Can I Survive 24 Hours in the Amazon?

I'm heading deep into the Amazon, the world's most dangerous rainforest. And I'm searching for one man who lives completely alone, surrounded by lethal predators. But it's not going to be easy. Holy, that's freaking huge. Over the next 24 hours, we're gonna be hunting for food and building shelter from scratch, fending off the elements and deadly mosquitoes. Oh my God, dude, look at my forehead. I'm on a mission to test my own survival skills and show you how one indigenous man lives by himself, against all odds. I'm going to the Amazon. I've been wanting to go here for like 10 years. From the nearby city of Manaus, I send my last text messages because we are about to be completely offline for two days. I'm traveling with Jose, who's been a guide in the Amazon with Iguana Tours for 32 years. We're looking at a four-hour boat ride before we get anywhere near the man who lives off the grid. And we're off. Going into the Amazon jungle. And you're gonna feel as you are in another world because the Amazon jungle is something wonderful. We're here in the Ariau River. This is the place that the movie Anaconda. It was filmed here? Yeah, it was filmed here. They have met many people that were attacked by them. Okay, so let's try not to get bit by anacondas. We've got the driver in the striped shirt, the guy with the hat. He's the one who connected us to the indigenous man. And then I got our guide, Jose and Ricardo. What's up, Ricardo? What's up, man? And that is the crew. Drifting down the Amazon River feels surreal. There is not a soul in sight, just us and the mysterious waters. We sail past squire monkeys, small snakes. My heart skipped a beat for a second. And beautiful white birds in the sky. I've always dreamed of this adventure, and it's even more exhilarating in real life. We just saw an alligator pop out of the water, and then he went back inside. There's alligators and anacondas below us right now. You got a bug on my head? Are you sure I'm okay? Yeah. I can see the legs below the hat. Holy shit. I'm holding a knife in my hand, too. We've been on the boat for about an hour and a half so far. They say we have another two hours left. I feel really calm and at peace right now. It's kind of zenning out, and it's just so special to be out here in the Amazon. So we're going through the river here, and we just had a big tree fall over to block our route, so we had to go back around the other way. And we got Captain here navigating the front. I hope we don't hit any more dead ends. It's humid as hell. It's hot. I'm dressed in long sleeves from head to toe. I'm scared of mosquitoes and bugs. Look at this tree. We gotta go under. Oh, damn. You got it? This is a proper adventure, way, way out into the Amazon. All right, here we go. Getting off the boat. Is this your first time here? Sure, yeah. I don't know this place. This is the first time I come here. The vegetation is kind of campina. Campina is a kind of vegetation where the jaguars like to come looking for other animals for eating. We've docked our boat, and now we're walking over land to go find our guy. Whoa. Holy crap. These are the biggest lilies I've ever seen. We took a pit stop to see the largest tree species here in the Amazon. Look at this thing. It's like the mother of the whole jungle. And we're just trekking through the jungle right now, just straight up. It is incredibly humid outside. It's just like sitting in a sauna. Suddenly, a lone figure steps out from the thick jungle as if he were part of nature itself. How are you? This is Jose. If you don't mind, I came here to just like learn about your life in the Amazon and how you survive. This person, who is living in complete isolation, holds the secrets to surviving alone in this vast wilderness. His name is Lino, and he's a member of the Tucano tribe, a group of less than 5,000 nomadic people who rely on fishing and hunting to stay alive. Invited us to go hunting with him right away, so he just grabbed his gun, and it's already starting to rain. We're about 10 minutes in, and we can just hear loud thunder happening. We're about to get drenched. We have a lot of trash bags for our camera equipment, but I just hope it's not gonna be that bad. Lino's on a serious hunt right now. We're following him through the jungle. How did you even find that? Just imagine how many more spiders are around here. Wait, hold on. I just found something. I just found poop, bro. What animal is this? It's poop. He said it's not poop? That's not an animal? It's poop, but from war. What? He's a total badass. He's got a gun over his shoulder, and then he's got a knife in the other hand. Don't with him. He'll kill you. That scared the out of me. No success. Damn. You're fast. Damn. He didn't get it. We see monkeys over there in the trees, but unsuccessfully shot. If you're wondering why Lino has a big belly, it's because there's no lack of food in the jungle. More than 2,000 species of edible fish, an abundance