Jungle Fall in East Timor: Saved by Goats

A French former acrobat moves to the southeast Asian paradise of East Timor. One sunny day, Morgan Segui decides to trek to the top of a nearby sacred mountain. After reaching the summit, however, his thrill-seeking backfires. Caught in the baking late afternoon heat, with an empty water bottle and a long way back down, Morgan is hopelessly lost. But that’s just the start. After a brutal accident in the jungle, he’ll accept his fate… until an unexpected arrival appears through the trees, offering a tiny flash of hope… A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Joe Viner | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Matt Peaty | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  The award-winning American Airlines Advantage program rewards more than travel. It takes your whole life to new heights. Earn miles when you fly, as well as with thousands of your favorite brands. And then redeem those miles for flights, upgrades, and experiences worldwide. Advantage members also enjoy earlier boarding and free high-speed Wi-Fi in-flight. Join for free and start earning towards your next adventure at aa.com/spotify.

• 0:31Speaker 01

  When everyone's finally together, what makes mornings even brighter? Keeping things deliciously simple. Whether you're pouring up a glass of morning refreshment or topping off festive drinks for a family brunch, Simply Orange brings that 100% fresh squeezed taste to every moment. Deliciously bright and delightfully easy, Simply Orange is made for all your seasonal gatherings. Simply Orange: Say Yes to Simple.

• 1:04John Hopkins?

  It's dusk on June 14, 2019, in Southeast Asia.

• 1:10John Hopkins?

  On the island of Atauru, a tiny, sun-soaked oasis off the coast of East Timor, the dark silhouette of a mountain looms imperiously over the forests, fields, and foothills.

• 1:23John Hopkins?

  This is Mount Manukoko. And according to local folklore, this thousand-meter peak is more than just a mountain. It's a sacred place, where the boundary between the physical world and the spiritual world is porous and fragile. By day, there is a clear dividing line between these two realms. But at night, the line dissolves. And, so the legend goes, the mountain becomes the domain of spirits.

• 1:54John Hopkins?

  Some islanders believe that you must not set foot here after dark or risk antagonizing the supernatural forces said to dwell there. Those who ignore the warning do so at their own peril.

• 2:08John Hopkins?

  On this particular summer's night, partway up one of Manucoco's densely wooded slopes, something moves through the darkening jungle.

• 2:18John Hopkins?

  A hunched, howling figure, stumbling blindly over the ground. It's a strange, frightening creature. Like a man, but stripped of all obvious humanity. Its naked body is smeared with blood and filth, and it groans as it moves.

• 2:40John Hopkins?

  Its head is split open, and a piece of scalp peels back with every step, exposing the bone beneath.

• 2:48John Hopkins?

  The creature stops for a moment.

• 2:52John Hopkins?

  And when it looks up, and the moonlight catches its pale, sunken face, the eyes peering out aren't that of a fantastical monster or beast. They are the eyes of 42-year-old Morgan Segui. A man in desperate need of help.

• 3:11Speaker 03

  I really thought, if I die here, no one will find me. So I was saying, okay, I have to go back. At least, on the road, I have to die somewhere, but people will find me.

• 3:31John Hopkins?

  Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives.

• 3:53John Hopkins?

  In this episode, we meet Morgan Segui. In 2019, the former acrobat from northern France is living in the Southeast Asian country of East Timor. One sunny Sunday, Morgan, a keen hiker and climber, decides to trek to the top of Mount Manucoco, a 3,000-foot peak on a nearby island just off the mainland. After reaching the summit, however, his thrill-seeking backfires when he finds himself caught in the baking late afternoon heat with an empty water bottle and a long way back down. Soon, he finds himself hopelessly, confoundingly lost.

• 4:30Speaker 03

  So I took this path, the same path, to go back, and after five minutes, suddenly, like, the path disappeared.

• 4:40John Hopkins?

  But that's just the start. Navigating his way back through a dark and otherworldly jungle, things deteriorate rapidly, culminating in a brutal accident.

• 4:52Speaker 03

  Trees and the rocks starting to fall with me, and suddenly, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. So I thought, OK, I don't have water, I lose my blood, maybe in one or two days it's finished for me. I decided, OK, I will die, it's finished.

• 5:10John Hopkins?

  Grotesquely hurt, with no clear way to reach help, Morgan will accept his fate. Until an unexpected arrival appears through the trees, offering a tiny flash of hope. I'm John Hopkins. From the Noiser Podcast Network, this is Real Survival Stories.

• 5:49John Hopkins?

  It's late morning on Sunday, June 9, 2019, a few miles north of East Timor in Southeast Asia. An outboard motorboat chugs through sapphire-colored water. Sitting with one hand on the tiller, his thick brown hair tousled by the breeze, is 42-year-old Morgan Segway. Morgan's eyes are fixed on the horizon, where the hazy green outline of a mountain appears to rise from the twinkling sea.

• 6:21John Hopkins?

  The island of Atauro lies roughly twenty miles north of Dilly, the capital of East Timor, where Morgan lives.

• 6:30John Hopkins?

  Originally from a small village outside Paris, the Frenchman has been based in this part of the world for two years. He loves it here. And as his boat skips over the crystal-clear waves, it's easy to understand why. This place is breathtakingly beautiful.

• 6:47John Hopkins?

  It bursts with colour: the blue sky, the white sand beaches, the dazzling green palm trees. Everything seems alive.

• 6:57John Hopkins?

  In local Timorese culture, there is a concept known as "lulik", a sacred spiritual power associated with certain places and objects.

