Deadliest Roads | Guyana | Free Documentary

maybe [Music] [Music] the small republic of guyana is celebrating its 42nd anniversary and doing so in typical caribbean style descendants of african slaves the great-great-grandchildren of indian labourers christians hindus and muslims with its rich ethnic mix the former british colony isn't quite like any other of its central american neighbors while the party in the capital georgetown is in full swing roy is keeping an eye on the repairs being made to his truck an old british army bedford roy is a tough customer he goes where others fear to venture [Music] all right they're changing the disc there's brakes brakes left you have to change them every four trips also the roads in guyana are unforgiving but roy knows he can earn up to 300 euros in just one trip twice the minimum salary sometimes sometimes i'm trying to go in here turn over trucks can tip over only recently two flipped onto their roofs the mud could be this deep there's mud everywhere and sometimes as high as the windows every week roy supplies the gold mines in the interior with petrol without which the pits would grind to a halt guyana has a small population barely 800 000 inhabitants in a country the size of england and the vast majority live along the coast inland stretch the vast jungles of amazonia its impassable rivers and torrential rainfall the jungle it's a mere playground for the bedfords these trucks can handle the terrain [Music] drivers wage constant war against the elements we haven't made it yet [Music] distances out here are measured not in kilometers but by the number of days spent on the road some convoys can disappear for several weeks at a time beyond the forest cowboys and their huge herds are the kings of the savannah some say the fabled el dorado lies somewhere in this country [Music] six in the morning on the eskibo river roy is on the first ferry of the day sitting on top of two and a half thousand liters of fuel in the back of his truck are a few gold hunters heading for the blackwater mines it's barely 50 kilometers but the track is one of the most dangerous in guyana and drivers are traveling in a convoy [Music] devon is in front this time all week last week me drive me to sleep yet tree trip tree trip it's me four trip meanwhile sleeping roy seems more concerned i have to focus on the road otherwise we'll have a lot of problems [Applause] the convoy has crossed a series of rickety bridges worn away by the humidity can you get through on your side repairs are seldom carried out until the bridge has actually collapsed [Music] [Applause] the trucks head into the jungle it hasn't rained for several days but the road is a sea of mud the route to blackwater is always [Music] waterlogged each trip becomes more difficult [Music] yeah plenty of trucks heading in both ways each time one passes the road gets worse despite the four-wheel drive the vehicles struggle and progress is agonizingly slow [Applause] use the winch it's difficult to drive got a winch roy watches and waits for his turn from down below [Music] when you're stuck you have to run the cable out and attach it to a tree to get the truck free everyone here has a winch the assistant's job is to run the cable out by hand to a tree that is suitably placed and looks solid enough i was one like them when i was 16 i was a porter then i become a driver devin starts up his winch the cable slowly winds around pulling the truck and its cargo altogether eight tons one of the advantages of traveling in a group is that as he's in the rear roy can get himself towed along [Applause] the key is to choose one's route [Music] you have to choose the best part strive carefully means getting home in one piece you need experience for that and know how to use it speed in a convoy never exceeds five kilometers an hour where should we use the winch it turns into a long and laborious series of tough physical efforts with temperatures at midday oppressive humidity is into the 90s at this point the bedfords can only advance by being winched as devin struggles to get up one slope two of his passengers have walked ahead and found something to eat we killed it we can find another you can buy it in six hours the convoy has covered just 30 kilometers on the heights there are other challenges the route is one large bog the passengers are scratched by the bushes and shaken by the bumps first time he makes a streak second time and you think you like it below the water the ruts are impossible to make out but some can be as deep as one meter [Music] the assistants might find something to amuse themselves but devin is at his wit's end as he tries to get free devon only seems to get increasingly stuck roy decides to try a different path [Applause] here the road is in better condition but there's nowhere nearby to attach the winch the assistants will need to pull the cable by hand for several dozen metres most work barefoot [Applause] guyana the simplest looking roads are often the hardest [Applause] roy is stuck fast surrounded by potholes [Music] [Applause] [Music] the full force of the engine is needed now to take up the struggle any moment the truck could tip over the battle lasts for nearly an hour it's a good trick good trick [Music] strong good driver 50 kilometers in 10 hours but the convoy does finally reach the blackwater mines in one of the wildest forests in the world an army of mechanical diggers is churning up the earth river courses have been detoured and the ground is constantly being washed down in the hope of finding a trace of gold in this remote area life is hard here one sleeps on the ground under the most basic cover [Applause] the men unload the supplies and then their most precious cargo petrol here fuel is in constant demand and uh this excavator that works 24 hours a day and uh