of fruits, and large animals, and he lives in the middle of it all. What do you see here? Jaguar footprint. If we see a jaguar, are they gonna kill us or we will kill them? They do attack when they see people together like this. What kind of animals are you hoping to get now? For example, porco, veado, pig, deer, or maybe the jaguar, you can see the jaguar. After a few long hours, Lino gives up on the hunt. We even try fishing on his handmade boat, but still come up short. Lino was just telling me that he frequently sees anacondas here, and if I see one, to not freak out. I think I may have underestimated how difficult life is in the jungle. The stickiness of the humidity is killer, but the looming threat of a thunderstorm coming is really intimidating. All right, I gotta protect all the gear and everything. That's really nice to have this. Look at our boy just hanging out outside. He's like, you guys are wussies. Look at him. This is way more stressful than I thought it was gonna be. There are so many mosquitoes around me right now. I'm covered from head to toe, but I still feel bites on my fingers, my neck, and my cheek already. Literally hundreds of them. Good times. The rain has slowed down, so we're moving the tarp. 16 mosquito bites later, and very wet equipment. We're gonna keep moving. What kind of medicine is this? Natural antibiotic used for cancer. They say that it helps in the cure. It's eatable. I like this fruit, it's pretty good. Thank you. I'm not gonna die if I eat this, right? Wow, it's weird. It's like a, how do you describe it? It's bitter and it's kind of flaky. It's like sandy. I've been walking for like an hour and a half already. Getting a little tired. This is a milk from the jungle. There are two trees that you collect kind of milk. Wait, he just collected this? I can eat it like this? Mm, that's sweet. Of all the things I've tried today in the Amazon, this is my favorite. It's like a lychee. Oh, this is excellent. It's like a milkshake in a fruit. Spreading across eight countries in South America, the Amazon is the largest rainforest on earth. It's home to over three million species and indigenous communities who have lived in harmony with the jungle for thousands of years. The Amazon River holds 20% of the world's freshwater, making it the second largest river in the world behind the Nile. With over 400 billion trees, the rainforest also produces 20% of the world's oxygen, earning it the nickname, the lungs of the earth. But we're losing the Amazon at a fast rate. The area of a football field is cleared every minute, releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This severely threatens the ecosystem and indigenous communities. It is up to us to share the stories of the people living here and protect one of our planet's greatest treasures. Hey guys, just want to hop in here real quick and thank the sponsor of this video, Aerolo. I discovered Aerolo two years ago and it has been a life changer for me when I travel, especially in remote places like the Amazon. Aerolo is an eSIM marketplace that allows me to get unlimited data in over 200 countries and territories. If you're a traveler like me, then you know the importance of having a working phone to stay connected with the world. But roaming costs are expensive and it's too exhausting to get local SIM cards or rely on public wifi. Aerolo has you covered. Simply install the app, find your destination, select a data plan and use my code, Drew3 at the checkout and you'll get a $3 discount. The setup of the eSIM is very simple and you even get to keep your home phone number. Aerolo is hassle-free, cost-effective and they have 24 hours support. If you travel the world, then Aerolo will help you stay connected from the moment you land in your destination. Click the link in the description down below or scan this QR code to download Aerolo today. All right, now let's get back to the story. We have found a place to set up camp. From here to that tree and from here to that tree and we cover here with the plastic. You sound like somebody who knows what they're doing. This is really cool. So he just cut thin slices off of the tree branch so we can tie our hammocks and we can get a cover over our head. Wow. Oh, man. Nice. How do you feel just walking in the jungle for so long? Because for me, I get exhausted, but like, do you enjoy this? Are you ever scared that animals are gonna eat you or anacondas or anything? Jaguars? What happens if we set up our tent here and then there's a cobra that like starts crawling up the tree? He said if one snake try to attack him, he's gonna attack her as well. That's real jungle living, man. Could you survive in the jungle without a knife? If he has a fire, how to make fire, he survives without a knife, without anything. Within just 20 minutes, they have set up this whole rooftop thing with sticks and we have the tent, which is actually way bigger than it looks when you open it all the way. If a jaguar comes, who do