• 7:07Speaker 03

  Lulik is a kind of... is an assembly of runes and spirits from this area, East Timor. It's like animism. So, stones, birds, trees have their own soul and they can help you or, in the inverse, totally make you jokes and make you struggle in your days.

• 7:34John Hopkins?

  Morgan steers the boat into a sheltered cove.

• 7:39John Hopkins?

  In the distance, beyond the trees at the top of the beach, the jagged, jungle-clad spine of a mountain ridge rises above the palms.

• 7:48John Hopkins?

  Manukoko is a thousand meters tall. Its summit looms over the island, providing a constant backdrop to life here. It's also where Morgan is headed for today's hike.

• 8:02John Hopkins?

  As he jumps out of the boat into the knee-high water, a group of islanders come down to the beach to help him drag his boat onto the sand.

• 8:11Speaker 03

  When I arrive on the beach, people come to welcome me and help me to move the boat on the beach. And ask, "Where do you go, Malay?" Malay is the stranger, the white man. "Where do you go, Malay?" I say, "Oh, I will go to the top of Manucoco." "Ah, nice, nice. When?" "Ah, now." "Oh, no, it's too late. You have to start at five or six AM. It's too hot and it's too long." "And you know, of course, there is spirits, so at night it's not a place for you. It's a place for no one."

• 8:45John Hopkins?

  He reassures the islanders that he'll be careful. Then he sets off up the beach, following a sandy track inland through the trees.

• 8:57John Hopkins?

  Though he has made the tropical island nation his home, East Timor is a far cry from the surroundings of Morgan's youth.

• 9:06John Hopkins?

  Born and raised in northern France, his childhood was set against a picturesque backdrop of wooded hills and apple orchards.

• 9:15Speaker 03

  Always climbing trees and riding my bicycle, going by myself at school. It was a very, very small French village with 100 inhabitants, with one teacher for all the kids from six to 10 years old. So it was really, really nice and close to nature when I was young.

• 9:38John Hopkins?

  Morgan was a restless, outdoorsy kid. More at home running around in fields than sitting in classrooms. When he got older, he found the perfect outlet for his boundless energy, enrolling at circus school and training as a professional acrobat. At the age of 21, Morgan's circus career took him to the biggest stage on earth: the opening ceremony for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in Paris.

• 10:08Speaker 03

  I was on the opening show and I was dressed like a rooster. They had decided to get 32 chickens, representing the 32 countries participating to the World Cup, and I was the English one. So you can watch on internet, "English rooster hanging to the roof of the Stade de France in 98." I'm inside.

• 10:34John Hopkins?

  Shortly after this remarkable episode, Morgan decided to leave the circus and return to college to study event design.

• 10:42John Hopkins?

  After graduating, he began travelling widely, organising cultural events for embassies and museums around the world. By the mid 2010s, he had switched lanes again. He was living in Kazakhstan, working as a documentary filmmaker, when a friend came to him with another exciting opportunity.

• 11:01John Hopkins?

  Would Morgan like to come out to East Timor, where this friend lived, and produce promotional documentaries for NGOs?

• 11:10Speaker 03

  At that time, Timor was a very, very young country because they get their independence in 2001. So the country still run with the help of many, many, many NGOs, American, Australian, European, Korean, Japanese NGOs from anywhere. So I took a ticket from Kazakhstan to Timor. See, okay, let's see what can happen.

• 11:38John Hopkins?

  Not for the first time in his life, Morgan was throwing himself headfirst into uncharted waters.

• 11:44John Hopkins?

  But when he arrived in East Timor and moved into a small house on the beach, something immediately clicked into place.

• 11:51Speaker 03

  So when I arrived to Delhi, Delhi is the capital of East Timor, I choose a house in front of the sea. And when you see that with coconut tree, white sands, broken boats in the garage, you feel like, oh, I'm arrived. It's my place. It's my place.

• 12:14John Hopkins?

  Since arriving in East Timor two years ago, Morgan has grown increasingly fond of this country, its people and customs.

• 12:23John Hopkins?

  But no matter how acclimatized he becomes, some things remain mysterious and foreign to him. And he is about to find out that despite the outward beauty of these islands, they can still throw up some nasty surprises.

• 12:45Speaker 00

  The award-winning American Airlines Advantage program rewards more than travel. It takes your whole life to new heights. Earn miles when you fly, as well as with thousands of your favorite brands, and then redeem those miles for flights, upgrades, and experiences worldwide. Advantage members also enjoy earlier boarding and free high-speed Wi-Fi in-flight. Join for free and start earning towards your next adventure at aa.com/spotify.

• 13:14Speaker 01

  When everyone's finally together, what makes mornings even brighter? Keeping things deliciously simple. Whether you're pouring up a glass of morning refreshment or topping off festive drinks for a family brunch, Simply Orange brings that 100% fresh squeezed taste to every moment. Deliciously bright and delightfully easy, Simply Orange is made for all your seasonal gatherings. Simply Orange: Say Yes to Simple.

• 13:47John Hopkins?

  It's early afternoon on June 9. Morgan is walking through the jungle that covers the lower slopes of Mount Manucoca.

• 13:56John Hopkins?

  It's the height of the dry season, when this part of the world can go for many months without rain, and the midday heat is sweltering.

• 14:05John Hopkins?

  Still, Morgan is in high spirits. The sky is a beautiful cobalt blue, and birds of paradise sing from the branches of the trees that line the footpath.

• 14:16John Hopkins?

  Occasionally, he passes locals on the trail. They all look at him with the same quizzical expression. Some stop him to ask where he's headed. When he tells them, their curiosity turns immediately to concern.

