Deadliest Roads | Suriname | Free Documentary

[Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the Sun surly rises over Paramaribo the capital of Suriname pedro is preparing for a long trip he has kept his childlike spirit even if he has just become a grandfather oh I don't like this miss had ro and his wife Francesca are not like other grandparents they're gold hunters get going every year they set off to bury themselves for months at a time in their mine in the Amazon forest being careful won't kill you no that way this is the only type of vehicle to manage the road where we're going no other vehicle could well unless it's a tractor take it down take it down that's good [Applause] put the brake on morning matter you can let go it won't fall yeah we'll come down gold has paid for their daughter's education and they hope to earn enough to secure the future of their grandson he's our first grandson he's a man he won't go into the forest like his grandpa no no you'll play football and go to school he's too young to go into the jungle you might get ill Hedren Francesca's journey will last several days 200 kilometres through the jungle on the road to gold [Music] sorry nam is difficult to locate on a map but it's not an imaginary country Suriname is in the heart of the Amazon a jungle country 163 thousand square kilometres covered with virgin forests very few roads a few tracks and notably a lot of large rivers waterways where canoes are the trucks Suriname is the least populated country in the Americas with barely half a million inhabitants the majority of the population lives in the capital paramaribo suriname is a land of adventure to get from one village to another one usually takes not the road but the river and it's unpredictable waters Suriname was a Dutch colony largely built on the African slave trade their descendants still live there and now work for the gold diggers the gating Parros fifteen to thirty thousand men from neighboring Brazil Suriname is their Eldorado [Music] after a six-hour drive Pedro and Francesca reached the shore of the Maroni River look it collect all the barrels and put them in the canoe geez Bobby just a pair they must now load 2,000 liters of gasoline three tons of diesel oil a hundred litres of water dozens of kilos of rice vegetables potatoes enough food to last at least three months they still need to get the essential quad bike on board over 300 kilos in a canoe that is already dangerously low in the water [Music] hydros hardly reassured so yeah I really first do you have a life jacket oh yes I have a problem with water a problem what's that you can't win no I'm scared [Applause] Franchesca aren't you scared fan Cheska you can't swim almost hundred percent and if I fell into the water I wouldn't drown [Music] Pedro financed this expedition with the money he made from gold last year everything he has is plowed into what's on board but the old canoe is overloaded and the water is already seeping in and the rapids are close by here it's calm further on it's rough there are more waves that's why I wear the vest the river level has dropped significantly following the year's severe drought the silhouettes of the rocks are a constant menace [Music] a large canoes sank here near this Cove now we're getting closer to these smaller rocks the guy will have to steer the canoe using one foot on the rocks and the other in the canoe you're the first on mind the rocks will count when the rocks the canoe would break up if it hits a rock [Music] right yeah find out you're gonna hit the rock [Music] yes a is a really nutcase what patron Francesca feared has happened the overloaded canoe is stuck on a sandbar hey come on friend come down get out of the boat and to help us but the boat men are cautious not jumping without seeing where they put their feet first if your foot goes between two rocks you break it you break it so when you jump you need to know how you jump and you know yeah I've done this many times too late the boat has drifted [Music] it's now sitting across the current the engine is not powerful enough to move it [Music] if it capsizes it's the end of the trip hold the boat hold the boat gone quickly now get up ahead get up in front quick [Applause] that box up so doesn't fall off the situation worsens when the canoe touches bottom everyone including Pedro jumps into the water not for too long though as there are water holds one hour later the boat moves a few centimeters it's enough to refloat it [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] fate causes one of the engines to fail and if that was not enough it's almost dry Hedera notices a leak in one of the tanks and the loss of dozens of litres of diesel I think there's a hole here [Music] now was the entire amount of diesel you need to fix this thing otherwise you lose even more [Music] we'll stop the canoe at Bangor tap oh and I'll put on a plastic washer manga topo is a village in the jungle not far from the Moroni it's where they hope to find a new engine and repair the leak wait [Music] I'll put a piece of cloth and start to lock it up and then it got a really rapid round tight