yes where it takes two drums every day the dredge takes a two drum a day too so 20 drums just last me a week mustafa owns his mind but is a long way from being a millionaire any profit he makes is plowed back into fuel and supplies the truck with the load the fuel and the grocery and the the meat and all that it uh it's about two and a half million dollars so every trip is about two and a half million dollars like many guyanese mustafa has spent time in the united states in his case almost 30 years unfortunately some bad luck forced him to return home and try his hand in the mines i have my wife and my two daughters in the states i go home every every four or five months it's a tough life you got to make sacrifice you know as in the states you're just living to pay bills you know i mean here there are no salaries the miners are paid a percentage finding just a few grains of the precious gold dust can mean wading through the river for hours and hours it's not easy i mean they can probably finish working at six o'clock by then they go and and get it get a shower at the creek and and get eating and getting to bed it's probably eight o'clock and then they'll get up at three o'clock again and then they gone back doing the same thing every day then you got malaria tie fight dengue fever and all this you got to go through everybody out here even myself we all got to get malaria once you out here in the interior you will get malaria [Music] not far from mustafa's mind others have found a far easier way to look for gold in a bend of the river potaro strange creature lurks made from rusting iron and sheet metal on this barge of five brazilians looking to make their fortune their infernal machine sucks up and spits out mud in the hope of uncovering a deposit of gold the deafening noise never stops but in their opinion it's still better than having to work down the mines [Music] yes it doesn't do your ears much good but you get used to it they'll spend six months without a break on the barge in recent years this area in the heart of guyana has seen a new gold rush after weeks in the jungle the men come to madya looking for some r r with its four thousand inhabitants it's the only town in these parts the state of its roads contrasts sharply with the dreams of riches the region inspires everything here revolves around the gold prospectors the main business is conducted in these booths [Music] entering one is full of hope no need to be disappointed soon afterwards we came here to sell our goals but we'll get nothing out of it will we you you sold your gold give me a thousand give me your just 500 give me some money you owe me that at least not now stop whinging no way but you know who i am you're no friend of mine give me a good price [Music] the gold is measured in grams one gram will usually bring in 30 euros the hard-earned cash quickly disappears in the bars of madia [Applause] since the gold rush prostitution here has thrived and with it an aids epidemic [Applause] in guyana the disease is the principal cause of death for those aged between 25 and 44. far from the hardships of the interior georgetown is a town where life can be good after the carnival things settle back [Music] [Applause] down at the heart of this activity is the covered market below this large victorian era building there are rows of minibuses [Applause] the vehicles head off across the country's network of roads and paths the only way most cases of getting around vernon has been a driver for more than 10 years his destination is lethem a remote town near the border with brazil some 420 kilometers away some drivers are just pulling in and vernon asks about the latest news business is slow today but by 8 o'clock vernon decides to hit the road even though he has only two passengers to have the nine available seats the price of the tickets doesn't even cover his expenses competition is fierce so it's best not to turn down any kind of business if we're gonna wait at the last moment to tell you guys that we don't have a bus go in there and then the next time he won't come and travel with us again a manic race begins between the minibuses the first ferry across the river leaves at six in the morning despite the bumps and holes vernon drives at full speed in the back the passengers are already feeling the worse for wear we do do try to meet a crossing for around four o'clock so we we we get at least an hour hour and a half rest before the pontoon as the other minibuses disappear into the night vernon has to give up the race there's a problem in the back [Applause] one of the passengers helps it's one in the morning all around for hundreds of kilometers is nothing but amazonian forest well these are brand new tires they normally last but i am i was approximately four to five trips so they'll give you like about two weeks two weeks the puncture means vernon will lose 40 minutes sleep there's no way to make up the lost time [Music] he reaches the river just moments before the ferry leaves and as the other vehicles are driving on board 10 hours behind the wheel and vernon hasn't been able to sleep the only how you feel is when i stop and go to like if i go catch a rest well all the thursdays we're good to go no time to rest no time for rest no time for us but how long can he keep this pace up after all he's still barely halfway through the journey [Music] yes akiba is the longest and widest river in guyana it takes about 20 minutes to cross for those who have traveled through the night this is a good time to freshen up [Music] the wait for the ferry to put the drivers back on an equal footing but a new battle will soon get underway the first to arrive will grab the most passengers for the return journey if vernon wants to catch up this is the time to do so if it's safe yes once you could control the vehicle