• 14:30Speaker 03

  On the path to the summit, many people stop me. "Where do you go?" "I go on the top." "It's too late." "Wait for tomorrow."

• 14:41John Hopkins?

  It's almost 1:00 p.m. By the time he reaches the top of the mountain, it'll be late afternoon, dangerously close to nightfall. No local would ever risk wandering the slopes of Manucoca after dark. But Morgan ignores the advice of the passerby. He appreciates their concern, but he is an experienced adventurer, a seasoned hiker and climber. He'll make it down in good time.

• 15:07John Hopkins?

  The locals merely shake their heads and shuffle off, muttering in disapproval.

• 15:13Speaker 03

  Of course, after 500 years of colonization from Portuguese and Indonesian, they're really, they are used to the Malay, the white man who never listened, think that he knows everything and know better than anyone.

• 15:31John Hopkins?

  The trail winds uphill through a patchwork of cultivated fields and pockets of dense jungle. He passes plots where maize and root vegetables are grown on the outskirts of villages. Fruit trees overhang the footpath, the warm air fragrant with their sweet, sticky scent.

• 15:50John Hopkins?

  As he gains elevation, however, the landscape becomes more rugged. Up ahead, he can see where the tree line ends, and the narrow ridge follows its final, snaking ascent to the summit.

• 16:03John Hopkins?

  After another mile or so, he sees two women coming down the trail. One is very elderly and appears to be blind in one eye. Her companion is younger, and she is the one who speaks to Morgan, her tone urgent.

• 16:17Speaker 03

  The young lady said, "Okay, sorry to disturb you during your journey, during your trek, but I have the duty to explain you what's there. You see the line, there the trees, it's the end of my field. Here it's safe, it's a normal world. We are farmers, there is fruits, vegetables, water. But just little bit up this line, it's another world, it's a sacred world of Lulik. And you should not go alone, you should not go.

• 16:55Speaker 03

  But if you go, please, don't sleep there and come back as soon as possible."

• 17:03John Hopkins?

  Morgan glances up beyond the tree line, where the summit ridge looms menacingly, blotting out the sky. Perhaps he should heed the warning.

• 17:14John Hopkins?

  He could just park the whole thing, or come back next weekend and make an earlier start.

• 17:22John Hopkins?

  But ultimately, Morgan can't bring himself to back out. Doing so would be against everything he believes, or at least everything he has been told to believe, about his own limitations or lack thereof.

• 17:38Speaker 03

  I was in a time of my life, a period of my life, where I was listening too much podcasts. You know, it's self-improvement, self-development podcasts where never lose your dreams and never stop, break the barrier and go and go, go, go, go. And you fail and you wake up and you fail and you wake up. And this is really not working with the mountain. Never do this. First rule in the mountain is if you feel it's not going well, you just have to make a U-turn and you can always do it another day. This is the rule number one. And all these podcasts and books and all that maybe push me a little bit to not listening.

• 18:25John Hopkins?

  Perhaps Morgan has simply been listening to the wrong podcasts.

• 18:30John Hopkins?

  In any case, he chooses not to take the young woman's advice. He's already come this far, three quarters of the way, and he isn't the type to turn back. And so he wishes the two women a good day and continues on his journey.

• 18:55John Hopkins?

  It's a couple of hours later. Morgan is walking the final approach to the mountaintop, a steep scramble over rock and scrubby vegetation. The former acrobat covers it swiftly, his lean, nimble body moving effortlessly over the rough terrain.

• 19:13John Hopkins?

  When he finally reaches the summit, he straightens up and stands, looking out across the glorious panorama unfurled below him. It's a spectacular view that takes in the whole island, a sweeping expanse of jungle-clad hills stretching all the way to the ocean, where deep blue takes over from emerald green.

• 19:35John Hopkins?

  Panting from the heat and exertion, Morgan reaches into his backpack for his water bottle.

• 19:41John Hopkins?

  But when he pulls it out, he makes a troubling discovery.

• 19:46John Hopkins?

  There are only a few drops left.

• 19:49Speaker 03

  This was the first really big sign of, oh, oh, I should be very, very careful from now because I'm only half of the journey and I don't have water now with me. And we were really in the middle of the dry season, so not a single drop of water anywhere.

• 20:15John Hopkins?

  At least the rest of the journey is downhill. Plus, it's almost five. The worst of the afternoon heat is surely over. It'll be cooling down from now on.

• 20:27John Hopkins?

  But as he sets off back down the trail, the opposite seems to be true. The sun smolders overhead, a blazing red fireball. Morgan can feel it scorching the back of his neck, sucking the last traces of moisture from his rapidly overheating body. He quickens his pace, anxious to reach the shade of the tree line.

• 20:50John Hopkins?

  The air around him thickens and shimmers, the slope of the ridge rippling in the heat. He lowers his gaze and tries to concentrate on where he's putting his feet.

• 21:01Speaker 03

  So I took this path, the same path, to go back. And after five minutes, suddenly like,

• 21:10Speaker 03

  the path disappears. It's here and, whoo, it's not here. I cannot explain more than that.

• 21:20John Hopkins?

  Morgan looks back the way he came. But there's no sign of the footpath. Just a steep, sun-yellowed stretch of dry brush. Here and there, shards of volcanic rock protrude from the earth like jagged, black arrowheads.

• 21:40John Hopkins?

  It is as if the trail just vanished from right under his feet.

• 21:46John Hopkins?