we went arrived in camp today my voice Dasom what my husband is worried he doesn't feel well I think I'll give him the pill so you can sleep for two hours or even all night all of the day in your car oh yes for semen kisses better to stay calm I used to get very stressed so I prefer not to do you like this kind of life if you have ambition you should fight to achieve it and somehow they're achieving the improbable locating a replacement engine in the middle of the jungle we lost two hours waiting for the engine to get here no mama next we'll install the new engine let's get going with the canoes set off at full speed Pedro is adamant about arriving at the Midway camp before nightfall one hour you still have to go more oh is it to go in the river by night is dangerous you can do it too captain [Music] [Music] now it's a matter of trust Bosnia this song I'm afraid the bird stuck [Applause] a level of water is low because of all the rocks on the underneath look look you see see all the rocks they're ever way you can see why he can't go faster no I don't like to navigate at night but oh we go much fun to be here [Applause] [Music] traveling comes to an end for the day we're arriving at Catawba we'll sleep here and have a wash and get something to eat so yeah then we've travelled a lot it's been a long day I'm glad we arrived it it's been a hard day's work and tomorrow will be even trickier his last words are ominous [Music] in West Suriname on the banks of the quarantine River [Music] [Applause] a light pierces the night it's a small boat from a distant village Apple era [Music] the villagers sailed all night to reach here it's low tide and the pontoon is located three metres off the ground the 30 or so passengers are little nervous [Music] this pontoon doesn't seem to be for a remote village but a proper town the minibus picks them up but to get to it there's a mud path to cross there's never been any casualties but last week the passengers killed two poisonous snakes my world is [ __ ] up it's soft so soil is soft too much like that [Applause] they head towards town to get there the boat passengers have made an incredible journey leaving a para their village in the Amazon rainforest they have taken 24 hours to get here just to go shopping in the big town newer nikkor e fourteen thousand inhabitants like Suriname Nene curry is a multi-ethnic City five communities live together peacefully [Music] muslins from java engines chinese and era wax who were the first to settle here [Music] like the humans the gods too seemed to live in harmony [Music] the passengers arrived in town at around 8:00 in the morning they have a lot to do a little time in which to do it as the boat departs again in the late morning Felix wants to sell his pineapples in the market back home in half will error all you need to do is just bend down to pick them up but here they're worth a lot of money [Music] the marketed newer nikkor II is straight out of a painting [Music] the city people love Phoenix's sweet pineapple this man I'm a regular this is the fifth time I've been here this is the best pineapple in the market but the inhabitants of a poeira come mainly to new nikkor e to stock up on food supplies once a month Malick 23 raids the supermarket owned by madam we a chi flour vegetable oil coffee creamer and coffee have to go I tell you because a poor servant expensive shoe is better I come here also more than this will keep your photo and this will keep me for the whole month yes for me and my family I'm marking my goods you know because a lot of people buy stuff so just don't know your stocking just pick your name four hours after their arrival in the city the passengers are once again on the muddy road to the pier at the mud war mud work Marcos the captain has bought a nice flat-screen TV he's asked a friend to help here four wheel drive so we make you ask him to take me there no can go in there inside the captain has no doubt this former transport befits his rank [Music] the passengers though are waiting through but as in the fable of the hare and the tortoise there's no use hiring when the passengers overtake the four-wheel drive real difficult too many difficult for the people to walk here and travel here finally a tractor comes to help [Music] their problems are far from over the truck that is transporting the goods has now also got stuck [Applause] [Music] [Applause] come on this way as the hours tick by all sorts of things show up on the boat [Music] as even a coffin the loading is underway but the captain fears he may have to stay in port was very low very low so we have to wait maybe when they finish loading and we can see if you can come out there because with this water we cannot go no no no right now why it's slowly but stuck on a Sun yes that now yeah the old engine lacks power but with humans lending a hand [Applause] the good ship EDA Bali wants nothing to do with it and it doesn't budge one inch there's still one possibility [Music] [Applause] come on guys let's go you don't know [Music] just a few hours behind schedule the EDA body reaches cruising speed [Music] we don't know we travel to