World's Most Dangerous Roads - Senegal: Into the Mud

[Music] piggy [Music] yes [Music] every summer between july and august senegal is cursed with endless downpours [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] the town of khao lak is paralyzed with the rain and the heat come mosquitoes and diseases entire neighborhoods empty hassan is preparing to leave his home he's come to collect some of his things one last prayer before leaving town in senegal very few people own a car in order to leave town there is only one option the bus station and its flotilla of run-down wheels all lined up like at a racetrack bush taxis and minibuses are in fierce competition even more so during this seasonal exodus some are not close to leaving the travelers are not out of the woods yet [Music] [Applause] the route that they face is full of obstacles linking khao lak to the town of zhiyansho in kazamos the bush taxis and minibuses race taking every risk on this route mechanics are put to the test and the drivers must pay for it another major obstacle gambia a small country that stands as a barrier in the middle of senegal to cross the border the passengers will have to be patient morgan [Music] here survival is earned hey this is my walk at khao lak bus station the minibuses are nicknamed fast coaches but this is more an intention than a reality this family can confirm it okay the driver is in no rush to leave everyone is taking their time however their departure is not a given six euros is two days worth of salary so after four hours of waiting certain travelers inevitably become frustrated oh passengers keen to get on the road head instead for the bush taxis with them the travelers are sure to leave within the hour knowing when they will arrive however is another story [Music] [Music] the driver each journey is a challenge to get there as quickly as possible at the wheel of his old peugeot break he cruises as if he owns the road not very reassuring for his passengers especially when they see these wrecks [Music] foreign [Music] foreign in senegal speed kills more than disease here they really drive without safeguards in all senses of the word [Music] this is [Applause] [Applause] four days after his accident adama is still waiting for assistance he and his assistant went to the nearest clinic to be treated hitchhiking since then they have been left to their own devices come on until his boss brings together the sun the weight is likely to drag on for these road castaways [Music] meanwhile booner and his taxi tear up the road he's eager to arrive in kazamos before nightfall [Music] at the same time the minibus finally leaves cow lakh bus station it too is racing against the clock [Applause] morning [Music] but the journey is hardly underway and the engine is already showing signs of fatigue [Music] without hesitation vala lifts the hood the radiator let out a geezer of boiling water [Applause] not knowing what is wrong it's up to the miracle medicine the driver cools his vehicle feeding it water and continues on his way with his fingers crossed my game was already nothing seems to quench the thirst of the old minibus the engine is still overheating the risk they might have to give up [Music] [Applause] the driver is forced to stop every 10 kilometers not great for his passengers on to find a garage in the bush bala makes a detour the place may not look it but it is home to a mechanic one quick glance is enough for this vehicular healer to locate the problem [Applause] the roadside serves as the operating room the brakes must be completely dismantled the passengers wonder if it would have been better to just take a bush taxi the operation proves to be difficult rust has soldered the metal [Music] after much struggle the brakes eventually come off when they are put back it is four o'clock they're halfway along their journey [Applause] meanwhile the taxi has secured its lead but it still has a major obstacle to overcome cross gambia and its river [Music] this long line of trucks is not a good sign gambia a tiny strip of land 40 kilometers wide right in the middle of senegal there is a route that bypasses this obstacle but it's endless and swarming with bandits so the senegalese have no choice they must cross gambia but first they must pay the border guards racket the truckers who supply kazamos are the main victims of this absurd situation foreign [Music] booner's passengers are condemned to wait it's even more frustrating that during this time the minibus is catching up [Applause] welcome arriving at the border the minibus does not queue up it drives directly onto the ferry perhaps this is why the senegalese call them fast coaches [Music] the crossing takes 30 minutes moving with the current after the mishaps on the road the river is a welcome interlude [Music] sometimes senegal closes its borders in protest of the exorbitant tolls imposed by gambia it's always the passengers who pay the [Music] price [Music] in the end balor the minibus driver and his passengers do rather well they've only traveled for 12 hours to cover the 280 kilometers which separate khao lak and zigenshore [Music] arrives five hours later liking children's stories the first to leave end up being the last to arrive except that here the moral of the story is different in the race for survival that the senegalese must endure there are only losers casamas is poor formerly senegal's bread basket today it experiences massive scarcity climate change poor soil management so many explanations that escape the rice pickers [Music] all they know is that their land is low and that their village is very far from dhaka the capital of senegal [Applause] mariah [Music] um and the task is enormous for this pregnant woman [Music] oh my god at the end of the day even after 10 hours of work the women still find the strength to tease each other the day however is far from being over for these workers amy supports 15 people and for this whole family rice is the main staple except that the rice is hardly sprouting there will be no harvest for weeks luckily travelling merchants passed through well when they managed to reach the village this old berlier is more than half a century old but ablaze its driver samba his assistant and sula the owner are pretty confident in their old machine it's seven o'clock in the morning [Music] their route is only 60 kilometers long [Music] but in this season it is a mud track their goal to try and get to luma market which takes place once a week foreign and all the better for them that there are no glitches because