in any case his dials have long since given up working i got three bus in front of me we are little survival game this proves too much for the passenger who's ill he ends the journey hanging out the window vernon has one through and speeds towards leftover the other minibuses continue their race it's best not to lag behind a short distance away a solitary silhouette under the scorching sun ross is a driver of a heavy goods vehicle which broke down here two days ago around him the savannah starts burning but he remains cool do any sunshine weather you do fire congo as 1500 acres for a day this fire just started by the sun the heat wave in the area you just get the fire and it just started off just kind of experience it's not nothing like for one day or two day it's like whenever you got the problem you just gotta save it it's a bit dangerous because you can i mean if you don't have any water or whatever well so mostly i'm from the countryside i'm from the local star plain and this is an interior savannah so i know about survival his truck has an electrical fault a passing driver has gone to look for a mechanic but that could take several days soros stays put and keeps an eye on his cargo of building materials now you can leave the truck the truck have millions of dollars in investment within the goods and the capacity the the boosters and structures of water anything about 8 million dollars what i do during the day during my leisure time within the breakdown i think about listening to some music i read newspapers a magazine and that's all you could do nothing else just to keep yourself lively i do not know is on the road to do sit back and relax for the time being you know to help come in guyana patience is the number one asset of a skilled driver [Music] ironically ross is just 10 kilometers from lefem his final destination the town is the largest in this poor and isolated region on the brazilian border the majority of its three thousand inhabitants are the merry indians it's also bedford country where the hardy trucks go through a third or even fourth renaissance a group of men are busy working on one truck from the 1960s which needs an axle change emil who spent 16 of his 39 years as a driver is supervising up a little bit a little bit too much a little bit more good [Applause] he works with his 21 year old son he's just starting in the business his truck often suffers from his lack of experience but the young man wants to correct his own mistakes i prefer to do it myself it's better that way my assistants and i do the repairs and so we can guarantee the work there are no new parts for the bedfords the axle is second hand imported all the way from england it weighs several hundred kilos somewhere everybody [Music] [Applause] at night four the trucks are loaded up the supplies need to be delivered by the father his son and three assistants to a village in the monkey mountains said to be inaccessible two days a week a month no one can ever tell just how long a journey like this could take yet the village is only 200 kilometers to the north we've got a bridge break down on on the highway so we come we become sideways because you cannot get the bridge right there go in a creek this one here recently happened emil insists on driving the first 120 kilometers at night what six hours of driving in the dark to cover as much ground as possible before the greater unknown [Music] off the corresponding we're going more difficult for us away tonight and in the morning 7 7 30 keep going each generation has its own way of driving his father remains fully focused while danish cranks up the volume of his headphones to drown out the noise of the engine [Applause] the trucks arrive at the village of karazawa at one in the morning the occasional passes passers-by can use the shelter everyone hangs up his hammocks but there's one person who finds it hard to sleep leave it on a meal pace is up and down keep thinking about tomorrow you know if you're passing or no passing at dawn the team is still sleeping like logs this shop sells just about everything in the rainy weather there's the time it is hard for getting goods when the dry weather you could always get the vehicle to bring in the goods but really where they know this place becomes an island first set up in this indian reservation 22 years ago and things have changed radically since then to what it was 22 years it was real primitive today you know you get the road community you're getting more more goods for in when i come here to live for you get a pound of sugar you have to walk 17 miles to get it look people watching that the babies sit you a skydish so they have advanced though but they still maintain the dialect of them things you the drivers continue their trip with some last-minute passengers sister lydia has just arrived from india she's come to spread the good word among the isolated villagers as soon as they leave karasawa this one you know the four wheel drive but then four wheel drive low gear the meal switches to the twin clutches and the small cogs help increase the power of the vehicle sister lydia is looking forward to her voyage into the unknown this is the first time for me to go but then uh it is my willingness to go actually i wanted to the meet the people out people those who are living really in the mountain i stood here they are living on the mountain and all so really i wanted to go the meal keeps an eye on his son in the rearview mirror danish is as always quite cheerful the assistants are also making the most of their last moments of rest [Music] bye you just pull the wire up now yeah pull the cable wire up for poorly drop out hey friend come come the assistants respect emil as he works as hard as any of them yeah let me try this one the winch is indispensable but not without its own risks okay