  Morgan tries to stay calm. He's only a few hundred yards from the tree line. Instead of climbing back up, he heads down into the forest, where at least there's some shade.

• 21:58John Hopkins?

  Hopefully, he'll pick up the footpath somewhere in the jungle. But the trail never reappears.

• 22:06John Hopkins?

  What he does find is a dry creek bed weaving through the trees. Morgan figures that if he follows it far enough, it'll eventually lead him to a village. He sets off.

• 22:19John Hopkins?

  The stream meanders through tracts of dense undergrowth, and he must force his way through barricades of thorny vegetation.

• 22:28John Hopkins?

  It's not a simple route downhill either. It undulates up and down through the forest. Occasionally, he encounters dry waterfalls, and he has no choice but to scale them, tackling vertical rock faces.

• 22:44John Hopkins?

  Gradually, the light starts to fade. Looking up, he sees that the flashes of sky through the canopy are streaked with dusky purple clouds.

• 22:55Speaker 03

  The more I was exploring, the more I was lost. And suddenly, it's night. It's night, you don't have water, you are lost in the jungle mountain, and you have to take a decision.

• 23:12John Hopkins?

  Should he stop for the night and wait until morning? Or carry on in the dark and hope he reaches civilization?

• 23:20John Hopkins?

  The local woman he had met earlier had warned him not to sleep up here on the mountain. Morgan isn't superstitious about malevolent spirits, but he keeps walking all the same.

• 23:33John Hopkins?

  The night deepens.

• 23:37John Hopkins?

  After another couple of hours, he reaches the tallest obstacle yet: a towering 130-foot cliff face. He begins to climb, carefully seeking out handholds in the rock.

• 23:53John Hopkins?

  He makes it most of the way up when he stops.

• 23:58John Hopkins?

  The rock up here is smooth and featureless, making it almost impossible to climb. He's only got about thirty feet, less than ten meters to go, but he's stuck.

• 24:11Speaker 03

  No place to put your fingers. It was like marble. And there was only a tree. And you know when you climb, you should not use vegetation, trees, branch, anything stick on the rock. It's really a bad idea. But it was the only way to try to get up.

• 24:34John Hopkins?

  Morgan reaches for the tree branch. He gives it a firm tug, testing its strength. Once he's satisfied it'll support his weight, he grabs hold of it and pulls himself up.

• 24:48Speaker 03

  So I put all my weight on it. And when my weight was on it, suddenly, it was not a crack from the wood. It was like a from the rock itself, all the rock, a big rock, totally detached.

• 25:06Speaker 03

  And the time stopped. I really saw it like slow motion, you know, like in a movie.

• 25:11John Hopkins?

  There is a horrible, wrenching sound. Morgan feels himself topple backwards away from the cliff face. Everything seems to move slowly, the disaster unfolding in half-speed. But there's still no time to react. Nothing he can do to stop it, nothing he can do to prevent the inevitable.

• 25:32Speaker 03

  So I tried to use my fingers like hook and in the rock. But of course, they all broke. So I feel like

• 25:42Speaker 03

  all my fingers broke. And I saw the trees and the rock starting to fall with me. And suddenly, the time took his normal speed and

• 26:05Speaker 00

  The award-winning American Airlines Advantage Program rewards more than travel. It takes your whole life to new heights. Earn miles when you fly, as well as with thousands of your favorite brands. And then redeem those miles for flights, upgrades, and experiences worldwide. Advantage members also enjoy earlier boarding and free high-speed Wi-Fi in-flight. Join for free and start earning towards your next adventure at aa.com/spotify.

• 26:34Speaker 01

  What's the secret to being a great host this season? Keeping things deliciously simple. Like mixing Simply Cranberry into a festive drink as guests arrive. Or serving up a warm mug of Simply Apple on a chilly night. That means less time behind the scenes and more time in the moment with everyone. Crafted with real fruit, Simply juices and fruit drinks make any holiday drink effortless, inviting, and completely delicious. Simply. Say yes to Simple.

• 27:09John Hopkins?

  It's June 9, 2019. The middle of the night, somewhere on the forested slope of Mount Manucoco.

• 27:18John Hopkins?

  At the base of a 40-meter cliff, Morgan lies on his back, motionless.

• 27:25John Hopkins?

  Blood oozes from a gash running the length of his skull. The right side of his face is puffy and mottled with dark bruises. His right eye is swollen shut, the bone around it shattered. The only sign that he's still alive is the faint flutter of his pulse.

• 27:46John Hopkins?

  And then, his left eyelid twitches. Slowly, he returns to consciousness.

• 27:55Speaker 03

  I opened my eyes, left eye. The right one was totally disconnected. Only my left hand was working. And I was trying to understand what is broken, what's happened.

• 28:11John Hopkins?

  Morgan blinks up at the dark forest canopy.

• 28:16John Hopkins?

  After he fell and his body smashed repeatedly against the wall of the cliff, he blacked out. But it's hard to say how long for. Hesitantly, he moves his left hand to his head.

• 28:30John Hopkins?

  There is something soft and damp protruding from his scalp.

• 28:36John Hopkins?

  It takes him a moment to realize that it's a part of his scalp, prized away from his skull.

• 28:45Speaker 03

  All my upper head was cut. And it was very strange to feel it. No pain. But I felt my hair, the strange liquids from the body, and I felt my skull totally naked.

• 29:00John Hopkins?

  He tries to push himself upright, but his right arm must be broken. He can't put any pressure on it without triggering waves of immense pain.

• 29:10John Hopkins?

  Propping himself up on his left elbow, he manages to lift his torso off the ground. He tries to straighten his right leg, but his nerve endings fizzle in agonizing protest.

