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