 00:57:59,700 --> 00:58:03,180 ..I travel through an alien mirror world 718 00:58:03,180 --> 00:58:05,620 to a remote corner of little-known Paraguay. 719 00:58:05,620 --> 00:58:08,140 CHILDREN RECITE Oh, my.