• 29:22John Hopkins?

  Clearly, walking is out of the question.

• 29:26John Hopkins?

  Morgan lies back for a moment, breathing, trying to take stock. He must have hit his head hard during the fall, so the fact that he's still alive is a miracle. But that might be where his luck ends. He doesn't have a phone or any other means of calling for help, and he can't move. That means he is counting on someone stumbling across him in a dry creek bed, probably several miles from the nearest walkable trail.

• 29:56John Hopkins?

  The odds aren't looking good.

• 29:59Speaker 03

  So I thought, okay, in survival books, there is this kind of data, like you can stay three minutes without air, three days without water, then three weeks without food. It's average, of course. So I thought, okay, I don't have water, I lose my blood, maybe in one or two days it's finished for me.

• 30:23John Hopkins?

  Despite his grim prognosis, Morgan manages to remain sanguine.

• 30:29Speaker 03

  So, I decide, okay, I will die, it's finished. And a strange thing, once you decide that it's like that, I had a nice life, and I will die in a nice place. I'm adventurous in the jungle with parrots and beautiful insects and bats and stars. It's okay, I will enjoy that.

• 31:04John Hopkins?

  It's the following day.

• 31:07John Hopkins?

  Morgan lies in the exact same spot, on his back, at the base of the rock face. His injured head rests on a tuft of undergrowth, and his broken legs are stretched out in front of him.

• 31:20John Hopkins?

  For the last 12 hours or so, he has settled into a kind of meditative state, watching the sky change colour through the tree branches, listening to the birds and insects.

• 31:32John Hopkins?

  Having accepted the likely outcome of his situation, he has reached a state of acceptance, even peace.

• 31:40John Hopkins?

  But as the second day wears on, there is one source of discomfort begins to threaten his equilibrium.

• 31:49Speaker 03

  It's dry, no water. This was the hardest thing in this adventure, not bones broken or head or scalp, but no water is something really hard to describe. No water is look like a nothingness, eating you, something like, it's more than empty, it's like death, death, or I don't know, something that is not supposed to be in your body is growing inside you.

• 32:19John Hopkins?

  He runs his tongue over his lips. They feel like husks, cracked and dry.

• 32:27John Hopkins?

  He closes his eyes and lets the sounds of the forest wash over him.

• 32:33John Hopkins?

  Another night goes by.

• 32:37John Hopkins?

  Morgan drifts in and out of consciousness.

• 32:41John Hopkins?

  Even when he's asleep, he remains alert to the sounds of the jungle. The calls of animals, the wind in the trees.

• 32:50John Hopkins?

  Day two passes much like the first. A slow, indistinguishable procession of hours.

• 32:57John Hopkins?

  Another evening draws in. It's now been forty-eight hours since his fall, and he's still here. He hasn't died of thirst, or blood loss, or some unseen internal injury.

• 33:11John Hopkins?

  Could it be that he resigned himself to his fate too quickly? Could survival actually be on the cards?

• 33:23John Hopkins?

  In some ways, this creeping optimism isn't helpful. It complicates the simple, serene state Morgan managed to achieve earlier.

• 33:33Speaker 03

  When you feel you will die, you don't have any more problem. You have one big problem: you will die. But all the daily life problems: "Oh, I have to pay this." "Oh, I said this to a friend, it was not nice." "And I have to call and apologize, and I'm not that good person."

• 33:53Speaker 03

  "Oh, I have to pay a bill for this," and blah, blah, blah. All these things that make sometimes daily life heavy. You put all this stuff in a bag, and you let the bag there. And suddenly, you feel good, say, "Oh, I have no problem. I will die."

• 34:12John Hopkins?

  Trying to survive is altogether more complicated.

• 34:18John Hopkins?

  Morgan lies there, sprawled on the forest floor, wrestling with what to do next.

• 34:23Speaker 03

  Of course, you want to go back, go back home. But you are totally broken. My right foot was broken, my right arm was broken. You want to go back. But you don't want to be disappointed with a goal that you know you will not reach.

• 34:45John Hopkins?

  It's day three.

• 34:48John Hopkins?

  By now, Morgan's thirst has started to seep into his subconscious.

• 34:53John Hopkins?

  Bizarre fantasies play out behind his closed eyelids.

• 34:58Speaker 03

  I was dreaming about sparkling water. You know, like in a bad shampoo advertising where you have a wave of sparkling water. And I was swimming inside this sparkling water wave and drinking it.

• 35:13Speaker 03

  Until then, I woke up.

• 35:17John Hopkins?

  Though not a religious man, Morgan even resorts to prayer. He appeals to the ether, promising to disavow worldly pleasures for just one sip of water.

• 35:30Speaker 03

  I try all gods like Christian, Muslim, Jewish, mystical, animism, stones, crocodiles, everyone. If I can have a sparkling water glass, I will never drink alcohol.

• 35:44John Hopkins?

  Day three grinds on, and Morgan's thirst only intensifies.

• 35:51John Hopkins?

  Extreme dehydration is a protracted and painful way to die. When the body is deprived of water, it begins to draw fluid from non-vital organs. The eyes, lips, and tongue shrivel and contract as moisture is redirected to other parts of the body.

• 36:10John Hopkins?

  The blood thickens and coagulates, restricting the flow of oxygen to the brain, resulting in dizziness and delirium.

• 36:18John Hopkins?

  The heartbeat slows to an intermittent twitch as the body begins to expire.

• 36:28John Hopkins?