the service is not very profitable if they miss luma market they will have made the journey for nothing but whatever happens and even if it means wasting time they respect rule number one of the bush mutual aid this biker is stuck carrying his 100 liters of palm oil this improvised taxi also helps out those walking to the market on foot say okay [Music] they've hardly got going again when ablay feels the truck leaning to the [Music] right but a bad surprise awaits them one of the nuts won't loosen it up tough luck they must hurry at any moment a storm could make the route impossible [Music] the truck has been traveling for almost 10 hours having to idle along the three men watch times slip through their fingers [Applause] the market will take place the following morning and they are not sure they'll make it [Music] with its back tire flat the truck is much more difficult to maneuver [Music] [Applause] the crew's fears have been realized the truck is stuck in a hole [Music] for some reason they had left without a shovel digging by hand the task proves impossible [Music] [Applause] [Music] decides to go on foot and search for help three kilometers later finally a house [Music] [Music] thinks they're out of trouble but the shovel does not make much of a difference now a mud trap is closing in on them [Applause] [Music] oh huh luma village and its market seem unreachable 300 kilometers to the west on senegal's cafeteen beach everyone fights for survival [Music] for those who find land too cruel there is the sea a wide open horizon provided that you have the courage to face it every day there are hundreds that want to board the fisherman's boats [Music] but on this morning very few are eager to go out to sea the weather predicts the worst last month seven sailors did not return [Music] [Applause] the big boats can carry almost 20 semen and can bring back up to seven tons of fish [Music] suriman is the youngest member of the crew at 14 years old in principle he's not allowed to work [Music] foreign once they're in open sea in order to attract the fish the sailors drive away bad spirits [Music] foreign [Music] on board there are only two life jackets that the men must take turns sharing so once again they appeal to magic the sailors rub their bodies with a protective potion made by a witch doctor navigation is done without a compass or a gps just pure guesswork after four hours at sea like an oracle the captain sees the sardines in reality he's reading the surface of the ocean a reflection a ripple the fish are there now it's time for suleiman to prove his worth he must jump into the water and make as much noise as possible with his hands and feet in order to stop the sardines escaping the net [Music] about that [Music] another sailor joins suleiman if he ever gets tired he can always cling to his life jacket the noise is supposed to scare the sardines [Music] in the water for over an hour the two swimmers are reaching the limits of their strength [Applause] yes [Music] all that work for this the net contains only a few sardines on board the boat disappointment they must move on further off the captain's eye scrutinizes the surface of the ocean paid by commission none of the sailors can afford to return empty-handed [Applause] [Music] back in the bush the truckers are still at work to lighten their truck they unload their entire load of rice but nothing works but there aren't many rocks around cila goes looking for wood the day passes and the likelihood of getting to the market on time is less and less [Music] farmers from the area come and offer help they know how much they owe the truck which has supplied them so often okay [Music] two hours later the truck arrives at the market but they're too late the villagers did not wait for them they went instead to their competitors [Music] m [Applause] [Applause] [Music] he's wasted two days worth of fuel plus he has to pay the garage to remove the jammed part once the wheel is repaired cilla leaves with his cargo of unsold rice [Music] it's the hard lore of the road one that the travelling merchants know all too well on board the big fishing boat fate is relentless on these fishermen they've been at sea for eight hours it's already the fourth time that they have cast their 200 meter long net and pulled it back in using only muscle power without catching a single fish the fourth time that suleiman has jumped into the water okay [Applause] [Music] [Applause] um [Music] [Music] but this time the catch is better [Applause] everyone is smiling but the boat is far from being full not like one of those good days where each man is sure to be well rewarded for his hard work today the catch just about covers the cost of the trip paid on commission the sailors will earn three euros [Music] then a final blow of bad luck completes this difficult day [Applause] they're still 20 kilometers from shore spending the night at sea at the mercy of storms no one wants to think about that foreign come on [Music] on arrival the unloading of tons of fish onto the beach looks like a metaphor of the daily life of the senegalese a race against the deprived hundreds of carriers come to offer their services to the fishermen [Music] oh sunday transporter the rule is simple first come first served so it is a rat race for just a few cents [Music] even among the poor there is a hierarchy the carriers make up the elite the others pick up the crumbs half scavengers half thieves sometimes you [Applause] yeah this is my walk there are dozens of them who come to take the fish the fishermen try to keep them behind a rope [Music] foreign the rope does not stop them the fray advances the most audacious of the thieves climb aboard the boat and help themselves [Applause] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] thank you [Music] in this economy of survival everyone must keep their head above water as for the fish they're not so fresh when they arrive at their destination after having marinated for hours in the fishing boats they're stored on the beach with neither ice nor refrigeration [Music] once again the trucks must cross the country without giving in to the obstacles that the senegalese roads promise [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Show Me the World

Views: 229,171

Keywords: documentary, roads, National Geographic, waterways, travel, Deadliest Journeys, most dangerous roads, free documentary, dicing with death, ADVENTURE, DISCOVERY, Deadliest Roads

Id: 2YfPoNhE0WA

Length: 51min 2sec (3062 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 05 2021