you think he's gonna eat first? It's like the moment you have a roof over your head, you just feel a sense of security. If this was me all by myself in the jungle and I had to survive, I don't know if I'd be able to figure out how they just made this. All these little intricacies and these little tips that they do is like mind blowing to me. You're in straight up survival mode right now. And when it's totally dark, you feel sometimes you're afraid, sometimes you're happy, sometimes you think to be drink a beer, but most of the time it doesn't happen. The most important thing he's putting on is mosquito net. It's literally a lifesaver. So many diseases that mosquitoes can bring, dengue, malaria, all kinds of sicknesses. And the fact that we're not gonna have to worry about that is huge. Wherever we sleep tonight, if I hear sounds, I don't think I'm gonna freak out. You're making a fire right now? We try to make the fire to prepare something to eat. I brought a good fish, tambaqui. Tambaqui is considered one of the most delicious fish from the Amazon. How do you just make a fire? You just get sticks and a lighter? A lighter, we have some dry leaves. You got some fish cooking over here, Jose? Yeah, we're gonna roast this. Jose, look at my forehead. Let's eat it. Mosquito. That looks not okay. Water with salt. Yeah, it helps your skin very fast. Just take like this and pass it. You feel much, much better. So itchy. And after, you put again. After one hour. Okay, thank you. Hello! It's a scary thought if you're like stuck in the jungle by yourself and you scream for help and there's nothing out there. As I'm sitting here listening to the sounds of the jungle, Lino comes rushing back with a big surprise. Holy! That's freaking huge! That doesn't scare you? No, no, no, this one no. Dude, that is so scary. Yeah, he's gonna leave it in the jungle. I don't know if I should be freaking out right now, like this thing's gonna take my head off or what. Would you eat this if you didn't have food? Yeah, he can eat the snake. What is it like to live alone in the Amazon? To survive is to get the food. And if he has fire, he can live. But the most difficult thing in the jungle is to get the food to survive. Is it a lonely life to be here, like in the jungle with no people? It feels much better when there are people coming here. But it's, it feels alone. I can't believe there's a freaking king cobra right next to me. If I get bit by this thing, I don't know where the nearest doctor would be and I don't think I would survive. Oh wow, that feels so cool. That camouflage is crazy, man, it looks like the leaves. And after he's gonna leave here. He's gonna let it go? Where's he gonna put it? We let the snake go. We decided not to eat it because we brought our own food and we can let it go. But it's so creepy to think that we're sleeping right there and there's this cobra just squeezing by. The way it moves so gracefully and it looks exactly like the leaves. So he's gone? Bye bye. It's important to note that Lino is not the most isolated person in the Amazon. There are plenty of tribes around us that would literally kill me if I ever trespassed in their neck of the woods. But staying true to his Tucano roots, Lino prefers to live on his own. He likes the peacefulness of the jungle. He enjoys the challenge of hunting and the reward of eating. He doesn't care if a big city of 2 million people is only four hours upstream because this is his home. Do you have any stresses from living in the jungle? It's very hard to be stressed in the jungle as you're alone and no possibility. Have you ever been to the big city? How do you feel when you go there? He felt something very different from here, things that he never saw. He saw the movement of cars and noise and things like that. Even though he avoids the big city, Lino did mention that he takes his boat upstream to small settlements every few months to barter for supplies like bullets and clothes. What's the name of your tribe? Why do you think it's important for indigenous people like yourself to protect the Amazon? He thinks it's important because of the life, the wildlife. Have you ever had a tourist come here and like learn about your life? No, never. It's the first time that somebody's come here. Nobody came here before. What do you do at nighttime, like when the sun goes down? Do you like party with the cobras? He doesn't like snakes. He is afraid of snakes. If he's alone, he's in danger of the jaguars. So he puts the hammock up there and he's just thinking about the life, about many things. He just stay there, but up. Dinner is being cooked right now in the middle of the Amazon. This is so special. This is why I came here to tell this story because I just knew, I had a calling that amazing things were gonna happen in the Amazon and it just looks so freaking tasty. Lino's out here getting plates for us. Just straight up leaves in the jungle. Good? It is time to feast. We are getting fish on the leaf plates. Got