  But while Morgan's prayers for water go unanswered, his noisy "please do" attract attention.

• 36:37John Hopkins?

  As evening descends on the third day, he hears a rustling in the bushes to his right. He looks over.

• 36:46John Hopkins?

  There, peering at him from the undergrowth, are several furry, white faces.

• 36:56Speaker 03

  It was a bunch of goats.

• 36:59Speaker 03

  And they came to me, the youngest even touched my nose with her nose. And they really look at me like friends, like, "Oh, poor you. We're really sorry for you." And I was very happy with this visit.

• 37:17John Hopkins?

  The goats spend some time meandering around this half-dead human, snuffling and searching for food.

• 37:26John Hopkins?

  Morgan watches, strangely comforted by their presence, before the herd turns and vanishes back into the wilderness.

• 37:35Speaker 03

  And they disappear for two minutes, but after two minutes, I saw them climbing the cliff. But they were not climbing straight like I did. They were using like a zigzag path, like a goat path.

• 37:51John Hopkins?

  He watches as the goats carefully ascend the cliff he fell from.

• 37:58John Hopkins?

  They move single file, weaving their way upward in a wide crisscrossing pattern.

• 38:05John Hopkins?

  To Morgan, the most obvious route up the rock face had been straight. But maybe he can learn something from these animals, a possible path out of this place.

• 38:17John Hopkins?

  Survival is still hugely unlikely.

• 38:21John Hopkins?

  But perhaps if he moves, Morgan can at the very least find a better place to die.

• 38:29Speaker 03

  If I die here, no one will find me. They will always think, "Where is Morgan? Maybe he just left and did not call us and what's happened?

• 38:40Speaker 03

  Is he somewhere in a bad situation? Is he suffering?" So I was trying, "Okay, I have to go back. At least on the road, I have to die somewhere, but people will find me."

• 38:58John Hopkins?

  And now, having witnessed the goats zigzag their way up the cliff, Morgan can at least see that it's possible.

• 39:08John Hopkins?

  So, on the morning of the fourth day since the accident, he starts getting himself ready.

• 39:15John Hopkins?

  By this late stage, his body is in the process of shutting down. He has emptied his bowels all over himself, a not uncommon prelude to dying. It underlines the bleak reality of his situation, expelling any lingering trace of romanticism.

• 39:33Speaker 03

  And I thought, hmm. This is the end of Indiana Jones adventure. It's the end of nice stories. It will be not funny anymore from that point. For the case I have to wash myself at least. And I washed myself. I took all my clothes off. I washed myself with sand and dry leaves. Then I was naked, more or less clean, and stand up on my one and a half feet.

• 40:10John Hopkins?

  Morgan's shattered right foot throbs in agony as he gingerly applies some pressure. His broken right arm hangs limp by his side.

• 40:21John Hopkins?

  Though it's intensely painful to stand, he manages to stay upright. With trembling effort, he staggers forward a couple of steps, shuffling towards the base of the incline. He looks up.

• 40:35John Hopkins?

  Above, a perilous sloping rock face covered in a tangle of dense, thorny brush.

• 40:43John Hopkins?

  If he couldn't make it to the top before, then climbing it now, in his present condition, seems impossible.

• 40:51Speaker 03

  I say, "Okay, let's try." And I make a first step. And this step was so small, I call it "grandma step." And I say, "Hmm, hmm, hmm." It will be long. But I live in Kazakhstan, which is former SSSR. And all SSSR region is full of babushka grandmother. And you saw them, they are so old. And sometimes it takes 20, 30 minutes to do 200 meters for them to go to the market. But every day you saw this babushka working with very small step and going and coming back, "tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk." So I thought, "Okay, I will do the babushka step

• 41:36Speaker 03

  on the goat road." And it starts to be a mantra. "Okay, one more babushka step on the goat road."

• 41:45John Hopkins?

  Morgan repeats these words to himself as he edges his way along the rock face, trying to stick to the path followed by the goats.

• 41:56John Hopkins?

  But gradually, he makes progress, gaining a millimeter of elevation with every sideways shuffle.

• 42:04John Hopkins?

  Hours pass, Morgan pouring all his concentration into his task.

• 42:11John Hopkins?

  Eventually, when he is partway up the cliff, night falls.

• 42:18John Hopkins?

  Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, he finds a well-rooted tree and positions himself in the crook of its trunk. He spends the night here, not sleeping, but resting, saving his strength for one final push tomorrow.

• 42:40John Hopkins?

  The next day, Morgan climbs all morning.

• 42:44John Hopkins?

  Eventually, he reaches the final stretch, the place where he fell five days ago. But this time, he has one major advantage:

• 42:54John Hopkins?

  daylight.

• 42:56John Hopkins?

  He can see that there is an easier route to the one he tried to take, a slightly gentler gradient dotted with handholds and footholds. Not daring to look down, he presses himself flat against the rock, his breath rattling in his ears. With his one functioning hand, he curls his fingers around a shallow hold and pushes with his only functioning foot. He grinds his torso into the cliff for friction and inches upwards.

• 43:30John Hopkins?

  He pauses, muscles trembling, pain flaring through his body. But he doesn't stop for long. He goes again, dragging himself inch by inch, until at last, his weight tips forward and he spills onto the flat ground of the cliff top.

• 43:51John Hopkins?

  Morgan lies there, panting, his spirits soaring. Though his body is utterly depleted, he finds himself flooded with a deep appreciation for it, marveling at its sheer resilience.