know Buddha some no other I think it's gonna be something of I think part of the 30 kilometres in the river driven but like I said earlier if it was to the road it will be only 80 to 90 kilometers but the river us us yet it's full of course yeah [Music] Suriname has its own sense of time it's best not to be in a rush the jungle imposes its own philosophy of life on the locals but it's far from plain sailing [Music] in Suriname almost all of the few paved roads lead to appear hicieron from here attorney there are no more roads [Music] to get to their village at langu these men and women have a tough journey ahead across the waterfalls at has inaudible and then the ones at Bongo [Music] 300 years ago their African ancestors fleeing slavery took refuge behind the walls of water and stone but where once waterfalls were their protection these days they've become their tormentors it's impossible to negotiate the Falls in a canoe the only way is to go on foot carrying all the cargo the smartest have everything planned the others carry their goods as best as they can for almost a kilometer mind that mosquitoes they're really big out here further up past the waterfall they wait for another boat but the boatman only has one engine in which he has to carry each time he makes this trip Jordy Gosselin and a bill tell you like we have to make this detour because of the waterfall model some boats can get by but they must unload their cargo first leaving the engine and canoe behind is too great a risk Gerry prefers to play it safe his canoe is his livelihood fifty euros a day enough to live quite comfortably in the jungle it's two hours in the canoe between the two waterfalls then a 30-minute detour on foot to go around [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] after a full day's journey the village of langu appears 500 people live in these huts of wood and canvas time seems to accomplish standstill here [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] in the jungle a canoe acts as the school bus there is no Road but the state hasn't abandoned its people okay let's start again two three six you start with nothing at the beginning and then your mummy gives you six apples how many apples do I have six add more Mankato pick sir gather your bags hey Rana and leave quietly new you eat that any the teacher teaches in Dutch the official language you got kids in a fill it's never a children in the village who have never been to the city I've never seen a car he never saw only on who have never had anything other than a broom in their hands or maybe a bicycle from the government subsidizes the school in the village generator this day machine has the generator it runs on petrol it powers a village over here and another over there [Music] it's switched on at 7:00 every evening but the next day the village may be without as the petrol is about to run out [Music] [Applause] [Music] once a month the strongest men in the village are tasks with collecting 4000 litres of the precious fuel [Music] which is provided by the government with six or seven 200 liter cans per canoe just remaining afloat requires great skill [Music] to work past the waterfalls the men are forced to carry 20 cans of 200 kilos each for almost a kilometer we need another person here no no down on old honest even up in dick yeah Bob you've always had to do this ever since the first people settled here we're not equipped to carry such heavy loads it's hard work it takes the villagers five hours to go around the two waterfalls [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] yet it's a chore that nobody in langu resents on the contrary it helps maintain their independence me I'd rather live here than in town freedom more free Aki life in the town is stressful everything revolves around work you don't get to see your family or children Marcus or you work hard here - it's peaceful [Applause] [Applause] but in a few months time Jerry and the inhabitants of langu might well find the calm shattered the mayor of the village Heinz Frederick's in ceremonial dress however believes langu will be reborn a road will be built here finally be spared the misery of dealing with the waterfalls vehicles will be able to come all the way here so trip that now takes six hours by canoe will take no more than an hour by car the teacher who was born in the village doesn't believe it for one second the road is a legend she's been hearing about since childhood since when I was young you talk my elders talked about it and it is it is in the heart of the people and you finished the road it is a dream come true [Music] five kilometers of forest have already been destroyed [Music] [Music] [Applause] my deulgukhwa d'italia docket or not as descendants of slaves the forest is part of our heritage but we need some more modern things that's why we're investing in the construction of this road this is an opportunity for us to improve our lives [Music] [Applause] [Music] that is one day we work for one machine for one man in one day they might dream of improvement but the road is a virtual invitation to destroy the forest especially for the gold