Episode 2

S1, E2: Six months on and his grand scheme lies in ruins. His rainforest turned out to be little more than scrub and a squatter called Elias occupies his land. Having planted some of the land with a crop of manioc, Elias keeps delaying his departure, something Charlie suspects is little more than a cover for illegal logging.With morale at rock bottom, Charlie’s wife, Phillipa is flying out from England to raise his spirits and to also see how he’s spent their money. Keen to remind him of the original aims of protecting the park, Phillipa persuades Charlie to take her deep into Manu where they go in search of one the rainforest’s rarest inhabitants.With Phillipa gone, Charlie decides that he needs to take a leap of faith and get involved with the locals and their way of life. Invited into the rainforest with locals, Beto and Modesto, they head off on a four-day mission to illegally fell a giant hardwood tree that Beto saving to pay for his daughter’s education. Torn between his love of the forest and a growing awareness of how hard life can be, Charlie loyalties are dramatically split when the tree finally falls.When a biologist turns up looking for large fish in the nearby river, Charlie learns how mercury poisoning is fast becoming a major threat to the rainforest. The result of illegal gold mines downstream, Charlie goes in search of its source by getting himself a job with Erazmo, a miner owner who has spent 30 years trying to strike it lucky. The brutal Victorian working conditions and 16 hours shifts are brutal reminders to Charlie that both the rainforest and its inhabitants pay a high price for bullion propping up the world banking system. On his return to the land, Charlie vows to visit squatter Elias’ house, where he meets his wife Ennis and their daughter Heidi for the first time. Shocked by what he finds, it’s a profound encounter that puts pay to any thought of eviction. Please note, this version differs slightly from the UKTX version.