• 44:06Speaker 03

  I start to make like a kind of checklist like, okay, scalped, broken arm, broken foot, but I can breathe. Wow, it's so strong. I was so happy with this body. The small core machine, like blood, brain, it's working. I was impressed and say, oh, you have to bring this back to home because it's really nice machine and life is so incredible.

• 44:46Speaker 00

  The award-winning American Airlines Advantage Program rewards more than travel. It takes your whole life to new heights. Earn miles when you fly, as well as with thousands of your favorite brands. And then redeem those miles for flights, upgrades, and experiences worldwide. Advantage members also enjoy earlier boarding and free high-speed Wi-Fi in-flight. Join for free and start earning towards your next adventure at aa.com/spotify.

• 45:15Speaker 01

  When everyone's finally together, what makes mornings even brighter? Keeping things deliciously simple. Whether you're pouring up a glass of morning refreshment, or topping off festive drinks for a family brunch, Simply Orange brings that 100% fresh squeezed taste to every moment. Deliciously bright and delightfully easy, Simply Orange is made for all your seasonal gatherings. Simply Orange: Say yes to simple.

• 45:49John Hopkins?

  It's June the 14th.

• 45:53John Hopkins?

  Morgan staggers weakly through the dense jungle at the base of Mount Manucoca.

• 46:00John Hopkins?

  It's been five days since his fall. Despite his triumph in reaching the top of the cliff, he is now closer to death than to life. A shadow of a man, hunched and naked. His skin scratched, bloody and bruised.

• 46:18John Hopkins?

  With increasing difficulty, Morgan pushes through the foliage. He forces aside a curtain of vines and stumbles out into... a field.

• 46:30John Hopkins?

  He peers around, dazed.

• 46:34John Hopkins?

  The field looks recently harvested, the soil freshly tilled, the crops that once grew here now gone.

• 46:44John Hopkins?

  And then he spots something.

• 46:47John Hopkins?

  A single pineapple resting on the ground.

• 46:52Speaker 03

  It was really strange moment because I thought, okay, I'm totally thirsty. I did not eat anything since five days and there is one, only one pineapple in a field, but I've been totally harvested. I thought it's a joke. I thought it's spirits of the mountain, they are making a joke. And I was really like looking right, looking left. Where are these funny spirits? It's like, it's not possible, this perfectly ripe pineapple in the middle of the field.

• 47:28John Hopkins?

  But it's no mirage, it's really there. Sustenance, only a few feet away.

• 47:36John Hopkins?

  He stumbles over to the pineapple. Trembling, he picks up the spiky fruit.

• 47:43John Hopkins?

  With just one functioning hand, he has to find a way to cut into it and to open it up.

• 47:50Speaker 03

  I turned the pineapple, fix it in my legs. I have my knife, cut it very, very slowly to be sure to not lose a drop of juice. And I had this big slice and I really remember the first bite, it was so juicy. But the juice stopped after maybe three or four centimeter in my mouth. I was like really like a dry, dry sponge. So after maybe five or six bites, finally a drop of water arrive in my stomach. I mean, inside my body. And I eat, eat, eat all this pineapple.

• 48:34Speaker 03

  And I suddenly felt all my organs one by one getting water.

• 48:40John Hopkins?

  Nourishment spreads through him. Morgan finishes every last morsel of pineapple, sucking the juice from its tough, bristly skin.

• 48:51John Hopkins?

  With food in his belly, he rests, falling asleep on a flat rock.

• 49:00John Hopkins?

  He awakes hours later, energized, ready to stumble on.

• 49:06John Hopkins?

  With signs of human cultivation around him, he can now feel confident that he's at least headed in the right direction, back towards civilization.

• 49:16John Hopkins?

  And sure enough.

• 49:19Speaker 03

  I saw a house far, far, far in the hill. But I called in Tetun, ajuda, ajuda, it's mean help. And I heard something like...

• 49:36Speaker 03

  So I asked again, ajuda? And here, nothing. Nothing again. Silence. And I thought, hmm, maybe it's kids and they will be afraid of what comes from the mountain. So they will leave and I will be lost again.

• 49:56John Hopkins?

  Hastily, Morgan pulls his soiled, blood-stained clothes from his bag and puts them on. He doesn't want to frighten off any would-be rescuers.

• 50:07John Hopkins?

  Once he's fully clothed, he staggers off in the direction of the house.

• 50:13John Hopkins?

  It isn't long before a man appears.

• 50:16John Hopkins?

  Aware of what a bizarre spectacle he must be, Morgan wouldn't be surprised if the man was scared or suspicious or even hostile. But instead, his face is full of compassion.

• 50:29Speaker 03

  And he looked at me, I looked at him. And I tried to start to explain, like, I had an accident in Tetun. And Tetun is a local language, it's a mix of Portuguese and Creole.

• 50:41Speaker 03

  And he said, no need to explanation. Uh, let's make a prayer. And he took me in his arms and started to thank, Jesus. And I suddenly felt, okay, it's done, it's finished.

• 50:57John Hopkins?

  The kindly man takes Morgan by the arms and guides him back to the house, where he seats him carefully at the table.

• 51:05John Hopkins?

  He calls for his wife, who comes in and begins examining Morgan's wounds. Then, seeing the extent of his hunger and dehydration, she provides him with water and food.

• 51:17John Hopkins?

  The couple, Morgan learns, are named Moïse and Rachelle, or Man Moïse and Mana Rachelle, to use the local honorifics.

• 51:27Speaker 03

  She gave me like a huge plate of rice, corn, beans. She prepared me a Café Timor, Timor coffee, which is big, light coffee, full of sugar. Man Moïse climbed a coconut tree, came back with two coconuts, opened one, opened all the skin and curved and took off everything that was heavy and gave me this coconut, I had this coconut juice.