diggers [Music] on the banks of the Maroni River gold hunters Francesco and Pedro are forced to change their dugout to get to their mind like the villagers in Longo they are constantly loading and unloading their cargo it's better to take frozen meat by the time you get there it will already have thawed the time it takes to go home they won't go off it'll stay fresh and till this afternoon will it rot no I'm not sure and of course there's the quad for the recipe to get where we're going it's impossible to take the big canoe because the riverbed is dry and tide is low we'll manage with a smaller one but don't what they need they'll go to the camp today maybe not in two hours but two or three hours anyway [Music] if everything goes well that is which is rare in Suriname especially when the arm of the river is littered with tree trunks [Music] [Music] now it's dangerous because the riverbed is dried [Music] maybe in a week no canoes will be able to use it underneath the boat everywhere everywhere you very carefully especially when the propeller because this wood is tropical hardwood you hit it with a propeller you're gone the boatman are all descendants of slaves and never leave their forests it's a big responsibility but these boys and a very young age they become mature if you don't go to school you have to work in the land since they are small these boys are coming in the creeks because they be hunting they'll be fishing they'll be cutting the trees and now looking for go or not direction I can't anymore turn that way [Music] the water levels drop dangerously edro has to offload part of their equipment hold it push I'm gonna head off with the quad getting a football job you I'm bossy go by the river is not navigable you have to go another way and they'll take the baggage and carry-on a little bit further [Music] you see start across the D it's no way we can stop that's the job never a calm day the gold mining region is a land of desolation - such as Pedro helped carve out this secret pathway it may be the revenge of the spirits of the forest because just a few kilometers later [Music] my dear you see the whole system has died we need some new parts [Music] new parts fat chance for those [Music] biggest a brother Sebastian my god I get Pristina repetitions obviously Machinery starts but one hour and four kilometres later this time petrol knows exactly what the problem is a geyser Nina my goodness the petrol petrol is a very poor quality [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] this is now their fourth breakdown in less than two hours under the canopy of trees in the middle of the day it's 45 degrees and the air is saturated with moisture the couple is exhausted [Music] [Music] Huhn Francesca's patience is finally running out there are times when patients reaches its limits it makes me want to explode help on the other side the boatman are also beginning to tire come on let's get back in [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Canaris duck it's because of you dammit it wasn't me well why didn't you leave the canoe over there the next time you fall in the water I'll leave you you're crazy the X is a point already where is it leaking oh Jesus Christ my God thank you calm down we just need a little help [Applause] heaven fire support stay calm we can sort this out [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the Connors finally reach their destination followed a few hours later by the quad this is a kind of illegal river station from where all the garimpeiros in the region depart there are no more rivers at this point all travel is with a quad once again everything must be unpacked and unloaded true it's hard work but we made it yes we go about barefoot all day we could have an accident one day a barrel fell on my hand see yeah it's already healed injuries quickly disappear getting the cargo up to the mine will take them till nightfall [Music] pedram Francesca will live here for at least two months [Music] at 6:00 a.m. the camp begins to stir all day long the digger devours the earth [Music] it took four canoes tethered together to transport the machine this far it constantly feeds the metal beast [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] stop when the cladding RPC at this point I don't know if we'll find gold sometimes I find something and other times I find nothing I'm sick they'll hold that I do all of this to earn a good living so I can have a decent retirement that's why I work so hard I always said I would never work for a boss I just work for myself we may not be earning much but it's us who decide what we do then you stop the routine I'm stopping looking for gold today my head is exploding [Music] as in all the countries of the Amazon Suriname is slowly devouring the forest [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [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, dicing with death suriname, most dangerous roads suriname, deadliest roads suriname, dangerous suriname, deadliest journeys suriname, surinamme

Id: Y-xc4S6l3z0

Length: 51min 56sec (3116 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 01 2020