good see the vehicle could do this to damage the mechanics of the chassis in particular very very slightly you need to go very very slowly if it slips it might break an axle too quickly it could tip over but it should work if we take it it is very adventurous it is hard when we see the road just we can't imagine the how the people can manage in the such but the people really drivers us to be more appreciated that they take such a risk it is this is life and death only everything is in the hand of god that's all only the almighty god can do anything everything only we just trust and just go faith doesn't rule out prudence and the good sister has got off the truck during the operation emile remains calm enough but at the back his son seems agitated the young man has removed his headphones slowly there's a big hole just ahead stop stop stop danish has been dragged into the hole and the bedford's undercarriage is stuck in the earth more seriously the cable is now in the wrong position no longer along the axis and therefore under far greater strain when the cable it could snap at any moment [Applause] danish forces the truck and there's a worrying noise from below [Applause] it's impossible to carry on take your time son emil tries to fix the truck you unwind it start here and unwind it in this direction the metal cable needs to be untangled by hand it sends small metal splinters into their skins cut it here right there the makeshift method means the repairs take more than an hour keep an eye on the cable there's no way they want the same thing to happen again yes undo it you can go this way the road's better there besides there's a larger tree come on get on with it hang on now come this way come on come on his father doesn't help his son by taking the wheel as that would be seen as an insult slowly slowly emile steers him through every delicate maneuver [Applause] hang on [Applause] [Music] and we're off slowly does it the convoy is swallowed up by the huge and threatening jungle out here nature is king i don't like this yeah you got a snake in front of you look yeah there's a snake ahead of a snake yeah i feed a snake i don't like the snake snake no good no good snake has some very very dangerous snake in this bush the amazonian forest is full of poisonous species many of them deadly danger lies hidden almost everywhere despite this the assistants appear unconcerned as they wade and rummage through the mud under the back of the truck [Applause] keeping the vehicle under control is a tremendous physical challenge everything's manual it's hot in the back being thrown about sister lydia hasn't lost her sense of humor i love to have some like this adventurous journey in my life so that it will be really a memory i had heard about it but the worst it is two but that i had not expected i thought it may be like this little dry and then though it is climbing up and between the jungle but then we had to really hard time to wait for two hours in one place just for two hours whereas we could have gone too far the journey is really tough i can't i did not expect that it will be too tough but anyway i am enjoying the good company with the people with the sisters so i am enjoying the journey drags on endlessly the nun gets off the truck like the other passengers the village she's going to is just two kilometers away and at this stage is quicker on foot the bedfords however have only completed one third of their journey the unis's cable has already broken once and there's a real doubt whether it can hold that much longer further on in the savannah the cattle are being led home the immense plane is home to the vaqueros guyana's cowboys they're exceptional horsemen known for riding barefoot and to whom spending eight hours a day on horseback is second nature they've had nothing to eat since the day before but their priority is to their horses in the meantime the kitchens are working overtime norma is the boss here and she works hard while supervising the preparation only the amer indians are willing to work here they know this work is hard all day we don't go the whole day without everything and things like that the main problem in this area are the parasites such as the large vampire bats that live off the cattle's blood at nighttime [Music] let's see we just it's from a bad bite this is caused by the bite of a bat but he started getting infected it's infected and there'll be maggots growing inside when you start to lay the egg this is the egg right here you can see the eggs there eventually when they start to get spread throughout their body and cause wounds everywhere unless treated immediately the animal could die elsewhere a group of vultures it's biting its time the cowboys are cooking one of the cattle the animal is cut up the good parts of the demand and the rest goes to the scavengers the choices cards are turned into tasso the cowboys basic food once cut the meat is salted and dried keep for several months anything that can't be preserved is cooked straight away and shared out that night life's tough but norma wouldn't have it any other way this is in my blood that's in my blood i love this life being a farmer and raising cattle at the ranch dust brings the working day to an end but not for everyone it's gone midnight and lamps light up parts of the jungle emil and his men are still stuck out in the wilderness very difficult slope is too steep and there's nothing to attach the winch to those are just baby trees looking for the big ones you need something bigger a grandfather tree to find granddad though means heading off into the jungle the assistant still barefoot stretch out the winch for some 60 meters pull the cable [Music] you'll need enough power to climb up inches winch is already weakened this is not a good time to carry out repairs so another solution needs