• 51:58Speaker 03

  And his wife, Mana Rachelle, she gave me the plate and she watched me eating like if I were her kids. She was full of love. When I saw her eyes, it was so sweet, so nice, so warm.

• 52:19John Hopkins?

  He is overwhelmed by their kindness. But he's still in critical need of proper medical attention. The gash on his head is gaping and at risk of infection. His broken bones need setting and strapping, and there is every chance he sustained internal bleeding in the fall.

• 52:38John Hopkins?

  The nearest hospital is back on the mainland. Morgan doesn't have a phone himself, and trying to communicate all this to Man Moïse and Mana Rachelle is proving difficult. So they quickly fetch one of their neighbors, a woman named Mana Ati, who speaks good English.

• 52:58Speaker 03

  They're called Mana Ati. And Mana Ati have many things. So she have this phone with battery and credit. And she speak English because she work with NGOs. So she came. And we walked like 10 minutes to find network. And we called my friends. And we manage that my friends will send a small plane to that island.

• 53:26John Hopkins?

  Rescue is on its way. Then, before Morgan can properly thank Mana Ati for her help, she reveals something that leaves him speechless.

• 53:37Speaker 03

  She said, "Sorry, man Morgan, I have to go.

• 53:43Speaker 03

  I have to go because it's funeral of my daughter." And I felt, "What? What do you say? It's funeral of my daughter." And I feel like, "Do you take these hours with me during your daughter funerals?"

• 54:03Speaker 03

  She said, "Yes." "She's dead, you are alive." I was really emotional, crying. And I was really saying, "Mana Ati, I don't know how to say thank you to you." I was totally shocked. And I really felt like, "Oh, I'm still not the man I wanted to be." And this person really showed me a part of the path, the real path.

• 54:31John Hopkins?

  Man Moyes and some other villagers helped to carry Morgan down the hill to the beach, where a small plane soon touches down.

• 54:39John Hopkins?

  He is loaded aboard and flown straight to hospital in Dilly, on the mainland, where doctors check his vitals and restore his bodily fluids. After some time recovering his strength, Morgan returns to France, where he undergoes further medical treatment.

• 54:55John Hopkins?

  Once his injuries have healed, he doesn't go back to East Timor straight away. Instead, he starts to reflect on the ordeal, putting pen to paper and recounting his experience.

• 55:09John Hopkins?

  In the process of writing, he is forced to think deeply about his time on the island and about what allowed him to maintain such calmness in the face of death. Ultimately, he believes it comes down to one thing.

• 55:24Speaker 03

  I think the secret ingredient that really helped me to survive, I think is joy. I think if at that moment I was sad or terrified or having bad mood, I would have died. Like, it's pretty true. But with the joy, I was so light. I said, "Okay, I'm an adventurer and it's nice. If I die, I will die in a nice way." You know, I let all the problems go. And joy is, I understood, that is so powerful. And there is so much moment in life where we just forget and lost the joy. And when the joy of life is away, it's so heavy.

• 56:10John Hopkins?

  Morgan keeps writing, eventually completing his book, telling the story of those five days he spent clinging to life in the jungle. But it isn't just his story. The real heroes of the tale are the local people who helped save his life: Man Mois, Manarachel and Manarati. In the end, Morgan says this was the real motivator behind his book: to share with others the extraordinary kindness of these islanders.

• 56:41Speaker 03

  I think it was the biggest thing of this story, of this accident. And at that moment, I really feel, "Okay, I have to come back and write the book." The book is now not a joke. It's a duty. Manarati and Man Moises and Manarachel, all those people and how they do after 500 years of occupation, colonization from Portuguese and Indonesian, even everyone kills their peoples. They stayed human. I have to tell this. I have to share and say, "Hey, there is a country called East Timor and people there have hearts."

• 57:35John Hopkins?

  Next time on Real Survival Stories, we tell the unique tale of Pete Takeda. A story that combines extreme locations, extraordinary natural phenomena, and espionage.

• 57:47John Hopkins?

  In September 2005, Pete is leading a small party deep into the Himalayas. But this is no ordinary mountaineering adventure. Their mission is more like something from a spy movie: to find proof of plutonium-powered surveillance devices rumored to have been planted in the mountains by the CIA some forty years earlier. But when the might of nature turns against Pete and his team, all their priorities shift. Unable to descend due to the wild weather, the climbers become trapped, buried alive beneath hundreds of tons of snow. With no way out, their only hope of survival is to stay alive long enough for the storm to clear. That's next time on Real Survival Stories. You can listen right now

• 58:31John Hopkins?

  without waiting and without adverts by joining Noiser Plus.

• 58:37Speaker 00

  The award-winning American Airlines Advantage program rewards more than travel. It takes your whole life to new heights. Earn miles when you fly, as well as with thousands of your favorite brands, and then redeem those miles for flights, upgrades, and experiences worldwide. Advantage members also enjoy earlier boarding and free high-speed Wi-Fi in flight. Join for free and start earning towards your next adventure at aa.com/spotify.

• 59:07Speaker 01

  What's the secret to being a great host this season? Keeping things deliciously simple, like mixing Simply Cranberry into a festive drink as guests arrive, or serving up a warm mug of Simply Apple on a chilly night. That means less time behind the scenes and more time in the moment with everyone. Crafted with real fruit, Simply juices and fruit drinks make any holiday drink effortless, inviting, and completely delicious. Simply: Say Yes to Simple.