some pineapple slices. I'm hungry. This is gonna be great. Bon appetit. Oh man, look at this. Yeah, it's like a steak, like a fish steak. Good? He's like, hell yeah. This is what travel is all about, new experiences. What is this flower stuff called? What is the name? Farinha. It doesn't have much of a taste. It's like croutons. It just gives you like texture to the food. Roasted pineapple. I don't know what's better, the pineapple or the fish. Serious question, if we're sleeping and we hear like animals coming towards us, what should we do? You have to spook him or shoot him? For sure, you're gonna hear the sound. It's normal because it's a small animals. They walk during the night. We don't move, we don't need to move. All right, it's getting dark outside. I got my flashlight on my phone, illuminating the face. Shower here is a lovely wet wipe. I've done a lot of these overnights in jungles and Papua New Guinea with the cannibals and Guyana, all over Africa. But this one, I feel the most dirty. Time to pee and brush my teeth and then cuddle up in that a little hammock and wake up when the sun rises. Time to put some cologne on. Oh, nothing like a good smell of poison on your arms. It's crazy that at nighttime, all the sounds come out in the jungle. All the bugs, nocturnal animals. All right. I gotta be honest, I'm pretty comfortable in here. It's like all wrapped up. Nothing else to do but sleep. That was a good 12 hours sleep. It's like floating in the clouds in here. You hear so many different sounds of the animals, crazy. No mosquito bites overnight, that's good. New day in the Amazon. Bom dia. You didn't sleep? Not, only a few moments. We felt a very strong stink. He was here with the flashlight because it's dangerous here, the jaguars. So did you find anything overnight? There was a noise here, up. While we were sleeping, you were just like wandering around with a flashlight looking for a jaguar. Because if you stay, everyone without any flashlight, probably he can come and catch one of us. Limo says we're going somewhere special and he's walking really fast through the jungle. Can barely keep up. He seems to be more excited right now than he was yesterday. Seeing blue sky for the first time in the rainforest. Perfectly blue. No rain. At least one of our problems is solved. We are following Limo now down to the river. He just jumped in the river and is taking a bath, which actually looks really nice because it's already super hot outside. Is there anacondas here? Anaconda. Yeah? I can't imagine the feeling of taking a shower and then feeling a massive 20 foot snake below your feet. It's just something that you deal with if you live out here in the Amazon. Just beyond the river, Limo guides us to a clearing in the bush. Here, he has built a small hut with no walls to take cover during storms and in-between hunts. Just pulled up to like a little house that he has here. Okay, so this is his little compound where he hangs out in the middle of the rainforest. We got breakfast cooking. This is pretty awesome. It's getting better and better. Oiled river water coffee. Tastes pretty good. As long as it's boiled, we're all right. Josie brought us some acai, a bag of acai. Oh, it's cold. You kept it cold, oh my God. I love that. If I don't drink this, I'm getting crazy. I'm obsessed with this stuff and pretty much the whole world. Look the color of this thing. A fresh cup of cold acai in the Amazon. This is one of life's greatest moments for me right now. It's not sweet, but you can taste that acai berry, the familiar taste when I tried it at home. But the one at home, it's all sugar. Cheers, bro. Cheers, Amazonia and Drew. It's like you go out. Been preparing food for us, which is really kind of him. It's a kind of a rodent he took in the jungle last night and then he's preparing. A rodent? Yeah. Like a rat? But bigger one. All right, we got our plate, some rice. It's so hot, I can't put my hands under it, but we got a rodent, rice, and these flaky things that are eaten all over Brazil. This is really good. Holy crap. It's a little gamey, but not bad. I would eat this meat at home. If I didn't tell you what this meat was, you would just think it's like, oh, it's like good pork. After a savory home-cooked meal, I'm ready to leave the depths of the Amazon behind and I'm grateful for the thrill of encountering Lino, the ultimate jungle survivor. In a world consumed by technology, Lino thrives in isolation, finding solace and purpose in the unforgiving rainforest. But one thing is certain, I could not survive a week in his shoes. From sleeping with deadly mosquitoes to showering with anacondas and having to scavenge every day for food and shelter, I don't think I could last more than 24 hours out here. As I journey back to the city, I'm left with a new respect for those who dare to live on the edge of the wild. Thanks for watching and stay tuned for next week's episode as I take you deep inside the most dangerous favela in Sao Paulo.