to be found we'll make a new ring that we can attach to my truck and pull it up to the top but it will be should be strong enough the remaining 20 meters of cable should be enough to tow danish making a knot in the two centimeter thick metal cable there's no easy task are you winning now let's get towing bruce emil knows this place well and knows it's full of potential traps it's vital to step on the gas too violently the father makes it and now it's up to the sun to cross the swamp [Music] the final hurdle danish loses control and the truck ends nose [Applause] it's now three in the morning and the convoy is plagued by bad luck [Applause] emil and his men haven't slept for more than 20 hours it's desperation that keeps them going [Applause] by daybreak the situation has hardly improved fatigue finally overcame the crew and denish's truck is still on the other side of the bend in the water the night was short and no one's eaten since the morning before yet the entire team gets back to work on empty stomachs some repair the cable others improvise an axe handle we're used to this so we're not scared which in we never say this job's for mad wish it's more enough we just try to go as far as possible we don't want to stay on the road forever bruce the most experienced assistant comes up with a solution the water's the problem so it's a matter of draining it off water is finished rinse [Applause] a motorcycle [Music] danish finally makes it across it's sunday nine in the morning we went we left friday night by the eat the club they're three and a half hours for each recipe i can't remember how many hours can you check can never check this kind of things altogether emil has been driving for 30 hours and has only slept for six tired you fired us hungry [Music] two hours later emile and his crew reach a valley cold water will be their only breakfast [Music] over the years the driver has become used to the hardships of the road this is what i do for a living drive my own truck and you know i don't like it but you need to do it he's praising himself for what lies ahead the rocks [Music] there was six months ago the assistants walk up ahead acting as lookouts go ahead remove that large rock that big one over there you can't stop on the climb up if there's a rock and a big rock could break something in our undercarriage but danish and his truck are forced to stop halfway up now tighten up the rope so it doesn't slide find the storm come on get that rock but if we pull it towards us it should work come on we'll get it out the bedford is tired it's system has been pushed to the limit all right though i want to be geared we were climbing yesterday something broke in the gearbox still go on but we need to go slowly hear that noise [Music] the clutch disintegrates and the truck keeps spawning [Music] guess it stop right the chocolate before to prevent it from going down again meter by meter denis makes it painfully to the summit it's 900 meters up and monkey mountain is not too far away now the young man is already looking forward to their arrival first i'll have a bath then well i don't know at monkey mountain there are girls do you know what i mean so i'll go and find myself one at dusk the convoy finally makes it to its destination the assistants have one more task to unload and deliver the supplies on board i feel tired i'm tired it was a long trip to bed get something to eat then sleep the journey has taken more than 48 hours a meal is close to collapse he knows tomorrow he'll begin the trip back [Music] without the trucks monkey mountain would be cut off from the outside world in the heart of an indian reservation in the middle of nowhere the village has just 750 inhabitants 200 of them children the head man here is called harry his power lies hidden in these small bags what's that stuff gold he spent 33 years in the gold mines before retiring to monkey mountain and marrying marta i want to be a treasure hunt i like to find the el radio but i'll never find it harry did nevertheless manage to scrape together a nice little nest egg which he guards with his life i thought this would um defend myself but this is not enough no this is not enough you got to get a bigger one and that but defend yourself small one with the savings the old miner bought this grocery store the days are long so he passes the time by drinking large amounts of vodka and listening to music at full blast to the despair of his neighbors [Music] stop and die at him he always disturbs me always yeah i don't know i don't like him he's no friend he's abusive he's a fake he wants everything for himself hector was born on saint lucia an island in the caribbean he came to guyana aged 8 with his mother when i arrived here i hope for a successful life to look for success in life especially diamonds farming gold and diamond and agriculture i'd seen people get rich that way [Music] now 82 he's too old to look for gold he's brought up all the concessions in the area and is hoping to sell them on to passing miners but business is slow [Music] the house is the old man's only valuable i wanted to extend it make it nicer bigger and better but it didn't work out what i want to go you can't always have what you want somewhere else because you you don't really get the things you want here hector hasn't given up hope however from his terrace he still keeps an eye out for the miners he hopes will rent his concessions but in monkey mountain the gold rush ended a long time ago the horizon remains depressingly empty [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, deadliest journeys Guyana, dicing with death Guyana, dangerous Guyana, most dangerous roads Guyana, dangerous roads Guyana, deadliest roads Guyana, Guyana

Id: ohAZTV4DMOQ

Length: 51min 27sec (3087 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021